Deciding whether or not to pursue a PhD after DPT

[hashtagDPT]

What factors need to be considered in deciding whether to pursue a PhD after PT school? I'm not in a PT program yet, but I figured this would be a better place to ask since there are more PT students in this forum.

I know it's time consuming. But what I'm really asking is: what are the added benefits to getting your PhD in terms of being able to do research or teach at a major university? Are there limitations to pursuing those avenues with just a DPT? And do most people go directly into a PhD program or do they go out into the clinical field for a few years before going back?

Thoughts and comments are loved and welcome. Thanks

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[Azimuthal]

Would you like to eventually contribute to academia or research? You will need that PhD. It would be near impossible to teach PT or Kinesiology w/o one as a tenured or full-time faculty, which is usually accompanied with retirement benefits, etc. However, you can still teach as a CI or instructor. Since a PhD is suppose to be research-based, the klout you pull when publishing a paper within your field of specialty will be considered more viable than without. So, I was told.

 

[TheOx777]

I have inquired about this as well, and I believe I have been given some great insight into the matter. After speaking to my program director(Ph.D. in Biomechanics) and my academic advisor(Ph.D. in Anatomy/Neurobiology), both have stated that one will almost certainly need a Phd to teach the fundamental science courses in a PT program, unless there were unique circumstances. Do you want to be an academic with research AND teaching responsibilities? What has led you to believe that receiving Phd training is something you would want to pursue post DPT?

As stated earlier, you could teach clinical coursework with the DPT, experience in the field, and maybe some connections to the program in which you are interested in teaching. That said if you want to be a tenured, research based core faculty member then having the PhD is important.