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Accreditation

  1. Whitworth University
  2. Accreditation
  3. Programs Leading to State Certification or Licensure
  4. Physical Therapy

Licensure Disclosures for Physical Therapists

Last reviewed February 2024

Effective July 19, 2022, Whitworth University has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 509.777.4442 or email dpt@whitworth.edu.

Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.

Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22305-3085; phone 703.706.3245; accreditation@apta.org, is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.

CAPTE Timing and the Licensing Exam

The DPT program will be evaluated for full-accreditation status in the third year of the first cohort (2024/2025). Accreditation is anticipated to be received in the spring of 2025 prior to graduation of the first cohort which will be May 2025. Based on Rule 7.2 (see below), graduates of the first cohort will be able to take the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) as early as July 2025. 

New Rule: 7.2 Definition of Candidate for Accreditation

Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status, awarded prior to enrollment of students in the technical (PTA programs) or professional (PT programs) phase of the program, which indicates that the physical therapy education program is progressing toward accreditation. All credits and degrees earned and issued by a program holding candidacy are considered to be from an accredited program.  

Whitworth University will not make a determination on whether this program meets state requirements for licensure until the program is reviewed by CAPTE and a determination made.

For more information regarding Whitworth's Doctor of Physical Therapy program and licensure in other states, please contact a program representative at DPT@whitworth.edu. 

This program has been reviewed as a substantive change by our institutional accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and is included in our institutional accreditation status.