Foreign-Trained Applicants

List of Approved Credentialing Entities     FOREIGN-TRAINED FAQS

Foreign-trained applicants must submit the following items IN ADDITION TO the general requirements for licensure by exam or licensure by endorsement.

Required Items

1. Educational Credentials Evaluation – You must have your entry-level physical therapy education evaluated by a board-approved credentialing agency. The credentialer will report directly to the Board whether your education is substantially equivalent to that of a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)-accredited physical therapy program. The Board will not accept a copy of the evaluation submitted by the applicant.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               If your education is lacking evidence of required  coursework, you will need to remediate the deficiencies before your education can be deemed substantially equivalent.                                                                                                                                                Applicants by examination must be evaluated using the most current version of the Coursework Tool (CWT). Applicants by endorsement must be evaluated using the version of the CWT appropriate to the year the applicant graduated from the foreign physical therapy program or a more current version.

    

   EXCEPTION:  A degree from a foreign CAPTE-accredited physical therapy program exempts you from the educational credentials evaluation requirement. However, applicants from CAPTE-accredited programs must have a transcript and a Letter of Completion sent by the school directly to the Board.

   
   NOTE:  Many U.S. Masters and DPT programs are not entry-level programs.  Only graduation from an accredited entry-level physical therapy program eliminates your foreign-trained status.  Check with the school to determine whether the program is entry-level and CAPTE-accredited.

2. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) – Foreign-trained applicants by examination must achieve  the following minimum scores accepted by the Board on the TOEFL administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).  

Internet-based (ibt): Writing 22; Speaking 24; Reading 22; Listening 21.

The Board will accept more than one score report and will consider MyBest score if it took more than one attempt to pass all parts of the TOEFL.  

     The Board does not accept a VisaScreen Certificate as proof of passing the TOEFL             test and does not accept other English proficiency tests.

     Foreign-trained applicants by endorsement are not required to meet the TOEFL                   requirement.

THERE ARE 3 EXCEPTIONS TO THE TOEFL REQUIREMENT:

1. You earned your entry-level physical therapy degree in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, or you hold a degree from a foreign CAPTE-accredited program.
   
   
2. You hold a current license in physical therapy in a country listed in #1 above and have been licensed and practicing in that country for at least 5 years prior to application.  (Documentation required: verification of licensure and proof of active practice)
   
   
3. You submit satisfactory proof that you are a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S. or a current H1-B visa holder, and                             
                                                                                                                                                        a. have attended 4 or more years of secondary (high school) or post-secondary                      (college/university) education in the U.S., or 
                                                                                                                                                        b. have completed a post-professional physical therapy degree in English from a                     country listed in #1.
   
   

Contact ETS at 609-771-7100 (www.ets.org) to sign up for the ibt TOEFL.  When you register for the exam, you will need to enter 9357 as the Board’s Institutional Code.