4 Best Physical Therapy Schools in CT In 2025

Applying to physical therapy school can be overwhelming. Every school has slightly different physical therapy prerequisites and physical therapy requirements. There are physical therapy schools all around the world but if you are looking for a physical therapy school in CT you came to the right place!

This post will provide all of the physical therapy schools in Connecticut, along with the physical therapy requirements to apply to each school and achieve your dreams of becoming a licensed physical therapist. I created a guide with every course prerequisite and requirement for each school that I applied to years ago, and got into every single school I applied to. You can too!

In order to become a physical therapist in the United States you must attend a doctor of physical therapy program. Your physical therapy education is very important as it will provide you with the building blocks for your career. Many physical therapists will credit their early success to their strong clinical experiences and relationships with faculty members.

Choosing a school that you believe will help you succeed is important. Higher education is expensive. If you are going straight from undergraduate school to a doctor of physical therapy program that is 7 years of higher education, make sure you truly want to be a physical therapist.

At the end of your DPT program, you will need to take the national physical therapy examination (NPTE) created by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSPT) prior to becoming a licensed physical therapist. Make sure that you believe that whichever professional physical therapy program you are attending will help to prepare you to pass this test.

PTA Programs

If you are interested in working in patient care but do not want to attend a DPT program, you can attend a PTA program. The educational requirements for becoming a PTA include enrolling in a 2 year PTA program at a community college.

Naugatuck valley community college is a community college in CT. This physical therapist assistant program satisfies the requirements and is an accredited program.

The school systems between physical therapy school and physical therapy assistant school vary so it is important to determine which path is best for you.

Physical Therapy School Programs

There are 4 physical therapy programs in the state of Connecticut. I will be providing the education statistics for each school. The 4 physical therapy school programs in Connecticut are 1. University of Connecticut 2. University of Hartford 3. Quinnipiac University 4. Sacred Heart University.

Each school will have a different amount of physical therapy students in each class, research projects, and clinical experiences. These clinical experiences may include clinical experiences in private practices or rehabilitation hospitals.

1. University of Connecticut

UConn Physical Therapy Program Acceptance Rate

There unfortunately is no data on UConn physical therapy program acceptance rate, however 48-67 applicants were accepted each year in the last 5 years. According to the U.S. News World report for 2025, the University of Connecticut is ranked number 79 in the United States.

UConn Physical Therapy Program Requirements

• Prerequisite requirements
  • General Biology with Lab (In person lab)
  • General Chemistry I & II With Lab (In person lab)
  • General Physics I & II With Lab (In person lab)
  • Human Physiology & Anatomy I & II With Lab (In person lab)
  • Psychology (2 courses)
  • Statistics
• GPA Requirement
  • At least 3.0
• GPA Recommendations
  • These are recommendations NOT requirements
  • 3.3 or higher (The majority of accepted students had at least 3.3 GPA in prerequite courses)
• GRE Recommendations
  • 150 or higher on verbal reasoning and quantitive reasoning components (most accepted students meet this recommendation)
  • 4.0 in the writing portion
• Letters Of Recommendation
  • None
• Observation Hours
  • At least 40 hours of observation hours with a max of 20 paid hours.
  • Amount of hours over 40 does not matter, however diversity of clinical settings is important.
• Clinical Rotations
  • 33 weeks of full-time, supervised clinical practicum experiences broken up into 10 week, 11 week and 12 week clinicals.
  • Additional part time clinical experiences.
• Class Size
  • U Conn aims to mantain the class size to 30 students
    • The last 3 years 2022-2024 have had 30 students
• How Many Students Are Admitted Into U Conn’s DPT Program
  • 2020: 48
  • 2021: 62
  • 2022: 52
  • 2023: 67
  • 2024: 49
• Deadline
  • Rolling admissions beginning in September, 2025.
  • December 1st, 2025 deadline; however as stated on their website, it is not recommended to wait until December, as the availability of class seats decreases over time.

UConn DPT Tuition

UConn DPT tuition varies by residency. The total program cost for a resident of Connecticut in 2025 is $118,856. This is broken into 3 years with the first year having the highest cost.

• Year 1: $48,121
• Year 2: $41,117
• Year 3: $29,618

The total program cost for non resident of Connecticut in 2025 is $184,646. This is broken down into 3 years with the first year having the highest cost.

• Year 1: $70,051
• Year 2: $63,047
• Year 3: $29,618

2. University of Hartford

University of Hartford Physical Therapy Program Acceptance Rate

There unfortunately is no data on University of Hartford physical therapy program acceptance rate. According to the U.S. News World report for 2025, the University of Hartford is ranked number 132 in the United States.

University of Hartford Physical Therapy Requirements

• Required Courses:
• May have up to 2 prerequisite courses in progress when applying.
  • Biology: (8 credits) two courses with laboratory
  • Human Anatomy: (4 credits) one course with laboratory
  • Human Physiology: (4 credits) one course with laboratory.
    • Note: When anatomy and physiology are taken as a combined course, two semesters (i.e. 8 credits) are necessary to meet the requirements
  • Chemistry: (8 credits) general chemistry, two-course sequence with laboratory
  • Physics: (8 credits) two-course sequence with laboratory
  • Statistics: (3 credits) course to include descriptive statistics, correlation, and introduction to inferential statistics
  • Psychology: (3 credits) one course, general
• Recommended Courses:
  • Pre-Calculus or Trigonometry: (3 credits)
  • Exercise Physiology: (3–4 credits) one course
• GPA Recommendations
  • At least 3.0 GPA recommendation
  • All prerequisite courses must have a C or better.
• GRE Recommendations
  • No GRE scores requirements, however GRE recommendation of 300 combined (verbal/quantitative)
• Letters Of Recommendation
  • Three letters of recommendation
    • 1 from a course instructor or academic advisor
    • 1 from a supervisor in a professional or other work capacity
    • 1 from another individual in either capacity.
• Observation Hours
  • 10 hours required, (25 hours recommended)
• Clinical Rotations
  • 32 weeks of full-time clinical experiences as well as additional part time experiences
• Class Size
  • Specific class size not indicated, however the student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1 and stated that the school has small class size
• Deadline
  • December 15th, 2025

University of Hartford DPT Tuition

The total University of Hartford DPT tuition in 2025 is $101,941 with the first year having the highest cost.

• Year 1: $41,731
• Year 2: $34,835
• Year: $25,705

3. Quinnipiac University

Quinnipiac University is unique because it has two programs. One is for the prospective first-year student and the other is for the typical student applying either while currently in college or post-college.

The prospective first-year program is for people applying to college who know they want to be a physical therapist. They are able to receive their bachelor’s degree and physical therapy degree in 6 years or 3+3 rather than the typical 4+3 of most schools. 

The majority of students who attend Quinnipiac University are in the 3+3 year route. For this reason, only the requirements for students applying straight out of high school are provided.

Quinnipiac PT Program Acceptance Rate

There unfortunately is no data on Quinnnipiac University physical therapy program acceptance rate, however it has been mentioned that acceptance is higher when applying internally rather than externally. According to the U.S. News World report for 2025, Quinnipiac University is ranked number 65 in the United States.

Quinnipiac Physical Therapy Program Requirements

• Required Courses:
  • Calculus I
  • Statistics I
  • General Biology I and II (With Labs)
  • General Chemistry I and II (With Labs)
  • General Physics I and II (With Labs)
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II (With Labs)
• Recommended Courses
  • Human Performance Physiology
  • Biomechanics
• GPA Recommendations
  • A 3.20 overall GPA and 3.20 prerequisite Math/Science GPA for 2 full semesters prior to graduation with no prerequisite course grade below a C is required for early assurance admission.
  • Students may retake up to 2 courses for a grade replacement.
  • For post-baccalaurate admission, you must have 6 or less credits pending from your undergraduate degree
• GRE Recommendations
  • GRE is not required.
• Letters Of Recommendation
  • Two letters of recommendation
    • 1 from a past employer/personal reference
    • 1 from an academic source or instructor
• Observation Hours
  • A total of at least 60 hours of observations hours either volunteer or paid.
  • At least 20 of these hours must be in two separate physical therapy settings.
• Class Size
  • Quinnipiac University states that they have small lab sizes, however did not provide any data on class size
• Deadline
  • November 3rd for both post-baccalaureate external candidates and internal candidates

Quinnipiac University DPT Tuition

The total Quinnipiac University DPT tuition for 3 years in 2025 is $136,890 or approximately $45,630 a year when averaged out.

4. Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University also has an option for a dual degree. Qualified students can apply to either the 4+3 or 3+3 degree options.

Sacred Heart University Physical Therapy Acceptance Rate

There unfortunately is no data on Sacred Heart University physical therapy program acceptance rate. According to the U.S. News World report for 2025, Sacred Heart University is ranked number 79 in the United States.

Sacred Heart University Physical Therapy Program Requirements

• Prerequisite requirements:
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology (6-8 credits with lab)
    • Taken within the last 10 years
  • Biology (6-8 credits with lab)
  • Chemistry (Inorganic, 6-8 credits with lab)
  • Physics (Non-calculus, 6-8 credits with lab)
  • Statistics (Descriptive and inferential, 3-4 credits)
    • Taken within the last 10 years
  • Mathematics (Pre-calculus or calculus, 3-4 credits)
  • Psychology (Introduction and upper level, 6-8 credits)
• GPA Recommendations
  • 3.2 Overall GPA
  • 3.2 Prerequisite GPA with no prerequisite course grade below a “C”.
    • Applicants may retake a maximum of two courses one time each for a grade replacement.
• GRE Recommendations
  • no minimum GRE score
• Letters Of Recommendation
  • Two letters of recommendation
    • 1 from a past employer
    • 1 from an academic source or instructor
• Observation Hours
  • Minimum of two different observation experiences
    • 50 contact hours total with supervision of a physical therapist
    • Can be volunteer or paid, in different physical therapy practice settings
• Clinical Rotations
  • 1 8 week clinical at the end of 1st year and 3 10 week clinicals at the end of all academic coursework in year 3 for a total of 38 weeks.
• Class Size
  • No data provided
• Deadline
  • October 15th, 2025 for internal candidates
  • January 1st, 2026 for external candidates

Sacred Heart University DPT Tuition

The total Sacred Heart University DPT tuition is approximately $118,500 or $19,750 a semester.

Summary of Physical Therapy Schools In CT

The field of physical therapy can be a very rewarding field. There are many degree programs and it is important to choose the right professional programs for you. Prospective students should apply to the degree program that is the best school for them.

These admission requirements should help you in your PT school journey. If you are looking for more tips on applying to physical therapy school you can find them at How to Get Into Physical Therapy School.

You can find overall physical therapy school requirements that are not just specific to Connecticut at 8 Valuable Physical Therapy School Requirements.

If you are further along in your application process you can find 13 Important PT School Interview Questions You Need To Get Into PT School.