Which Undergraduate Major Do I Need To Be A Professional Physical Therapist?

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If you’re on the verge of deciding the best major that can help you become a physical therapist, know that you’re not the only one in the struggle. One salient point to note is that you don’t even have to be a professional medical doctor to play a vital role in the healthcare industry.


It would interest you to learn that physical therapists are making waves in the global health space for the efficiency of their restorative therapy. Professional therapists work closely with patients who suffer long-lasting health problems or need specialized therapy to get well from a severe ailment or injury.

As a practitioner with the requisite physical therapist skills, if you have the empathy, concern, skill, and ingenuity to assist patients in performing therapeutic exercises, the only barrier between you and a career in physical therapy is just getting the right qualifications and degree.

What to Major in for Physical Therapy

Certainly, the Physical Therapy degree you earn will expose you more about human movement and give you more clues about the biological processes of the body. Nonetheless, you won’t be much different from other related professionals as you’ll be among other students who have a degree in kinesiology, athletic training and exercise science.

To gain admission into a graduate PT program, you should have foundational knowledge of anatomy, psychology, physics and even statistics.  These course works are to prepare you for the rigors of your graduate PT program where you ideally perfect your physical therapy skills.

Basically, these are the three courses that would warm up your first semester in graduate school. Students of kinesiology will learn more about body movement as well as the functioning process of the human body. Here, it is common to see students well versed in how muscles and body parts work.

The Best Undergraduate Majors for Physical Therapy

The best majors for physical therapy include biology, nutrition, allied health, exercise science, physiology, athletic training, health sciences, general studies, psychology, and exercise kinesiology.

There are several ways in which you can distinguish yourself to become an excellent physical therapist, even with a different degree.

  • You can be considered due to the new skills you bring to the table.
  • You should have an undying interest to aspire for things that interest you the most, rather than just struggling to earn a biology degree.
  • Have some options when pursuing a job that is off your chosen field, even after obtaining a physical therapy degree.

At last, you may not get into the school of physical therapy with just your college certificate. There is yet the emotional component which forms a critical part of your physical therapist skills. People who fit into this position are always willing and passionate to acquire more knowledge and skills, so they can easily connect with people.

It is also expected that a trained Physical Therapist should be able to educate their patients, establish strategic marketing plans for their clinics, and develop a workable budget with their managerial skills.

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