CAREERS · PHYSICAL THERAPY
Physical Therapist
Also called PT, or physiotherapist. The degree behind the title is the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT).
A physical therapist is a licensed, doctorally trained professional who examines how injury, illness, surgery, pain, or aging has changed the way a person moves, then builds and runs a plan of care to restore movement and manage pain.
What the job is
Day to day
- Reviews the patient’s medical history and any referral or notes from doctors, surgeons, or other health care workers. [1]
- Diagnoses the patient’s functions and movements, which means watching the person stand and walk and listening to what hurts and what they can no longer do. [1]
- Tests and measures strength, motor function, sensory perception, and functional capacity, and records the data. [2]
- Writes an individualized plan of care, which is a written treatment plan with measurable goals and the outcomes the patient should expect. [1] [2]
- Treats with therapeutic exercise, stretching, hands-on (manual) therapy, and the physical agents California’s definition names, which are heat, light, water, electricity, sound, and massage. [3] [1]
- Re-measures progress, changes the plan when it is not working, and teaches the patient and the family the home program so the gains hold outside the clinic. [1] [2]
Where they work
Outpatient therapy clinics most of all, then hospitals, home health (treating people in their own homes), and nursing and residential care facilities; a small share own their own practice. Those shares describe the national occupation, not California licensees. [1]
Who they work with
People of all ages, one at a time, who have functional problems from back and neck injuries, sprains, strains, fractures, arthritis, stroke, and work or sports injuries; the patient’s family, who learn the home program; physicians and surgeons who refer patients or approve the plan of care; and the physical therapist assistants (a separately licensed role) and physical therapy aides (unlicensed) whom the therapist supervises. [3] [1] [4]
The credential
Credential
Physical Therapist (PT) license, California, entered through the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) [3] [5] [1]
Further credentials build on the PT license, from the board’s own certificates for specialized electromyography procedures to clinical residencies and board certification in a clinical specialty through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. [1] [2] [6]
Level
Doctoral. The entry degree is the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), the degree conferred by every accredited program in California, and the degree the federal Occupational Outlook Handbook lists as the typical entry-level education. [5] [1]
Regulator
Physical Therapy Board of California, within the California Department of Consumer Affairs. [4]
Licensed in California
Yes. Practicing physical therapy in California, or holding yourself out as a physical therapist, requires a valid physical therapist license issued by the board. [3] [4]
What it takes to enter
A bachelor’s degree in any major plus prerequisite courses in anatomy, physiology, biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, and statistics, then admission to a CAPTE-accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy program. CAPTE is the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, the accreditor for this field. [1] [7]
- Step 1. A bachelor’s degree, with the prerequisites. Any major, plus the science and statistics courses the programs require. [1] [7]
- Step 2. A CAPTE-accredited DPT program. The Doctor of Physical Therapy, about three years. [5] [1] [8]
- Step 3. Two examinations. The National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) and the California Jurisprudence Assessment Module (CAL-JAM), the state’s law assessment. [9]
- Result. Physical Therapist (PT). A California license from the Physical Therapy Board of California. [3] [4]
Years from high school
About 7 years: a bachelor’s degree, usually at least four years of full-time study, plus a DPT program of about three years, then the National Physical Therapy Examination and the California Jurisprudence Assessment Module. [1] [10] [8] [9]
The honest limit
A physical therapist does not diagnose disease, does not prescribe medication, and does not practice medicine or surgery. A California physical therapist does evaluate and treat, does diagnose a patient’s movement and function, and does start treatment without a physician’s referral, subject to a limit of 45 calendar days or 12 visits after which a physician or podiatrist must examine the patient and sign the plan of care. When treating a patient who came without a referral, the therapist must refer that patient to a physician (or a dentist, podiatrist, or chiropractor) whenever signs point beyond physical therapy or the patient is not measurably improving. [3] [1]
What it pays in California
Median annual pay
$124,190 [11]
BLS OEWS, California, May 2025
Median hourly pay
$59.71 [11]
BLS OEWS, California, May 2025
Employed in California
26,580 [11]
BLS OEWS, California, May 2025
What these figures describe. The federal occupation behind them is Physical Therapists. [11] That is exactly this job. Median means half of California’s physical therapists earn more than the figure and half earn less.
Programs
Three programs, one per reason: the nearest, one well-regarded, and one lowest-cost route. CAPTE is the accreditor for this field, and every status below is taken from its own directory, read on the date at the bottom of this page. Imperial County has no accredited physical therapist program, so every program below means moving or a long drive. [5]
Nearest
San Diego State University, San Diego
Public. Doctor of Physical Therapy. CAPTE status Accreditation, Accreditation Expires 6/30/2031, Next Visit Fall 2030. About 1 hour 40 minutes and 105 miles by car from Southwest High School in El Centro via Interstate 8. The next nearest, in San Marcos, is about 2 hours 10 minutes and 135 miles. [5] [8] [12]
Recognized
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Private. Doctor of Physical Therapy. Named for its documented accreditation record: CAPTE status Accreditation, initial accreditation June 1946, Accreditation Expires 6/30/2029, Next Visit Fall 2028. [5] [13]
Affordable
California State University, Fresno
Public. Doctor of Physical Therapy. CAPTE status Accreditation, Accreditation Expires 6/30/2027, Next Visit Fall 2026. Total cost of the program $85,350 for a California resident on the program’s calendar year 2026 fact sheet. Registrar rate for Fall 2026: $10,240.00 tuition plus $898.50 campus fees, $11,138.50 per semester. [5] [14] [15]
What it costs
Two real anchors, a low end and a high end, for the DPT program only. The bachelor’s degree that comes before it is a separate cost, and living costs are not included. The two anchors carry different calendar-year stamps.
Low end
$85,350 [15]
California State University, Fresno: total cost of the program for a California resident, on the program’s own financial fact sheet for calendar year 2026 (January 1 to December 31, 2026). The lowest published total among the California programs checked.
High end
$232,615 [16]
University of Southern California, residential pathway: total cost of the program on the program’s own financial fact sheet for calendar year 2025 (January 1 to December 31, 2025). The highest published total among the California programs checked.
About these figures
These figures come from the schools we were able to research using the sources available to us, on the date shown. Not every school publishes its full cost, and we have not searched every program in the country. Your actual cost could be lower or higher. Use these as a starting point, then check with the school directly.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physical Therapists, 2025 data.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physical-therapists.htm - California Employment Development Department, Occupation Profile, Physical Therapists, California: top tasks, and licenses issued by the Physical Therapy Board of California (Physical Therapist, Kinesiological Electromyography certificate, Electroneuromyography certificate).
https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/cgi/databrowsing/occExplorerQSDetails.asp?menuChoice=occExplorer&geogArea=0601000000&soccode=291123&search=Explore+Occupation - Physical Therapy Board of California, California Laws and Regulations Related to the Practice of Physical Therapy, January 2025 edition. Read for Business and Professions Code sections 2620, 2620.1, 2620.3, 2621, 2622, 2630, 2650 and 2651. Statute, cited by its current published version from the board’s own law book.
https://www.ptbc.ca.gov/publications/law_reference_guide.pdf - Physical Therapy Board of California, About Us.
https://www.ptbc.ca.gov/about_us/index.shtml - Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, Accredited PT and PTA Programs Directory, PT Programs, California, read September 2, 2026.
https://aptaapps.apta.org/accreditedschoolsdirectory/captedirectory.aspx - American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, APTA Specialist Certification.
https://specialization.apta.org/ - California State University, Fresno, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Application Requirements, Fall 2027 cycle.
https://chhs.fresnostate.edu/physical-therapy/prospective-students/app-requirements.html - San Diego State University, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Tuition and Student Financial Facts (program length 132 weeks, about 3 years).
https://physicaltherapy.sdsu.edu/prospective/tuition - Physical Therapy Board of California, New Graduate Examination Information (NPTE and CAL-JAM).
https://www.ptbc.ca.gov/applicants/new_grad/exam.shtml - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Glossary: bachelor’s degree, usually at least 4 years of full-time study beyond high school; doctoral or professional degree, usually at least 3 years beyond a bachelor’s degree.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/about/glossary.htm - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Query System, May 2025, California, Statewide, Cross-Industry, Physical Therapists, all data types, extracted September 2, 2026.
https://data.bls.gov/oes/ - Google Maps driving directions, Southwest High School, El Centro, to San Diego State University, and to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, San Marcos, usual traffic, checked September 2, 2026.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Southwest+High+School,+Imperial+Valley,+CA/San+Diego+State+University,+San+Diego,+CA/ - University of Southern California, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program page.
https://pt.usc.edu/programs/doctor-of-physical-therapy-dpt/ - California State University, Fresno, Tuition and Fees, Doctorate of Physical Therapy, Fall 2026 table.
https://adminfinance.fresnostate.edu/accountingservices/students/tuitionfees.html - California State University, Fresno, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Financial Fact Sheet 2026, linked from the department page at chhs.fresnostate.edu/physical-therapy/index.html.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AmTMXponXvbgoO_jLlMDDtxkKgkGuTEt/view - University of Southern California, DPT Student Financial Fact Sheet, Residential Pathway, calendar year 2025.
https://pt.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025-dpt-student-financial-fact-sheet-residential-pathway.pdf
Searched on September 2, 2026. Published on September 3, 2026. We review this page once a year and update the figures. If you are reading it well after the published date, check with the school and the licensing board directly.
Your next step
You do not have to work this out alone. Sembrando Flores can help you look for shadowing hours, find opportunities near you, and connect you with someone already working in the field. Distance is real, and it is not the end of the conversation. Ask us at sembrandoflores.org/request-support