On Thursday, May 30, 2024, 108 new students joined the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Class of 2026 at the University of Colorado. 73 of those students will be studying at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in the residential pathway, and 35 of those students are joining the inaugural hybrid pathway cohort in partnership with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). Dan Malone, PT, PhD, CCS, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, will serve as director of the hybrid pathway, and several physical therapy faculty members will have dual teaching roles for both pathways. Additionally, there have been new faculty hires at both CU Anschutz and UCCS.

The establishment of a hybrid DPT pathway has been a collaborative effort over the course of several years, involving leadership, faculty, and staff from both campuses. On November 23, 2022, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) approved the Application for Approval of Substantive Change, allowing the University of Colorado to begin admitting students for this new academic pathway. "The hybrid pathway has truly been a collaborative effort involving the time, talent and energy of many people. I don’t think it would be fair or accurate to describe my specific involvement because teamwork and collaboration really defined the “process”.  The old saying that, “many hands make lighter work,” certainly encapsulates the process. The creation of a new PT hybrid pathway didn’t just happen. The planning and implementation have been years in the making, (preceding the COVID-19 pandemic), and involved determining a needs analysis to provide clarity on the ever-changing health care landscape with an eye towards geography, work force and population trends nationally, as well as regionally," says Dr. Malone.

Utilizing resources and talent from both CU Anschutz and UCCS, the universities plan to provide a unified academic curriculum for students pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. Students in the DPT hybrid pathway at UCCS will spend the same amount of time in clinical rotations and have the same graduation requirements as the residential DPT pathway students at CU Anschutz. Students in the UCCS hybrid DPT pathway will have the option to live in Colorado Springs throughout their DPT education and commute to the William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center for approximately 7-14 days of intensive lab immersion within each semester or learning block. The rest of the course content occurs online in synchronous or asynchronous format, allowing the students to reside in their local communities.

For the residential pathway cohort, new student orientation began on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, culminating to the White Coat and Oath Ceremony on Thursday, May 30, 2024. For the first time ever, CU DPT students were given the opportunity to purchase a white coat that they received at the ceremony in addition to their PT toolkits. Students heard remarks from leadership of the department and program, and from the dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. John J. Reilly, Jr., his final remarks to the CU Physical Therapy Program as he concludes his tenure as dean before retirement. Dr. Reilly received the Mary S. Lawrence Award for his unwavering support of the Physical Therapy Program during his last nine years as dean of the School of Medicine. Following the recitation of the oath, students and their families enjoyed a reception outside the auditorium in the Education 2 South building.

Students in the hybrid pathway cohort began online new student orientation on Thursday, May 30, continuing through Friday, May 31. A White Coat and Oath Ceremony will be hosted for students in the hybrid pathway on the UCCS campus in July, and more details will be available in the coming weeks. Classes begin for students in both pathways on June 3, 2024.

Dean of the CU School of Medicine John J. Reilly, Jr., MD receiving the Mary S. Lawrence Award.

Students in the residential pathway wearing their white coats.

Reception in the Education 2 South Building after the White Coat and Oath Ceremony.

The hybrid DPT cohort on their first day of virtual orientation.