The admissions process to the doctor of physical therapy degree program at Winston-Salem State University, the historically Black educational institution in North Carolina, is highly competitive. Typically, the university receives 500 applicants for 30 positions in each entering cohort. That’s an admissions rate of only 6 percent.
But the university has announced that undergraduate students at the university who meet certain standards will be automatically admitted to the highly selective doctor of physical therapy program. Under the new “assurance agreement,” students who graduate from Winston-Salem State University with a degree in exercise physiology and have maintained at least a 3.4 grade point average will be guaranteed admission into the graduate program.
Peggy Valentine, dean of the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University says that the new program “is tremendous for our students. Because of the rigor of the program and the number of applicants, many very deserving students do not gain admission. The early assurance program supports WSSU’s new strategic plan in promoting equity in graduate education and supports our commitment to increasing the number and diversity of health care professionals.”
