Academics, Campus Wide, College of Health Sciences

Inaugural DPT graduates chart the course at CSU

By Jenna Johnson | December 18, 2024

Forty-five students graduated on Saturday after completing the 2.5-year DPT program at Charleston Southern. Photo by Dan Steffy

Charleston Southern University graduated its inaugural Doctor of Physical Therapy class on Saturday, December 14, 2024. Forty-five students were commissioned after successfully completing the 2.5-year intensive medical program at CSU. This is the second doctoral program at Charleston Southern, the fourth DPT program in South Carolina, and the only university in the state to offer a co-enrollment DPT and MBA degree program opportunity.

Dr. Janet Tankersley, chair of the DPT program, said CSU’s most recent graduates were developed, trained, and mentored in a Christian environment, and “demonstrate compassionate, evidence-based clinical care while serving their community and profession with humility.”

“They are pioneers,” she added. “They have been faithful, diligent, and determined from the beginning to help us build a program of excellence that reflects God’s guidance.”

The inaugural Doctor of Physical Therapy class joins their faculty members outside after the ceremony. Photo by Dan Steffy

By the numbers
CSU’s newest doctors have charted the course and are ready for the real world with 85% job placement immediately after graduation. The remaining 15% are choosing to wait to apply for jobs post licensing exam in January.

The fall 2024 graduating class includes four undergrad CSU alumni, and four who are working on their MBA at CSU to complete by spring and summer 2025. Since the program’s inception, 13 of the 45 within the inaugural class were authors with DPT faculty on 29 peer-reviewed abstracts presented at national and international conferences as well as three published peer-reviewed manuscripts.

In addition to scholarship and research, the DPT program is community-service driven, with graduates of the program completing at least 10 major projects across the South Carolina Lowcountry and around the globe in their 2.5 years at CSU.

Accreditation
Charleston Southern’s DPT program also was recently granted their five-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). This is the only accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit entry-level physical therapist and physical therapist assistant education programs.