Rehabilitation Sciences
Mailing Address:
Department of Physical Therapy (MC 898)
1919 West Taylor Street
Chicago, IL 60612-7251
Campus Location: 456 AHSB
Program Code: 20FS5207MS
Telephone: (312) 996-7765
E-mail: aaruin@uic.edu
Web Site: http://www.ahs.uic.edu/pt/
Head of the Department: Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar
Director of Graduate Studies: Alexander Aruin
The Department of Physical Therapy offers a Master of Science program in Rehabilitation Sciences. The program will provide students with state-of-art knowledge in research design, measurement techniques, advances in rehabilitation sciences, and critical appraisal of the evidence needed to support contemporary clinical practice. Moreover, graduates of the Rehabilitation Sciences Program will be prepared to become faculty members in academia, or to assume leadership positions in the rehabilitation community, and/or contribute to the development of a scholarly basis in physical rehabilitation sciences. Areas of research concentration include all aspects of physical rehabilitation, in particular neurological, cardiopulmonary, and orthopedic rehabilitation. Both treatment effectiveness and basic underlying mechanisms will be addressed using quantitative and/or clinical measures.
Two PhD programs are available to students who wish to complete advanced preparation for research. These programs are in the areas of Disability Studies and Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Rehabilitation. Please refer to the Disability Studies section of the graduate catalogue for a description of the PhD in Disability Studies and the Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Rehabilitation section for that program.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:
Master of Science
- Prior Degrees Bachelor's degree in health-related sciences or entry-level professional degree in physical therapy.
- Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00.
- Tests Required GRE General. Applicants should have a combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 1000 (tests taken before August 2011) or minimum of 144 Quantitative and 153 Verbal (tests taken August 2011 or after).
- Minimum English Competency Test Score
- TOEFL 550 (paper-based); 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Internet-based), OR,
- IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores.
- Letters of Recommendation Three are required.
- Personal Statement Required. The statement should address the applicant’s goals for graduate study and career development.
- Other Requirements Preference will be given to applicants with interests in an academic career in rehabilitation sciences.
Degree Requirements
In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:
Master of Science
- Minimum Semester Hours Required 36 for the thesis or project option. 39 hours for the course-work-only option.
- Course Work
- Students completing a thesis will minimally take 22 hours of course work.
- Students completing a project will minimally take 27 hours of course work.
- Students completing the course-work-only option will take 39 hours of course work at the 500-level, with at least 6 hours devoted to a survey of literature and/or the conduction of case studies. 400-level courses may be applied to this requirement with advisor approval.
- Students receiving 3 or more grades below B will be dismissed from the program.
- Required courses: All students are required to take 12 hours as follows:
- PT 505—Advances in Rehabilitation Sciences I
- PT 506—Advances in Rehabilitation Sciences II
- A graduate-level statistics course (e.g., EPSY 505)
- A research methods course (e.g., PT 563; NURS 573)
- Electives: The number of hours and choice of electives will vary according to the program option chosen and will be guided by student’s area of interest in consultation with the advisor (e.g. PT 503, PT 510, PT 511, and PT 562).
- Comprehensive Examination Required; written. The Comprehensive Examination will be waived for a student who obtains an average grade of B or better in the core courses PT 505 and 506.
- Thesis, Project, or Course-Work-Only Options: Students select 1 of the 3 options offered as follows:
- Thesis: Students are required to take 14 hours in PT 598 in addition to 10 hours of elective courses.
- Project: Students are required to take 9 hours of PT 597 in addition to 15 hours of elective courses.
- Course-Work-Only: Students are required to take 27 hours of elective courses.
