Assistant Program Director, DPT
An Assistant Program Director for a Doctor of Physical Therapy program supports the Program Director with guidance, leadership, and strategic planning, ensuring smooth operations, continuous assessment of student learning, and curriculum development. This is a sample job description from Excelon Associates that you can adapt as a template for your own hire.
What does an Assistant Program Director for a DPT program do?
The Assistant Program Director for the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program supports the Program Director by offering guidance, leadership, and strategic planning to ensure seamless operations, continuous assessment of student learning, and curriculum development based on evaluation data. The role collaborates with faculty and staff across academic programs, online education, instructional delivery, and shared service providers for course design and delivery.
It interacts with multiple university departments to resolve issues and advance projects, liaises with other first-professional programs for interprofessional content, and includes teaching responsibilities. It is a program leadership role at the intersection of higher education and healthcare.
The DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) is the entry-level professional degree for physical therapists. PT education programs are accredited by CAPTE, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, and supporting institutional and programmatic accreditation is part of this role.
What does the Assistant Program Director support?
Key responsibilities of an Assistant Program Director, DPT
- Collaborate with the Program Director, Chair, and Dean to create and revise program policies, procedures, admission, academic progression, and graduation standards.
- Liaise with departments including Enrollment Services, Registration, Admissions, Student Services, Finance, and Library to ensure smooth program operations.
- Assist in maintaining institutional and programmatic accreditation.
- Contribute to the student experience by assisting in the evaluation of student learning outcomes, success, and satisfaction, analyzing data to inform improvements.
- Support the assessment of course quality and collaborate with online education and digital teaching teams to develop and revise courses.
- Fulfill teaching responsibilities, service, and scholarship duties as required for core faculty, and consult with the instructional design team to modify curricula.
- Oversee recruitment, hiring, training, development, supervision, and annual performance evaluation of core and contributing faculty, and support faculty development activities.
- Assist faculty with student advisement, progression, and retention, and participate in committee work, faculty meetings, and program events.
- Work with the marketing committee and admissions on strategies to promote the program, and deliver presentations to physical therapy and community groups.
What qualifications does the role require?
- An advanced academic doctoral degree is preferred, though candidates with a clinical doctorate will be considered.
- A minimum of three years of higher education administrative experience in a DPT program is preferred, with prior accreditation experience an asset.
- Exceptional written and oral communication, strong organizational and time management abilities, and outstanding data analysis skills, with research methodology and statistical experience recommended.
- Recommended experience teaching in blended formats, the ability to work independently and in teams, and a commitment to student success.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office products.
Why is this role important?
The Assistant Program Director helps keep a DPT program running, accredited, and improving, supporting the Program Director and stepping in across curriculum, faculty, and assessment functions the program depends on. In a CAPTE-accredited program, this depth of leadership bench protects continuity and compliance.
Because the role blends administration with teaching and scholarship, the strongest candidates are credentialed PT educators who can run assessment and accreditation work while still being effective in the classroom. That dual capacity is what makes the position valuable to a program director.
A hiring note from Excelon
DPT program leadership searches are constrained by CAPTE faculty requirements and a small pool of PT educators with administrative depth. Through our higher education and healthcare practices, we look for credentialed PT faculty with accreditation and assessment experience who can also teach, since programs need a true second-in-command, not just an administrator.
The strongest candidates can run assessment and accreditation work while still being effective in the classroom.
Related sample job descriptions
Assistant Program Director, DPT: frequently asked questions
What does an Assistant Program Director for a DPT program do?
The Assistant Program Director supports the Program Director with guidance, leadership, and strategic planning for a Doctor of Physical Therapy program, contributing to operations, assessment of student learning, curriculum development, faculty management, and teaching.
What qualifications does the role require?
This sample role prefers an advanced academic doctorate, though candidates with a clinical doctorate are considered, plus a minimum of three years of higher education administrative experience in a DPT program, with accreditation experience an asset.
What is CAPTE?
CAPTE, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, accredits physical therapy education programs in the United States. Maintaining institutional and programmatic accreditation is part of this role.
Does the role include teaching?
Yes. Beyond administrative duties, the position includes teaching responsibilities within the DPT program, along with service and scholarship expected of core faculty.
Why is this role important?
The Assistant Program Director helps keep a DPT program running, accredited, and improving, supporting the Program Director and stepping in across curriculum, faculty, and assessment functions that the program depends on.
Hiring an Assistant Program Director for Your DPT Program?
Excelon Associates recruits physical therapy program leaders, DPT faculty, and health-science academic talent for universities across the United States through our healthcare recruitment practice. Retained executive search since 2007, headquartered in Asheville, NC, with offices in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, FL.
More Sample Job Descriptions
Templates you can adapt for your own roles.