Curriculum Overview

The Emory University DPT program is designed to prepare students to become compassionate, skilled and reflective physical therapists equipped to meet the demands of today’s dynamic healthcare environment. The learner-centered teaching and learning philosophy connects classroom knowledge with real-world clinical experience, ensuring the education is both relevant and impactful.

Grounded in the principles of competency-based education, master adaptive learning and cognitive apprenticeship, the program supports student development as a critical thinker and lifelong learner. Students will engage in case-based learning, reflective practice and active, hands-on strategies that help build the competencies required for entry-level practice and long-term professional growth.

The curriculum follows an integrated, spiral design in which core concepts are revisited at increasing levels of complexity. Foundational sciences, movement analysis and clinical sciences are taught in direct clinical context, supporting just-in-time learning and improved knowledge retention.

This approach strengthens students’ ability to apply knowledge in real clinical situations throughout the program.

Emory DPT’s Areas of Precision and Clinical Pathways empower students to intentionally shape their professional development while cultivating strong clinical competencies. Across eight semesters, students partner with faculty mentors in structured clinical and community-based immersive experiences culminating in a Capstone Project.

This intentional design allows students to apply knowledge in real-world settings while developing deeper expertise in one of five professional focus areas:

• Research: Students conduct collaborative, evidence-based research and develop skills in study design, analysis and professional dissemination.
• Community Engagement: Students partner with communities to address health disparities, expand access to care and promote wellness through real-world service.
• Business & Entrepreneurship: Students explore strategic and financial aspects of practice, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset for innovative, value-based care.
• Humanities: Students integrate health humanities to strengthen empathy, reflection, clinical reasoning and patient-centered communication.
• Advocacy: Students build leadership skills in health policy and professional advocacy to advance patient-centered care at all levels. 

Learn more about the Areas of Precision and Clinical Pathways.

Students complete 37 weeks of full-time clinical education, with additional part-time clinical experiences embedded throughout the curriculum. Clinical placements span a broad range of practice environments including acute care, outpatient, rehabilitation and specialty settings.

Clinical education sites are located throughout metropolitan Atlanta, across Georgia and select sites nationwide, ensuring exposure to diverse patient populations and models of care.

The redesigned curriculum for the DPT Program is part of the Emory University School of Medicine's education strategic plan to reimagine and transform the curricula for all SOM degree programs. The guiding principles and practices that have been instrumental in moving Emory toward eminence in research and clinical care must also extend to the student experience - including compassion, creativity, innovation, community engagement, data-driven problem-solving and a focus on building connections across disciplines. Emory graduates will continue to be excellent clinicians and scientists, but in today’s environment they must also be able to lead change across health systems and communities.