Early Assurance

First-year students admitted to the undergraduate program in Kinesiology and Health Science have the opportunity for early assurance (formerly known as direct admission) into Bradley’s graduate program if they meet the following main criteria:

• all math and science courses must be taken at Bradley
• students must attain a math, science and overall GPA of 3.4 at the end of the sophomore year and 3.5 at the end of the junior year.

In addition to the GPA requirements – student must meet the following criteria to remain eligible for the early assurance (formerly known as direct admission) option:

Criteria to maintain the Early Assurance Option.

1. First-year students must claim their early assurance with the Department of Physical Therapy and Health Science by the end of their first semester.
2. After matriculation, all required math/science courses must be taken at Bradley. Advanced placement credit in the required math/science courses posted to their Bradley transcript will be accepted.
3. Students must attain a math, science and overall GPA of 3.4 at the end of the sophomore year and 3.5 end of the junior year. Class standing is based on credit hours completed (including AP and transfer credit), so the end of the sophomore year GPA will be calculated when the student completes 55 hours and junior year upon completion of 89 hours. Students must have a minimum of a B average in Anatomy and Physiology I and II including the lab.
4. The following courses must be completed by the beginning of the senior year: BIO I and II, CHM I and II, PHY I and
5. A student must have a minimum of 40 hours of observation in a physical therapy clinic with a minimum of 8 hours in an inpatient, skilled nursing or acute care setting. These will be verified through PTCAS and so must be completed before the beginning of the senior year. Time observing in the Department clinic does not count toward these observation hours.
6. Early assurance cannot be deferred to the next application cycle.
7. Students who have early assurance and will be graduating in 3 years must let the department know of their early graduation in the fall of their sophomore year. In addition, students graduating in 3 years must have a math, science and overall GPA 3.5 at the end of their sophomore year (55 completed hours) and apply through PTCAS in the fall of their final year.
8. Student MUST complete the application process to the DPT program through PTCAS. This includes submitting GRE scores, completing all the items in the application and submitting all fees before the published deadlines.
9. Early assurance can be denied for the following reasons: not following the procedures above, not maintaining the required GPA, not completing the application through PTCAS, not meeting the required observation hours, demonstrating egregious behavior while a student at Bradley, demonstrating unprofessional behavior in classes taken at Bradley.