Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
12-2025
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Susan Epps
Committee Members
Saurabh Mehta, Paul Garton
Abstract
Purpose: The U.S. physical therapy workforce lacks diversity, largely influenced by healthcare program admission procedures that affect student diversity and, in turn, the profession itself.
Health care training programs are the main pipeline to increase representation in the physical therapy field. This study aimed to characterize applicants' demographic and educational profiles applying to a single accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy program and examine factors associated with admission outcomes when considering race; investigate program-level factors associated with applicant diversity in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program, focusing on the role of non-academic application questions; and examine differences in cognitive metrics among applicants from various institutions, based on size and selectivity, when applying to a single accredited DPT program.
Methods: This retrospective descriptive study analyzed data from applicants to a U.S. Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Demographic details, including application questions, basic applicant information such as gender, race, and age, and applicant undergraduate information, such as the institution, were collected. Measures related to the applicant's cognitive assessment, including grade point averages, Graduate Record Examination scores, professional reference scores, and admission outcomes, were also collected. Various statistical testing was conducted to answer each of the research questions.
Results: The main results found through these three research questions are that, first, pre-admission factors varied significantly between White and minority applicants. Second, three questions were significantly associated with minority status: multilingual fluency, self-identification as a disadvantaged applicant, and previous course failure. Lastly, institutional selectivity significantly predicted GRE scores, with more selective institutions yielding higher scores, and region also predicted OGPA, with applicants from the South achieving higher GPAs. However, both findings' effect sizes were modest and limited in applicability.
Conclusion: There are several applications to these study findings. First, no significant changes to the cognitive admission variables should be made. Second, changes to non-cognitive admission variables should be considered. Third, this data is a baseline and needs to be further assessed and explored. Lastly, a shift is necessary to more outcomes-based admissions considerations versus the current metric-based admissions. With this shift, admissions-specific goals need to be established within the program's strategic plan.
Document Type
Dissertation - embargo
Recommended Citation
Bourassa, Michael, "Factors Associated with Admission to a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program: A Single Program Review" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4606. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4606
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
