Alums: is program length an indication of intensity?

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For any alums out there:
is there any correlation between the program length and the program intensity?
i.e. would a 2 year dpt program be more intense/fast-paced than a 3 year dpt program?

I'm not an alum, but I just finished my first year of PT school and my program is a 2.5 year program instead of 3 and I don't think that it's anymore intense than other programs but we definitely don't get any breaks. We got 3 days off for Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas and then we just finished finals and we get a week off this coming week. This will be the first break I've had since January 2nd. So, intensity is probably the same, but I'd assume that other schools get longer breaks. Maybe some others can chime in!

Possibly, but it also may indicate a more minimal clinical education. Because clinical education is so far fom being standardized, it an have a huge impact on the intensity of the program. You really have to look at each school. How many simultaneous credits and in how many weeks? Are you in clinic and in class simultaneously? Do you get breaks between semesters and how long are they? You will find a lot of variation but you can't generalize by total length.

For example, at Pitt's 3 year program you complete ALL coursework and 4 clinical placements by the end of the 2nd year. Then you spend another 12 months in only clinic. Another program could have an identical first and second year with the same intensity but then end in much less than 3 years.

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

For example, at Pitt's 3 year program you complete ALL coursework and 4 clinical placements by the end of the 2nd year. Then you spend another 12 months in only clinic.

Franklin Pierce is the same except the 3rd year is 9 months of fulltime clinicals. FPU has a three month break between year 1 and 2 and between year 2 and 3.

Originally Posted by markelmarcel

I'm not an alum, but I just finished my first year of PT school and my program is a 2.5 year program instead of 3 and I don't think that it's anymore intense than other programs but we definitely don't get any breaks. We got 3 days off for Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas and then we just finished finals and we get a week off this coming week. This will be the first break I've had since January 2nd. So, intensity is probably the same, but I'd assume that other schools get longer breaks. Maybe some others can chime in!

Thanks that was really helpful. I'll have to look fairly carefully at the schedules/credits/clinicals for the schools I get into it seems!