Updated November 23, 2022
Doctorate in Physiotherapy is a 3-year PhD program that offers students research, find new concepts and knowledge, disseminate research findings, and many more. The students also enhance their learning in various therapeutic techniques and procedures to reduce movement-related pain, promote optimal functional ability, prevent physical dysfunction, and improve the lives of the patients.
The research program aims to train candidates to evolve into expert physiotherapists to work to upgrade clinical skills and improve the quality of life of patients suffering from various challenges. The course also equips the participants with personal and group leadership skills at institutional, professional, national, and global levels.
The interested students can pursue the course only after qualifying the eligibility criteria set by the respective entrance authorities. Some of the specific eligibility criteria, including a master’s degree from a recognized board, must be inquisitive, strong-decision makers, problem-solvers, to name a few.
The candidates will only be eligible for admission to the course on qualifying specific eligibility criteria. But, to get entry into a renowned university/college, it is a must to clear the entrance exam. Under the course, the students are taught various core disciplines, including Fundamentals of Physiotherapy, Spectral Analysis of medicines and Design, Fundamentals of Research, to name a few.
The average fees charged by several institutes for Ph.D. in Physiotherapy course ranges from Rs 5k- 25Lakhs per annum. The doctorate graduate can avail of various job opportunities and get impressive salary packages.
Doctorate in Physiotherapy Course Details
Doctorate in Physical Therapy is a doctorate course that prepares students in the profession of physical therapy. It is a 3-year programme in the healthcare field. The universities provide admission to the students who are capable of conducting research to improve the quality of life of people through whole-person care and serve as patient/client advocates.
More so, they also must be capable of serving as educators in undergraduate and post-graduate physiotherapy programmes. To be precise, doctorate students should possess skills to design and conduct novel, original research, collect data, effectively disseminate research findings, to mention a few. The meritorious minds interested in the doctorate in physiotherapy will have to clear the entrance exam.
In India, there are several schemes that grant financial support to the students to do their PhD in their respective fields. One of them is NET-JRF, a scheme that grants financial assistance to deserving students to undertake advanced studies and research.
However, obtaining the fellowship under this scheme for pursuing a Doctorate in Physiotherapy is an uphill task because UGC does not conduct NET exams in Physical therapy. But, it provides fellowship to the candidates if they clear the exams in any allied subjects, including Yoga, Physical Education, and community medicine. However, the candidates can do a Doctorate in Physiotherapy on qualifying the various entrance test conducted by colleges/universities.
The students study numerous important subjects including, Fundamentals of Physiotherapy, Spectral Analysis of medicines and Design, Fundamentals of Research, to name a few during their course. The students on graduating equip themselves with personal and group leadership skills at institutional, professional, national, and global levels. They also land into prestigious job profiles.
Eligibility for Doctorate in Physiotherapy
A Doctorate in Physiotherapy is the highest degree of education in the country. The students who wish to pursue a Doctorate course must be filled with the enthusiasm of quest and inquisitive. It is so because the course is all about research, collecting data, excogitate conclusions, disseminating research findings, and many more.
It is most suitable for students who have completed a Master’s degree in physiotherapy and are committed to conducting research in lifestyle health and wellness and providing whole-person care. So, to get admission to Doctorate in Physiotherapy, the students must meet the standards set by the universities. It is a 3-5 years post-baccalaureate program that requires some specific eligibility criteria from the students. Among them are-
(a) The aspirants must have completed their master’s degree in physiotherapy or in the final master’s degree in physiotherapy.
(b) If the students have obtained their master’s degree in physiotherapy, they must have secured at least 45% to 50% aggregate marks from a recognized university.
(c) The students need to apply in the entrance exams and qualify to be eligible to get admission in the Doctorate in Physiotherapy.
Note- Students are requested to visit the respective universities’ websites to get an idea about the entrance examination and their eligibility criteria.
Admission Process for the Doctorate in Physiotherapy
It is a thesis-based programme that facilitates meritorious minds to research the healthcare and clinical field. You might know the NET-JRF scheme that provides a scholarship for pursuing Ph.D. degrees. The scheme has provided financial assistance to young students to curtail the constraints in pursuing higher education degrees and research.
So, to obtain fellowship, the students are required to clear the NET-JRF exam with the allied subjects of physiotherapy like Physical education, yoga, and Community Medicine. If candidates specifically wish to pursue a Doctorate in Physiotherapy from a top-notch college/university, they must clear the respective college/university entrance exam.
Also, the meritorious candidates have to meet the standard set by the college/university and obtain a good rank in the entrance exam. The meritorious graduates who are applying for a Doctorate in Physiotherapy must have completed their master’s degree or in the final year from a reputed university/college.
(a) The candidates are required to fill the admission form either online or offline of the respective colleges and universities.
(b) They must properly put the details and upload the requisite documents while filling the admission form.
(c) The candidates need to be sure that they qualify in the Merit list and entrance examinations as directed by the eligibility criteria with the minimum required marks per the particular evaluation process laid by colleges or universities.
Entrance Exams for PhD in Physiotherapy
There are very few colleges/universities that provide seats in the Doctorate in Physiotherapy program only through the marks secured in the entrance examination. It is the highest physiotherapy degree for young students that help them to grab prestigious job opportunities.
The reputed colleges/universities will provide admission in the doctorate programme only after fulfilling the basic eligibility criteria and qualifying in the entrance exams. Some of the popular entrance examinations conducted by universities/colleges for Ph.D. program is written below:
DUET 2022: Delhi University Entrance Test is an entrance exam that provides admission to deserving candidates for pursuing PhDs or Masters. This examination is for all the students who wish to pursue higher education from Delhi university-affiliated colleges. It is a 2hours online entrance exam that is conducted all over India.
BHU-RET 2022: Banaras Hindu University Research Entrance Test (BHU-RET) is an offline examination that is held for the duration of 2.30 hours for doctorate and master’s programme. This examination is in the form of Multiple Choice Questions, and the aspirants can sit for this exam once a year.
IPU CET 2022: Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University conducted the IPU CET examination every year for undergraduate, post-graduate, and PhD programmes. It is a university-based exam, and the duration of this examination is 150 minutes.
CU-ET 2022: Christ University Entrance Test (CU-ET) is a computer-based entrance examination conducted over the various centre in the country. The duration of this entrance test is 120 minutes, and the format is Multiple Choice Questions.
CUCET 2022: The Central University Common Entrance Test of Odisha is one of the popular examinations conducted for admission to undergraduate, post-graduate, and Research Programmes. The meritorious minds can apply in this entrance exam by qualifying the specific qualifications required by the university.
Jamia Millia Islamia Entrance Exam: The candidates who wish to pursue PhD in Physiotherapy programmes from Jamia Milia Islamia university have to clear the university’s entrance. It is an offline mode examination and the time allotted for the examination is 1 hour and 45 minutes.
NPAT 2022: The students can also get admission to the research programs through the NPAT entrance test. It is a computer-based entrance examination for 120 minutes. Also, the entrance exams format is multiple-choice questions.
AMU Entrance Exam: Aligarh Muslim University also conducts entrance exams to provide admission to UG, PG, and Research Programmes. The mode of this entrance exam is computer-based, and the duration of this entrance examination is for 120 minutes.
Doctor of Physiotherapy Syllabus
The syllabus of Doctorate in Physiotherapy generally differs between colleges. The first two years of Ph.D. are based on knowledge from college, while the other one year is spent working for an organization or conducting research along with an academic thesis. The curriculum for Doctorate Physiotherapy is outlined in the table below:
| Semester- 01 | Semester- 02 |
| Basics of Biostatics | Main Structure and analysis of Central value |
| Basic of Regression Analysis | Basics of Probability |
| Stastical Techniques for dispersion | Ethics in Research |
| Fundamentals of Physiotherapy | Fundamentals of Research |
| Testings | Advanced Testings |
| Spectral Analysis of medicines and Design | Fundamental of Drug Sampling |
Jobs after Doctorate in Physiotherapy
Doctorate in Physiotherapy is a theses-based program that enables the students to do research, collects data, finds new concepts, conduct research for the well-being of the patients, many more. It is the highest degree an individual can obtain in education.
The doctorate will work to supply the important aspects of knowledge in their respective field. Thereby, the degree holder of a doctorate in physiotherapy works to enhance the clinical skills and training of the current healthcare environment. It means it produces professional physiotherapists who can work in complex environments for the patients/clients.
On obtaining a doctorate, the students will be eligible for several prestigious job profiles. Some of the job opportunities that are available after completing the lucrative degree include therapists, Educators at UG, PG programmes, to name a few.
The research program also offers considerable salary packages to the students. They will land a career in numerous venues, including Colleges & Universities, Military Healthcare, Hospital Administration, Services content Writing (medical), and many more.
For the graduates, career as a private practitioner is already open. Moreover, the candidates on clearing the license examination of a particular country will hold higher opportunities in the healthcare industry. Following are some popular job profiles that you can get after obtaining a Doctorate in Physiotherapy:
(a) Physiotherapist
(b) Lecturer
(c) Researcher
(d) Osteopath
(e) Consultant
Doctorate of Physiotherapy Salary
The doctorate in Physiotherapy program prepares the students to be physiotherapy leaders who integrate advances in research, practice, and technology to provide patient-centered care. So, after completing the PhD in Physiotherapy, the graduates will get handsome salary packages with other perks. It is a highly-skilled program in India that produces competent individuals to serve as client advocates and provide whole-person care.
More so, the students develop new knowledge, tools, concepts, or fresh interpretations of existing theories and knowledge during the program. It has become one of the popular programs in India. Physiotherapy in the last two decades has taken a quantum leap both in terms of quantity as well as higher academic mobility. The various colleges/universities now offer Ph.D. in Physiotherapy to meritorious minds to cope with the demand.
After completing the degree, the candidates can find numerous job roles, including therapist, educators of lateral entry, post-graduate program, to name a few. The candidates can earn atleast Rs. 5.50 lakh at the beginning of the service. When the gain more experience and become skilled, the graduates will earn upto INR 10Lakh. So, it can be said that it is a significant and impressive program in the research areas. Apart from the exciting salary provided to the doctorate holder, they are also allowed to avail themselves of other perks.
Colleges for Doctor of Physiotherapy in India
(a) Garden City University, Bangalore
(b) JMI New Delhi – Jamia Millia Islamia
(c) Sancheti Healthcare Academy, Pune
(d) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam College of Physiotherapy, Loni
(e) Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur
(f) Dr MV Shetty College of Physiotherapy, Mangalore
(g) National Institute of Pharmaceutical and Research, Gujarat
(h) Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurgaon
(i) Birla Institute of Technology and Science, (BITS Pilani), Pilani
(j) All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mumbai