On August 1, 2008, APTA introduced the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS), a Web-based tool developed to simplify the application process for prospective PT students and facilitate the admissions process for professional PT education programs by allowing applicants to use a single application and one set of materials to apply online to multiple PT programs. PTCAS also was created to promote the physical therapist profession and education programs to applicants, and to provide applicant data for institutional, regional, and national analysis.
About one-third of all professional PT programs recognized by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education signed up to participates in PTCAS during the initial 2008-2009 admissions cycle. Along the lines of other centralized admissions systems for higher education, PTCAS was designed to allow students to submit a completed Web-based application that includes biographical data, colleges and universities attended, academic course history, physical therapy observation hours, a list of references, work experience, extracurricular activities, honors, professional licenses, and a personal essay.