Physical therapy school cost: DPT tuition, loans and payback

How much is physical therapy school?

A DPT costs $74,348 on average at a public program for in-state students and $129,942 at a private program, counting tuition and fees for the whole professional program.^[capte_agg] Average yearly tuition is $22,335 public in-state, $37,907 public out-of-state and $48,132 private. CAPTE's totals leave out meals, housing and travel to clinical rotations, which most students also borrow for.^[capte_agg]

*Tuition and fees for the whole program, excluding room and board. CAPTE's out-of-state total repeats the private column in its 2025 fact sheet, so we do not print it.

What real public DPT programs charge

Published prices at two public universities for students starting in 2026 show the range: Idaho State lists $67,824 for residents and $104,351 for non-residents over three years, and UConn lists $103,021 in-state and $154,189 out-of-state.^{[s_isu_dpt][s_uconn_dpt]} Both exclude living costs, and Idaho State estimates another $14,500 for books, supplies and clinical travel.

What physical therapy school involves

Physical therapy school is a three-year Doctor of Physical Therapy program accredited by CAPTE, entered after a bachelor's degree; programs typically require prerequisite courses such as anatomy, chemistry and physics.^{[ooh_pt_how][capte_degree]} The DPT is the only entry-level degree, so there is no shorter master's route to becoming a PT; the two-year associate degree leads to the assistant role instead (see PTA programs). The full path from college to license is on how to become a physical therapist.

How long is physical therapy school?

A DPT program lasts 122.4 weeks on average, about three calendar years: 87.6 weeks in class and labs and about 35 weeks of full-time clinical education.^[capte_agg] The DPT is the only entry-level degree for physical therapists.^{[capte_degree]} After graduating you pass the NPTE ($485 plus a $112 Prometric fee) and apply for a state license.^{[fsbpt_npte][fsbpt_prom]} CAPTE reports an 86.3% first-time NPTE pass rate and 99.5% employment for 2025 graduates.^[capte_agg]

NPTE pass rate

Across CAPTE-accredited DPT programs, 86.3% of graduates passed the National Physical Therapy Examination on the first attempt and 93% passed eventually (ultimate pass rate), in CAPTE's 2025 aggregate data.^[capte_agg] That means roughly 14 in 100 graduates pay to sit the exam again: a retake costs another $485 plus the Prometric fee.^{[fsbpt_npte][fsbpt_prom]} Each program publishes its own two-year pass rates, which is worth checking before you apply.

DPT student loans after July 2026

Physical therapy is not on the Education Department's list of "professional degrees," so for loan periods beginning on or after July 1, 2026 DPT students get the graduate limit: $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total in Direct Unsubsidized loans, not the $50,000 and $200,000 allowed for medicine, dentistry or pharmacy.^[fr_therapy] The Department considered and rejected requests to treat PT, OT and speech-language pathology as professional programs. New graduate loans carry a fixed 8.07% rate for 2026–27.^[fr_rates]

The cap matters for private programs. At the average private total of $129,942, a student who can only borrow $100,000 federally must cover about $29,942 of tuition, plus living costs, from savings, family or private loans. At the public in-state average the federal limit covers tuition.

Principal only, before interest that builds up during school; the calculator at the top adds it.

How DPT loans are repaid under the 2026 rules

Students who take out new federal loans on or after July 1, 2026 can choose between only two plans.^[usc_1087e] The standard plan has a fixed payment over a term set by the total principal you owe: 10 years under $25,000, 15 years up to $49,999, 20 years up to $99,999 and 25 years at $100,000 or more. A DPT graduate who borrows the full federal limit therefore gets a 25-year standard plan, not 10. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) instead charges 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income by $10,000 band (10% above $100,000), divided by 12, minus $50 a month per dependent, with a $10 minimum; interest your payment does not cover is not charged, and any balance left after 360 payments is cancelled.^[usc_1087e]

Tuition and fees only, all borrowed, 34-month program, interest from each disbursement through a six-month wait before the first payment; private share above $100,000 at the same 8.07% over 10 years. RAP uses AGI = salary, single, no dependents. Our arithmetic on CAPTE averages and 20 U.S.C. 1087e.

Does physical therapy school pay off?

At the public average, a new PT who earns the 25th-percentile salary of $86,160 and borrowed the full $74,348 pays back the program in the number of years shown in the calculator above; change the salary to your state's figure on physical therapist salary, or to a California metro on physical therapist salary California.^[onet_pt] The median PT keeps about $81,122 a year after federal tax and FICA, so a $625 monthly payment takes 9% of take-home pay.^[irs]

PTA school cost

A physical therapist assistant associate degree costs $13,790 on average at a public college for in-district students, $24,286 out of district and $44,938 at a private school, and lasts 73.1 weeks on average.^[capte_pta] Tarrant County College in Texas lists $4,884 in tuition and fees for its 66-credit PTA degree for county residents.^[s_tcc_pta] PTAs earn a median $68,380, or $32.88 an hour.^[onet_pta] Program length, pass rates and a PTA payback preset are on PTA programs.

SLP grad school cost

A speech-language pathology master's at a public university costs from about $19,587 in resident tuition (Fort Hays State, 54 credits) to about $51,540 (Idaho State, about 60 credits at $859 per credit), before fees and living costs.^{[s_fhsu_slp][s_isu_slp]} SLP is also outside the professional-degree list, so the same $20,500 yearly federal loan limit applies.^[fr_therapy] ASHA counted 322 programs offering the SLP master's and 52,830 applications to them in 2024–25; admission rates and SLP debt math are on speech pathology graduate programs.^{[asha_survey]} SLPs earn a median $97,870; see speech pathologist salary. Occupational therapy costs are on occupational therapy school and respiratory therapy costs on respiratory therapy school.