Students interested in applying to LaGuardia Community College should contact the Admissions Office. New students selecting PTA as their major are considered to be in the pre-clinical phase.
Progression to the technical phase of the program is competitive and is by acceptance into candidacy. Students must apply for candidacy and be accepted in order to enter the technical phase. Successful candidates are scheduled to begin the technical phase in Session II of the following semester (six months after notification of acceptance into the technical phase) Candidates will forfeit their seat in the program if they are unable to begin as scheduled.
Pre-Clinical Phase
The pre-clinical phase of the PTA program consists of all required general education and elective courses, including Key Courses. Pre-clinical students are considered candidates for the technical phase.
Students must first complete, or be in the process of completing, the four key courses with a minimum GPA of 2.50 in the semester they are applying for candidacy. In addition to the GPA requirement, a pre-program entrance exam called the TEAS (Test of Academic Skills) administered by Assessment Technologies Inc. (ATI) is included in the determination of a student’s acceptance into the technical phase of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program.
Eligible students are then ranked according to a scoring system of grades in Key Courses and any pre-clinical courses taken up to the end of the candidacy semester. Learn more about the scoring system and additional candidacy requirements in the PTA Admission Handbook.
All Pre-Clinical courses must be completed prior to the start of the first Clinical course.
Physical Therapist Assistant Program Proof of Residency Requirement
Beginning the fall 2016 semester all students applying for candidacy in the LaGuardia Community College Physical Therapist Assistant Program must provide documentation in one of the following categories, in addition to meeting the program's candidacy requirements:
- U. S. Citizenship
- Permanent Residency
- International Student with F1 Status
- Deferred Action Status by the U. S. Government Granted Asylum, Refugee Status, Temporary Protected Status, Withholding of Removal
Students who are interested in pursuing a health career and are unable to provide documentation in one of the categories listed above are urged to contact the Office of International Student Services located in Room M166 or call (718) 482-5143 to schedule an appointment. In addition, the City University of New York provides free counseling and assistance to all CUNY students through the CUNY Citizenship and Immigration Project. Further information can be located at the following CUNY website: http://web.cuny.edu/about/citizenship.html.