Physical Therapist
To be eligible for a license to practice, you must have a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree in physical therapy from a CAPTE accredited program. You must be planning to take the National Physical Therapy Exam, or have already taken the exam and successfully passed.
Foreign Trained Physical Therapist
West Virginia does not consider licensure for anyone from a foreign country who alleges to have the equivalent of a PTA degree. It is not possible for a foreign-educated person who does not prove equivalency towards a PT degree to then qualify as a PTA. Only applicants who believe that they have the equivalent of a PT degree should apply.
If you have a BS degree from a foreign country and then graduate from a US PT program, the degree you are working towards or have received must be "Entry-Level Masters" and NOT "Advanced". The advanced PT masters degree is not accredited and not
recognized by any state PT board in the United States.
Please be advised that effective June 7, 2010 all sections of the TOEFL must have passing scores on one test, and multiple tests cannot be combined. You may be exempt from this requirement if you have been awarded a bachelor’s degree or higher from the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada (except Quebec). If this exemption applies, your
school must submit an official transcript showing that the degree was awarded and the date of conferral.
Physical Therapist Assistant
To be eligible for a license to practice, you must have a Physical Therapist Assistant Associate's degree from a CAPTE accredited program. You must be planning to take the National Physical Therapy Assistant Exam, or have already taken the exam and successfully passed.
Verification of graduation from a CAPTE accredited school is required.
If you received a MASTER'S, the transcript must state the degree received as a Master's in Physical Therapy.
If you received a BACHELOR'S or DOCTORATE, the transcript must state the degree received as a Bachelor's OR Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
If you received an ASSOCIATE'S, the transcript must state the degree received as an associate's degree for Physical Therapist Assistant.
Testing Prior to Graduation:
WVBOPT allows qualified applicants to take the NPTE within 90 days of graduation.