2025 Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

Physical Therapy/Therapist is of the hottest doctor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #4 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 8 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of physical therapy/therapist. Combined, these schools handed out 456 doctor's degrees in physical therapy/therapist to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Physical Therapy/Therapist School for Your Doctor's Degree

Your choice of physical therapy/therapist for getting your doctor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to physical therapy/therapist students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of physical therapy/therapist students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized physical therapy/therapist related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for physical therapy/therapist students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Physical Therapy/Therapist Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Doctor's Degree Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Physical Therapy/Therapist in North Carolina

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for physical therapy/therapist students seeking a a doctor's degree.

Top North Carolina Schools for a Doctorate in Physical Therapy

1

Duke University
Durham, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

92 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Duke University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Duke University

2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

30 Annual Graduates

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a good option for students interested in a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

3

East Carolina University
Greenville, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

31 Annual Graduates

East Carolina University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. ECU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Greenville.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from East Carolina University

4

Elon University
Elon, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

44 Annual Graduates

Elon University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. Located in the suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Elon University

5

Winston - Salem State University
Winston-Salem, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

35 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Winston - Salem State University

6

Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

39 Annual Graduates

Campbell is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the town of Buies Creek.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Campbell University

7

Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

46 Annual Graduates

WCU is a large public university located in the town of Cullowhee.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Western Carolina University

8

Methodist University
Fayetteville, NC

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

37 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Fayetteville, Methodist is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Methodist University

Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	217	468
Georgia	190	291
Virginia	182	390
Mississippi	154	81
Tennessee	150	305
Louisiana	146	100
Alabama	139	150
South Carolina	135	88
Kentucky	119	170
Arkansas	74	150
West Virginia	61	128

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy/Therapist is one of 16 different types of Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions programs to choose from.

Most Popular Majors Related to Physical Therapy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Occupational Therapy	68
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling	3
Rehabilitation Science	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Barbara E. Carver. More about our data sources and methodologies.