Are you ready to take your physical therapy career from the clinic to the classroom? I’m not talking about extra schooling — although continuing education is always an option. I’m talking about physical therapy faculty jobs: working as a professor or instructor in a PT education program.
Think back on your PT school experience. Do any of your professors stand out as making a positive impact on you? By becoming a PT professor yourself, you can pay it forward and guide the next generation of physical therapists into career success. You’ll not only shape the therapists of tomorrow but also benefit the future patients of your students.
In this post, I’ll provide an overview of physical therapy faculty jobs and outline what it takes to become an instructor or professor.
Physical Therapy Faculty Jobs: Overview
Both PT programs and PTA programs alike hire physical therapy faculty to teach general coursework, lead clinical labs, and head up institutional research. A PT faculty job might include the following duties:
- Conduct classes or clinicals: Create syllabi, lecture courses, run labs, and grade tests.
- Mentor students: Hold office hours and track student progress.
- Research: Assist, lead, or develop research in Health Sciences (technology, treatment, pharmacology, etc.).
- Cooperate with university protocol: fulfill administrative, academic, and scholarship activities as required.
Physical therapy faculty jobs can be remarkably competitive, but the career outlook continues to grow every year. While postsecondary jobs in other fields are projected to grow 12% from 2020 to 2030, Health Science faculty jobs are likely to grow twice as fast: 24% from 2020 to 2030.
Besides the positive outlook, teaching at the postsecondary level usually means a higher salary. You’ll both raise the ceiling on your earning potential and gain more opportunities for career advancement.
PT Faculty Salary
The salary of a physical therapy postsecondary instructor is considerably higher than for a physical therapist, as much as $150k or more. By contrast, the average physical therapist salary is around $90k.
But even if you became a PT professor tomorrow, it could take several years for your salary to climb that high. The median salary for a PT professor is around $100k, and the starting salary is around $78k.
Moreover, your pay will vary based on your credentials, your experience, and the rank of teaching position you have. Because each rank has its own qualifications and earning potential, let’s look at them one by one, starting from the top.
Types of Physical Therapy Faculty Jobs
First, a word about “tenure.” Unique to academia, tenure is essentially job security; a tenured professor cannot be fired (barring very exceptional circumstances). Some professorships come with tenure right away, while others start on a “tenure track” (and achieve tenure, say, 5 years in). Some positions are downright ineligible for tenure. Although tenure doesn’t “make or break” the job for many physical therapy faculty, it is a benefit to consider as you search for the right job.
Ranks of PT Teaching Jobs
As a PT, you may be unfamiliar with academia’s pecking order, so here’s an oversimplification of the faculty hierarchy:
Professor
A full-time faculty member who regularly lectures, leads research, and publishes findings for the university. This position is usually permanently tenured.
- Salary: from $80k–150k+
Associate Professor
A step down from a full professor, associate professors typically specialize in a particular course or clinical focus. They may automatically qualify for tenure or tenure-track and may be considered for promotion.
- Salary: $60k–$140k+
Assistant Professor
This faculty member often teaches classes for a set period of time under a contract. An assistant professor may achieve tenure and be hired on as an associate professor. Otherwise, once their contract ends they usually leave the institution.
- Salary: $45k–110k
Instructor/Lecturer
There’s far less at stake for an instructor, who simply teaches courses for hire. Instructors are often postdoctoral residents or graduate students.
- Salary: $38k–98k
Most schools also hire adjunct professors or visiting professors, both which are ineligible for tenure and usually have flexible terms of employment.
Whatever your rank, your actual job may involve teaching in the clinic or in the classroom, from specialties such as neurohealth and pediatrics to general classes such as Anatomy and Pathophysiology. Each faculty job opening may specify a particular subject or teaching focus.
PT Faculty Credential Requirements
If you went to PT school, you know how important it was for your program to be accredited by CAPTE, the authority on PT practice and policy. As part of each program’s accreditation, PT faculty must meet certain requirements and qualifications.
CAPTE pays less attention to a professor’s rank as it does a professor’s credentials. In that regard, every accredited PT or PTA program has at least two full-time positions: program director and clinical education coordinator.
Beyond these, the program may include core academic faculty, core clinical faculty, and associated faculty (those who regularly teach certain courses for PTs/PTAs but work primarily in a different department).
You can read all the specifics of these credentials in pages 11–17 of CAPTE’s handbook, but I’ve outlined the minimum requirements below:
Program Director
As head of the PT or PTA program, the director has ultimate authority and responsibility for the coordination of academic coursework and program requirements. However, becoming a Program Director doesn’t mean you’ll automatically achieve a professor rank; some directors only rank as associate professors.
To become a Program Director, you’ll need
- An active, unrestricted PT license
- An academic doctoral degree
- Professor or Associate Professor rank
- At least 6 years’ experience in higher education, with at least 3 years’ experience as a core faculty member
Clinical Education Coordinator
Under supervision of the Program Director, the Clinical Education Coordinator is a full-time faculty member who oversees all aspects of student clinical rotations. The CEC may also teach courses and provide administrative assistance to the Program Director.
To become a Clinical Education Coordinator, you need
- An active, unrestricted PT license
- At least 3 years’ practice as a full-time PT
- At least 2 years’ experience in PT education (clinical or classroom)
Collective Core Faculty
The heart of the PT program, collective faculty provide the bulk of student teaching and mentorship. There are two branches: Core Academic and Core Clinical Faculty.
To become part of the Collective Core Faculty, you’ll need:
- Either an academic doctoral degree, OR
- Clinical specialization
Clinical Education Faculty
These are the teachers you interacted with in your clinical rotations. They may be relatively new PTs who can serve as the students’ role models.
To become part of the Clinical Education Faculty, you’ll need:
- An active PT license
- At least 1 year of full-time clinical experience
Of course, these are only CAPTE’s requirements. Each program may require additional qualifications in terms of education, experience, and previous rank within the institution.
Let’s take a look now at these qualifications, and how you can work your way to becoming a PT postsecondary educator.
PT Faculty Job Qualifications
Explore the descriptions of Physical Therapy Faculty jobs and you’ll find the same basic qualifications across the board:
State Licensure
Obviously, to teach physical therapy, you should be licensed to practice PT in the state in which you teach. Knowledge of that state’s jurisprudence and licensure requirements is also fairly standard.
DPT Degree
To teach PTs, you’ll need a terminal degree (a DPT) or be on your way to earning one. If you teach in a PTA program, however, or as an adjunct professor, a BS or MS in Physical Therapy may be sufficient.
Relevant Experience
As it goes for most jobs, prior experience is preferred. Make sure you have commensurate experience in the clinic and/or in the classroom. If you’re applying for a teaching position, you should have teaching experience; if a clinical position, then substantial clinical hours.
Optional: Previous Publication
If the position for which you apply is of a senior rank or at a particularly research-focused institution, you may need to show original research. You should also check whether your research topics align with the focus of the program (e.g., orthopaedics or sports), although that might not be critical to your candidacy.
Optional: An Academic Terminal Degree
Besides your DPT, you may need an additional terminal degree to qualify for a PT professorship, especially as a Core Academic Faculty member. Examples of academic terminal degrees include a PhD, EdD, DSc (ScD),or DHSc. More on those later.
How to Become a PT Professor
First, you have some decisions to make. Specialist certification and advanced degrees are expensive and time-consuming. Depending on your role, you may end up spending more time at a desk than you’re used to. So before you take the plunge into academia, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I want to teach full-time or part-time? Am I looking for tenure or a particular pay scale?
- Do I want to continue clinical work? Or am I only interested in classroom teaching and research?
- Do I have the qualifications for my desired position? And if not, will it pay off to obtain those qualifications?
Once you’ve determined your career goals, you’ll have a better idea of where to start.
Next Steps: Boost your Qualifications
If you’re missing any of the qualifications from the above list (licensure, DPT degree, and experience), then your next step is to correct those. Moving forward, you can beef up your qualifications with the following opportunities:
Earn APTA Specialist Certification
Governed by ABPTS (the American Board for Physical Therapy Specialization), specialist certification will enhance your qualifications for teaching or leading clinicals in particular specialties. Your employer may require ABPTS certification as a condition of hire.
Specialties include the following:
- Acute Care
- Cardiovascular and pulmonary
- Clinical electrophysiology
- Oncology
- Women’s health
- Wound management
- Geriatrics
- Neurology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics
- Sports
To apply for certification, you’ll need to meet certain prerequisites, such as a number of contact hours or completed projects. The application deadlines for certification occur each July, and exams take place in the spring.
Complete a Residency
Unlike our MD colleagues, DPTs are not required to complete a residency or fellowship to begin our practice. However, a residency may enhance your resume in the eyes of an academic employer. Right now there are 347 residency programs and 46 fellowship programs recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education. These programs offer one-on-one mentoring, intensive coursework and hands-on experience, and many lead to a clinical specialist certification.
Complete APTA’s Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program
To get a leg up on your teaching skills, consider enrolling in APTA’s Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program. There are two main courses, Level 1 and Level 2, as well as refresher “booster” courses. Administered in-person or online, these courses will help you gain skills in leading a classroom, curating course materials, writing lectures, and guiding student progress.
You may already know that a specialist certification can qualify as continuing competency and contribute to your license renewal. In the same way, APTA’s CCIP counts as CEU credit, as shown in the table below:
| CCIP Course | CEU value | Cost (APTA member) | Cost (non-member) |
| Level 1 | 1.6 | $100 | $200 |
| Level 2 | 1.7 | $100 | $225 |
| Booster | 0.2 | $49 | $65 |
Earn an Additional Terminal Degree
If you want to work as a senior instructor or core academic faculty member, odds are you’ll need another doctorate besides your DPT. There are five types of relevant doctoral degrees:
- PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) in Physical Therapy: for primarily researching PT practice and education.
- EdD (Doctor of Education): usually for educators, but relevant when paired with a DPT.
- DSc/ScD) (Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy): for studying advanced specialist training and research.
- DHSc (Doctor of Healthcare Science): for terminal training in the allied health professions.
If you’re looking for a PhD or DSc program, CAPTE has accredited 55 schools across 29 states, Canada, and the District of Columbia. Check this directory for the program nearest you.
If you already have an academic terminal degree and want to continue your education, check out these 13 postdoctoral programs. A postdoc usually entails 2-3 years of full-time research and teaching opportunities, both which could help you get into a higher-level teaching position later on.
No matter your qualifications, experience, or credential alphabet soup, landing a job in academia right out of school isn’t easy. If you’re brand new to PT education, then start small. With the right experience and opportune connections, you can build your way into the PT faculty job of your dreams.
Tips for Getting a PT Faculty Job
Practice your teaching skills.
Most prospective professors undergo a teaching trial-run as part of their interview process. In the meantime, gain confidence in your teaching abilities by using platforms such as YouTube. You could also share your specialist knowledge on your own blog spot or over a podcast. (This will also help confirm whether teaching is a good fit for you!)
Get your foot in the door.
If no full-time position is available at your program of choice, consider a lab assistant role. You’ll work with students in the lab and get to know other faculty. Of course, you’ll need to keep working in a clinic somewhere for your day job, but it might be a good way to establish yourself as a valuable member of the team and gain an entry point into the program.
Teach wherever you can.
DPT programs are not the sole setting for physical therapy education. As you work your way towards physical therapy faculty jobs, consider being a guest lecturer or teaching at a community college. You could also teach a continuing education course, in person or online through a platform such as MedBridge.
Finally, if you only have a DPT, you should consider teaching at a PTA program, either part-time or full-time. PTA curricula overlap with general physical therapy education, so as a DPT you’re already qualified to lead PTAs.
Physical Therapy Faculty Jobs: Bottom line
A job in academia is a great way to further your career, boost your salary, and avoid physical therapist burnout (especially if your clinic is driving you up a wall). But make sure you know:
- What you want (setting, rank, specialty)
- Where to search (school site, job board, network)
- Where you stand (qualifications, credentials, experience)
If you continue your practice, do your research, and do your best, I know you’ll be successful—wherever your career takes you!
