How to Become a Physical Therapist

If you're researching how to become a physical therapist, the degree distinction matters. You need an accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and a state licence to enter practice. A Doctor of Health Science is a separate, post-professional degree. It can support a later move into leadership, teaching or applied research, but it cannot qualify you to treat patients.

Entry Degree

DPT

Licence

All states

Median Pay

$102,760

2025–35 Growth

12%

What Physical Therapists Do During the Workday

Physical therapists evaluate movement, build treatment plans and help people manage pain or regain function after injury, surgery or illness. A first visit may include a movement assessment, strength and balance tests, and a conversation about what the patient needs to do at home or work. Later visits track progress and adjust the plan.

The work is hands-on. You may demonstrate exercises, provide manual therapy, help a patient use equipment and teach family members how to support recovery safely. Documentation and coordination with physicians and other clinicians fill the spaces between appointments. Physical therapists spend much of the day standing, and helping patients move creates a real risk of back injury when body mechanics slip.

How to Become a Physical Therapist Step by Step

The route below is how to become a physical therapist in the United States. Your state board supplies the jurisdiction-specific forms, deadlines and any requirements beyond the national exam.

1. Complete the college prerequisites. DPT programs commonly expect a bachelor's degree and science courses such as anatomy, chemistry and physics. Requirements differ by program, so build your course plan from the programs you may actually apply to.
2. Choose an accredited DPT program. CAPTE accredits entry-level physical therapist education. Check the program in CAPTE's directory before treating its degree as a route to licensure.
3. Earn the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. DPT programs usually take three years and combine classroom study with supervised clinical work. Coursework commonly includes biomechanics, neuroscience and pharmacology.
4. Apply through your state licensing authority. Your jurisdiction determines when you are eligible to register for the National Physical Therapy Examination and what documents you must submit.
5. Pass the NPTE and meet the rest of your state's rules. Every state licenses physical therapists. Some states add a law exam or background check, and continuing education is commonly part of renewal.
6. Build practice experience before adding another doctorate. A residency can add focused clinical training after the DPT, and board certification is available in areas such as orthopedics, sports and geriatrics. A DHSc belongs later, when a concrete job goal calls for leadership, teaching or applied research training.

Physical Therapist Education and Licensing Requirements

Any accurate account of how to become a physical therapist starts with the DPT. The DPT and DHSc are both doctorates, but they solve different problems. The DPT is the professional entry degree for physical therapy. Its accredited curriculum and clinical training lead into the licensing process. The DHSc is an advanced health sciences degree for people who already have a professional base. It does not contain the entry-level physical therapy curriculum and does not lead to the NPTE.

This is the expensive mistake to avoid. If you don't already qualify as a physical therapist, a DHSc program from the ranked DHSc degree list will not move you toward that licence. Look for an accredited DPT instead.

How Much Physical Therapists Make

The May 2025 national median is $102,760. The middle half earns from $86,160 to $121,160, and the published tenth-to-ninetieth-percentile range runs from $77,140 to $135,140. The OEWS wage survey estimates 267,330 physical therapist jobs.

A median is the midpoint, not a starting offer. Setting and ownership move physical therapist pay: home health and skilled nursing roles tend to pay more than outpatient clinic roles, while travel contracts sit in a different market again. See the physical therapist salary page for every published state median and the full national spread.

Where Physical Therapist Jobs Are Concentrated

Physical therapists work in private practices, hospitals, home health and nursing facilities. The states below have the most wage and salary jobs in the May 2025 OEWS data. A large employment count shows where the occupation is concentrated, not where a particular opening will be easiest to land.

When a DHSc Makes Sense for a Physical Therapist

A DHSc can make sense after you're licensed and the next job is no longer mainly clinical. Clinic leadership, health professions teaching, program evaluation and applied research can value the broader training. But the title alone doesn't guarantee a promotion or a raise. Start with the job postings you want and check whether they require a doctorate, prefer one or focus instead on management experience and clinical results.

The federal wage survey does not separate DPT holders from physical therapists who later earn a DHSc, so it cannot support a salary-premium claim. Compare the actual degree cost and time against the role change you expect. Our guide to whether a DHSc is worth it gives you a way to run that check before enrolling.

The Benefits and Tradeoffs of Physical Therapy Work

What Draws People to Physical Therapy

• You work directly with patients and can measure changes in movement and function over time.
• The occupation spans clinics, hospitals, home health and residential care.
• Orthopedics, sports and geriatrics offer paths for focused practice after you gain experience.
• BLS projects 12% employment growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,400 openings per year.

What Makes the Work Hard

• The entry path requires an accredited clinical doctorate before you can pursue licensure.
• You spend much of the day standing and physically assisting patients.
• Clinical documentation competes with treatment time.
• Licensure continues after the first exam through state renewal requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming a Physical Therapist

For someone asking how to become a physical therapist, the DPT and licensing sequence comes first. The DHSc question only starts after you can already practise.

Related Physical Therapist Career Guides

• Physical therapist salary by state
• Moving from clinical practice into health services management
• Teaching health sciences at the college level
• What a DHSc degree can and cannot lead to