In the latest example of partnership between Emory and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), the two universities are co-launching a dual-degree program that combines the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from the Emory School of Medicine with the PhD in Applied Physiology from Georgia Tech College of Sciences, according to a Feb. 5 University Extension Magazine article.
According to Zoher Kapasi, director of the Emory DPT program, the partnership will set a precedent for the future of the physical therapy field.
The program is the third dual-degree program the division of physical therapy offers, joining the DPT/Master of Business Administration (MBA) and DPT/Master of Public Health (MPH) offerings, according to Kapasi.
According to Kapasi, after physical therapists practice for a few years, they are drawn into the business side and management positions and go back to get their MBA and MPH.
"The future of health care is specialization," Kapasi said. "We need more people to understand the business side and to help make policy."
Students would complete 144 credit hours at Emory and 42 at Georgia Tech to satisfy requirements.
According to T. Richard Nichols, chair of the Georgia Tech School of Applied Physiology, the addition of the PhD to Emory's DPT program was a logical extension.
"At Georgia Tech we are interested in researching movement and physiology as important underpinnings of society," Nichols said. "Whether it's physical or occupational therapy, physiology plays a fundamental part of physical therapy. It's a natural partnership."
Georgia Tech's research provides an opportunity to train more in the fundamentals of physiology, as well as open up what Nichols calls "a huge panorama of areas of study" for physical therapists to explore.
"Physiology is an integrated discipline with increasing importance within the medical field," Nichols said. "Twenty years ago, physical therapy was clinical, yet now it is one of the leaders in all of medicine in research."
Nichols added the clinical background coupled with the research experience could potentially lead to other interdisciplinary discoveries in the future.
Kapasi said that taking physical therapy beyond practice is necessary to continue innovation in the medical field.
"The intent of this program is the training of exceptional students to become the next leaders in academic physical therapy and movement research," Kapasi wrote in a rationale for the program.
Through this combined educational experience, Kapasi said that he hopes the Emory/Georgia Tech DPT/PhD program will provide the training necessary for students to work at the forefront of a scientific field while concurrently developing outstanding clinical skills.
Kapasi is excited to see the program in action, and firmly believes in the importance of the collective education that will take place.
"What you have here is not 'one plus one equals two,' but really 'one plus one equals 11,'" Kapasi said. "There is so much synergy between the schools that make this program beneficial not just to the community, but society as a whole."
– Contact Stephen Fowler at smfowle@emory.edu
