Upstate, SU partner in accelerated degree program

CNY Business Journal (1996+), May 12, 2006 by Tampone, Kevin

SYRACUSE - Syracuse University (SU) is the latest institution to partner with the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in its accelerated physical-therapy doctoral program.

SU is Upstate's seventh partner. The others are SUNY Brockport, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Oswego, and Le Moyne College. The program, started in 2005, allows students to complete a bachelor's degree and doctoral degree in physical therapy in six years instead of the seven it would normally take.

Students are admitted to the program right out of high school, says Pamela Gramet, associate professor and chairwoman of the Department of Physical Therapy in Upstate's College of Health Professions.

"We have very strict requirements," she says. "Only excellent students are going to be able to get into this program and complete it.

"The bottom line is we keep a close eye on those students."

During their three years at one of Upstate's undergraduate partners, students must maintain a 3.3 gradepoint average while completing their undergraduate coursework, which includes classes like general biology, anatomy, and physiology. They must finish 80 hours of experiential work in physical therapy as well.

Upon successful completion of the undergraduate program, students then move directly to Upstate's doctoral program, with the first year of study there also counting as the students' last year of undergraduate coursework.

"What we wanted to do was allow students to get a quality education in a shorter period of time," Gramet says. "The cost of education is so high now."

The program is also a good way to get high-school students interested in physical therapy.

"It allows use to develop relationships with excellent high school students early on and stay in that relationship," Grainer says.

The first SU students eligible for the program are those applying this year. They will enter SU in the fall of 2007 and, assuming they are successful there, arrive at Upstate in 2010.

Doctoral degrees are becoming increasingly important for physical therapists, according to Upstate. The American Physical Therapy Association recommends that by 2020 all physical therapists should hold doctoral degrees.

SU has been sending a steady stream of students to Upstate's doctoral program for years, says Lori Ploutz-Snyder, associate professor and chairwoman of SU's Department of Exercise Science in the School of Education. The new partnership with Upstate will further that relationship, she adds.

In addition to saving students time and money, the program helps them become part of the Syracuse community. Through their handson work in therapy, they will form connections with Central New York, Ploutz-Snyder says.

"This allows them to continue those experiences rather than leave and start over somewhere else at a different school," she says. "With any luck, we'll be able to keep some of our best students here in upstate New York."