On behalf of the faculty, staff and students of the Department of Physical Therapy, I welcome you to our website, and thank you for your interest in our program.

The Department of Physical Therapy at Florida International University (FIU) offers the Doctorate in Physical Therapy degree which provides the required educational preparation for a professional career as a physical therapist. Our graduates are ethnically and racially diverse physical therapy practititioners poised to help eliminate health care disparities in the local, state, and national community. The FIU DPT curriculum features a progressive, problem oriented approach and includes rigorous coverage of the full range of basic medical sciences, clinical sciences, and hands on skills relevant to the current practice of physical therapy.  The program will be moving into a new 103 Square foot building with state of the art medical simulation, rehabilitation, and biomechanics laboratories and media classrooms in December 2009.  There are nine full time faculty and numerous adjuncts to prepare students to work in all areas of physical therapy practice. You will find unparalleled intellectual, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity within our faculty, students, university and community. FIU Physical therapy program  provides students with  internship opportunities in over 240 clinical sites throughout Florida, the nation, and internationally.  FIU Physical Therapy has won the APTA Minority Initiatives Award, not once but twice.

As a multi-campus public institution of 38,000 students and 8,000 employees, FIU is among the largest universities in the Southeast. This dynamic, public research university offers more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in 17 colleges and schools. In 2009, the university plans to welcome the inaugural class of FIU’s new College of Medicine.  FIU is classified as a Research University / High Research Activity by the Carnegie Foundation.  It is located in vibrant Miami, the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America .  Our vision is to be recognized as a Top Urban Public Research University Department of Physical Therapy, with faculty who are nationally known for research on the health needs of minority and underserved populations and their expertise in culturally competent care

Please peruse this site and the links for additional information. Please visit us often as we make updates to this site and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Helen Cornely, EdD, PT
Chair of Physical Therapy and Associate Dean for Administration, College of Nursing and Health Sciences