Is a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree Worth It? If you’re dreaming about helping patients restore their mobility and quality of life, and you’re exploring what it would take to become a physical therapist, you may be wondering, “Is a degree in physical therapy worth it?” The answer to this question depends, of course, on your personal career goals. Some people choose to become physical therapist assistants because only a two-year associate degree is required. It’s true that pursuing a doctorate takes time and effort; however, there are countless advantages to earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. To that end, let’s look at some of the factors that make a Doctor in Physical Therapy (DPT) degree the best first step on an exceptional career Read more
Retention Rate
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) tracks retention rates by degree cohorts. USAHS bases the rates on institutional definitions and calculations, which may differ to some degree from calculation requirements by programmatic accreditation, state licensure, -and other retention rate calculation definitions. The programmatic accreditations, state agencies, and/or Department of Education may utilize varying timeframes and/or student status when measuring retention and/or graduation.
Retention rate is a measure of how many students entered the degree program and retained one year later. It is the number of students that enrolled in the fall term and reenrolled the following fall. The following retention tables are for students that entered the degree programs for the first time.
The data is as of March 2022.
Retention Rate by Degree
| Entering Cohort | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Fall | 2020 Fall | 2021 Fall | ||||
| Degree | Cohort Size b | % Retained | Cohort Size b | % Retained | Cohort Size b | % Retained |
| Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | 231 | 98% | 235 | 97% | 283 | 97% |
| Flex Doctor of Physical Therapy (Flex DPT) | 89 | 91% | 61 | 97% | 92 | 91% |
| Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) | 93 | 100% | 106 | 98% | 108 | 96% |
| Flex Master of Occupational Therapy (Flex MOT) | 40 | 95% | 47 | 83% | 60 | 93% |
| Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) | 80 | 99% | 75 | 100% | 95 | 99% |
| Flex Doctor of Occupational Therapy (Flex OTD) | a | a | 75 | 100% | - | - |
| Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) | 20 | 100% | 52 | 94% | 76 | 91% |
| Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (PPOTD) | 30 | 67% | 19 | 79% | 27 | 78% |
| Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (tDPT) | <10 | 88% | 11 | 73% | <10 | 89% |
| Doctor in Education (EdD) | 26 | 65% | 21 | 76% | 23 | 65% |
| Master of Health Administration (MHA) | 13 | 46% | <10 | 75% | - | - |
| Master of Health Sciences (MHS) | 14 | 64% | 14 | 86% | - | - |
| Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) | 23 | 61% | 23 | 52% | 33 | 67% |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) | 57 | 58% | <10 | 50% | 31 | 58% |
b To protect student anonymity, cohort size of less than 10 is notated with <10.
Retention Rate by Degree and Gender
| Entering Cohort | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Fall | 2020 Fall | 2021 Fall | |||||
| Degree | Gender | Cohort Size b | % Retained | Cohort Size b | % Retained | Cohort Size b | % Retained |
| Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | Male Female | 107 124 | 96% 99% | 105 130 | 96% 98% | 128 155 | 98% 96% |
| Flex Doctor of Physical Therapy (Flex DPT) | Male Female | 54 35 | 93% 89% | 29 32 | 97% 97% | 50 42 | 88% 95% |
| Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) | Male Female | <10 84 | 100% 100% | 12 94 | 92% 99% | <10 101 | 71% 98% |
| Flex Master of Occupational Therapy (Flex MOT) | Male Female | <10 35 | 100% 94% | <10 38 | 78% 84% | <10 51 | 89% 94% |
| Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) | Male Female | <10 74 | 100% 99% | <10 67 | 100% 100% | 11 84 | 100% 99% |
| Flex Doctor of Occupational Therapy (Flex OTD) | Male Female | a a | a a | 0 <10 | na 83% | - - | - - |
| Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) | Male Female | <10 18 | 100% 100% | <10 50 | 50% 96% | <10 73 | 33% 93% |
| Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (PPOTD) | Male Female | <10 26 | 25% 73% | <10 15 | 100% 73% | <10 25 | 100% 76% |
| Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (tDPT) | Male Female | <10 <10 | 100% 83% | <10 <10 | 50% 78% | <10 8 | 100% 88% |
| Doctor of Education (EdD) | Male Female | <10 17 | 67% 65% | <10 17 | 75% 76% | <10 20 | 33% 70% |
| Master of Health Administration (MHA) | Male Female | <10 12 | 100% 42% | <10 <10 | 50% 100% | - - | - - |
| Master of Heath Sciences (MHS) | Male Female | 0 14 | na 64% | <10 12 | 50% 92% | - - | - - |
| Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) | Male Female | <10 20 | 67% 60% | <10 12 | 50% 52% | <10 31 | 50% 68% |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) | Male Female | 16 41 | 56% 59% | 0 <10 | na 50% | <10 30 | 100% 57% |
b To protect student anonymity, cohort size of less than 10 is notated with <10.
Retention Rate by Degree and Race/Ethnicity
As student numbers for race/ethnicity groups cannot be grouped with specificity, two categories, “Minority” and “Other”, were created to capture the information to display data. The “minority” category includes Hispanic/Latino, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Black, African American, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The “other” category includes two or more races, nonresident alien, and race and ethnicity unknown.
| Entering Cohort | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Fall | 2020 Fall | 2021 Fall | |||||
| Degree | Race/Ethnicity | Cohort Size d | % Retained | Cohort Size d | % Retained | Cohort Size d | % Retained |
| Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | White Minority b Other c | 118 95 18 | 97% 98% 100% | 120 89 26 | 97% 98% 100% | 85 76 122 | 96% 96% 98% |
| Flex Doctor of Physical Therapy (Flex DPT) | White Minority b Other c | 35 19 35 | 89% 79% 100% | 27 22 12 | 96% 95% 100% | 34 35 23 | 97% 89% 87% |
| Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) | White Minority b Other c | 36 24 33 | 100% 100% 100% | 52 37 17 | 98% 97% 100% | 38 25 45 | 97% 100% 93% |
| Flex Master of Occupational Therapy (Flex MOT) | White Minority b Other c | 15 15 10 | 100% 100% 80% | 16 25 <10 | 88% 80% 83% | 19 21 20 | 95% 90% 95% |
| Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) | White Minority b Other c | 26 19 35 | 96% 100% 100% | 38 21 16 | 100% 100% 100% | 25 24 46 | 100% 100% 98% |
| Flex Doctor of Occupational Therapy (Flex OTD) | White Minority b Other c | a a a | a a a | <10 <10 <10 | 100% 50% 100% | - - - | - - - |
| Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) | White Minority b Other c | <10 <10 11 | 100% 100% 100% | 20 14 18 | 95% 86% 100% | 34 28 14 | 91% 93% 86% |
| Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (PPOTD) | White Minority b Other c | 17 10 <10 | 71% 60% 67% | 11 <10 <10 | 91% 57% 100% | 16 10 <10 | 88% 70% 0% |
| Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (tDPT) | White Minority b Other c | <10 <10 <10 | 83% 100% na | <10 <10 0 | 71% 75% na | <10 <10 <10 | 75% 100% 100% |
| Doctor of Education (EdD) | White Minority b Other c | 14 11 <10 | 57% 73% 100% | 13 <10 0 | 92% 50% na | 17 <10 <10 | 71% 25% 100% |
| Master of Health Administration (MHA) | White Minority b Other c | <10 <10 <10 | 43% 40% 100% | <10 <10 0 | 100% 0% na | - - - | - - - |
| Master of Heath Sciences (MHS) | White Minority b Other c | <10 <10 0 | 71% 57% na | <10 <10 <10 | 83% 100% 0% | - - - | - - - |
| Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) | White Minority b Other c | 16 <10 0 | 75% 29% na | 17 <10 <10 | 53% 60% 0% | 21 12 0 | 71% 58% - |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) | White Minority b Other c | 29 26 <10 | 55% 62% 50% | <10 <10 0 | 0% 100% na | 19 10 <10 | 58% 60% 50% |
b Minority category includes Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, African American/Black, and Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian.
c Other includes two or more races, international students, and not specify/unknown.
d To protect student anonymity, cohort size of less than 10 is notated with <10.
