Program Requirements

Our PTA Program consists of a year of general education and prerequisite courses and a year in the vocational portion of the Program. Since the spaces in the second year of the Program are limited, admission to the College and the completion of prerequisite courses does not guarantee admission to the second year of the Program. The following information outlines the procedures to follow up to the point of admission into the second year of the program.

1. The first step in entering our Physical Therapist Assistant Program is making application to Volunteer State Community College. You should submit an application to the Office of Admissions with the required $10.00 nonrefundable application fee. If you have previously attended any Colleges, please have an official transcript for each college attended submitted to the Office of Records and Admissions. In addition, if you have additional copies of your transcripts, bring them the first time you see a PTA advisor.
2. A second application form should be completed and submitted to the Division of Allied Health indicating your intent to enter the Physical Therapist Assistant Program. This application helps us keep you notified of information about the Program.
3. If you have not previously attended college, the Office of Student Orientation, Testing, and Educational Planning (SOTEP) will schedule you for testing in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and algebra. You may be required to take some course work in these areas. An advisor will help you identify which courses are required. Those who have completed some college work may also be required to complete some of the testing depending on course work already completed.
4. Completing all courses listed under the Fall and Spring Semesters of the Freshman Year as identified on the enclosed Semester-by-semester Sequence is required before the student may sit for the screening interview. Interviews are held only in May of each year with classes to begin in early June. No student will be allowed to sit for the admission's interview unless all required prerequisite course work has been completed with a grade of “C” or better without special approval of the Program Director after consultation with the Program Faculty. Students without the required prerequisites will be granted permission to sit for the interview only if there are not enough fully qualified applicants to fill the class.
5. During the Spring Semester, any individual who has the potential of meeting admissions's requirements and who wants to be considered for admission to the second year of the Program must submit a completed screening application. That application is due in the Allied Health offices by early March of the year in which the applicant will sit for the interview. Contact the PTA Program about each year's deadline.
6. A physical examination is no longer a part of the Admissions Process. Prior to the day of registration for the Summer Session, any student offered admission to the Program will be required to submit a proof of freedom from tuberculosis through a negative skin test or chest X-ray and immunity to rubella through a rubella titer or through an immunization since 1980. Students must obtain at their expense Hepatitis B vaccine or must decline the vaccination in writing. The admission offer for any applicant failing to meet this requirement may be canceled.
7. Students must provide evidence of a passing score on a background check prior to official acceptance/enrollment into the program. Either the failure to provide the required background check results by the due date established or the receipt of anything other than a passing score on the background check will make a student ineligible for enrollment in this program. Background checks are performed at the student’s expense. You may view the Student Background Checks Policy.
8. Some clinical facilities may also require additional immunizations.