DPT Program...How many hours per week of study?

[physicaltherapy]

For those of you in, or who have graduated from, a DPT program...how many hours per week did you study? How many hours were you in class? I'm trying to get an idea of the work load. Please provide the name of your school if possible.

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[BigRed62]

I just finished my first semester. We were in class around 24 hours per week. Out of class time varies from person to person and week to week. On average weeks, I probably studided between 18 and 25 hours. There were one or two light weeks where I felt very caught up and didn't put in as much time, and there were weeks where I felt like all of my time was spent studying. I have classmates that probably study 30+ hours every week, and I have a few that probably put in 10-15 hours a week. It all depends on how quickly you pick up the material, and if you care about making As

 

[teamusaepee]

I just finished my second term (program started in May). Time in class varies somewhat from week to week, but usually from 20-24 hours. Time outside of class - have to agree with BigRed62. I think the time spent outside of class studying varies widely, with some cramming a few days before the test (<10 hrs/week), others spending several hours every day (>25 hrs/week), and others somewhere in between.

I find if I am in the middle range, I still get the grades I need to stay in the program (and learn what I need to become a good PT) and I can still take time for myself, too.

 

[DPT2DO]

You'll get some significant variation here. I graduated in 2007, and my study time varied over my 3 years in DPT school. Years one and two were approximately 20-30 hours/week of class time and approximately 10-20 hours per week of study time. Sometimes study time was less than that, rarely was it more. During second year, research occupied a large portion of my time, so add an additional 5-10 hours per week at times. Third year was a breeze with mostly clinical affils, online coursework and community service learning. Probably 5-10 hours of personal time were spent studying each week.

 

[physicaltherapy]

Thanks for the info! 50 hours per week sounds very doable. I understand that it is an intensive program and look forward to immersing myself fully and learning everything that I can. That being said, I have a few questions. What percentage of the 25 hours of study per week is individual versus in a group? Do you have freedom to spread out the 25 hours how you like over the week (around classes of course)? For example, morning versus evening study, or more study on the weekend versus less. (I happen to relax from 8:30-9pm, sleep from 9-6, exercise 7am-8:30, and like one day per week off to see my significant other. With this schedule I could still do 5 hrs class/day five days per week and 5 hrs study/day six days per week...which THEORETICALLY would work. You tell, me...does this sound realistic?) Is there a lot of time pressure to get projects done quickly (i.e. paper announced Friday due Monday)? Can you give me a schedule for a typical day? How much time did you spend with your loved ones or doing hobbies during the week?

 

[BigRed62]

That absolutely sounds realistic. At times you might have to adjust your daily habits, but for the most part there is plenty of room for other priorities. Class schedules are set in stone, but everything else is up to you. My schedule this semester was: MW) 845-12, 1-330 TT) 8-930, 1-330, 5-630, and Friday) 845-12. Clearly tuesday and thursday was frustrating due to classes being spread out, but I took advantage of the time and studied in the breaks.(that allows for around 3.5 hours of studying plus lunch). Group versus alone time is completely dependant on how you learn; I had no rushed projects, and yes I had time for myself as well. It's like a job that you get to choose half of your hours.

 

[kjvandal]

i just finished quarter number 5 of 11 at school. I spend around 24 hours a week at school, and about 3 hours a day outside doing homework. However, during dead/finals week, i didn't seen the sun for 10 days because i'd get to school before it would come up, and leave again after it was dark.