I think one of the members of this boad ("PTisfun") has both a DPT and a PhD.
PTisfun - if you're reading this... How hard is getting tenure these days? I've heard that more and more schools are drifting away from that model. And I wonder if I really want to go through the "publish or perish" game to get to tenure.
Depends on the school. Some schools are indeed moving away from tenure. In my opinion, it is kind of an antiquated system; I was recently awarded tenure, so I am not saying that due to a bad situation. Publications are important to tenure, as is getting grant funding, but also teaching well. It is not necessarily hard to get tenure....the univ hires you with the thinking that you will be able to achieve tenure (hence a tenure track faculty line). It does not always work out, and then you have to leave the Univ, so it is serious. Non tenure track lines are become a little more popular as they are cheaper and do not lock Univ in to faculty.
But to answer your original question...you can get a PhD in just about anything and contribute to the profession. Biomechanics is by far the most common route, but Neurosciences, Pharmacology, Engineering, Public Health, Education, Kinesiology, Sociology.....I know PTs with all of these PhDs.
how difficult to get in to a PhD program is not the question. You do not apply like you would with a PT or MBA or something like that. A PhD is funded by a faculty member's work, so a student who wants a PhD contacts faculty they are interested in working with, see if they have money to fund a student (for tuition and pay as a Graduate Assistant), and then you see if you all want to work together. THEN you apply to the school. If there is no money to pay for your tuition that is not a PhD you want to get as you will be working very hard and then also trying to pay tuition.
Why get one? Certainly not pay as mentioned in a post!!!
🙂 I got my PhD because I wanted to learn more first and foremost. I did not know when I entered my PhD if I wanted a faculty position or research or industry, but I knew I wanted to learn more about the research process than I got in my Masters degree (I have a BS in PT). More than anything a PhD program is going to teach you to critically think, analyze problems, and teach you to figure out things on your own. I remember I was working on a paper for publication, and there was something I did not understand physiologically. My mentor said, 'Library is open late tonight.' And that was the only instruction she gave me!
