Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University Dept of Physical Therapy
Welcome to Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University’s Department of Physical Therapy!
The Doctor of Physical Therapy is a professional doctorate designed to prepare physical therapists for practice in an evolving healthcare environment.
08/26/2025
🔹FranU DPT students and faculty attended the APTA meeting this past weekend, presenting their work and engaging with colleagues.
Our students were grateful for the opportunity to hear from Dr. Drew Contreras and thank him for visiting FranU! 🐺💙
We are also proud to share that five of our students were appointed to the Student SIG Board:
⭐️Aaron – Chairman
⭐️Carson – Vice Chairman
⭐️Seth – Student Delegate
⭐️Mary – Communications Director
⭐️Sydney – Secretary
08/18/2025
WE ARE BACK 💙✨📚
Class of ‘28 ➡️ Officially welcomed to campus!
Class of ‘27 ➡️ Kicked off year 2!
Class of ‘26 ➡️ Thriving in clinicals!
Here’s to a year full of learning, growth, and servant leadership! 🤩🐺
08/11/2025
FranU DPT recently welcomed local and state PT leaders for our annual Advisory Committee Meeting!
🌟 Following remarks from President Dr. David Bellar, attendees discussed student success initiatives, clinical education, research achievements, curriculum enhancements, student debt reduction, graduate employment, and national trends in DPT education.
🏆 Friend of FranU DPT Award- Karl Kleinpeter, Kleinpeter Physical Therapy
Nominated by our students:
🏅 Clinical Educator of the Year- Stephanie Fletcher, Sage Rehabilitation Day Neuro
👏 Additional nominees: Kasey Ware, Kristyn Wortham, and Kevin Coughlin
We are grateful for the dedication, expertise, and support these professionals bring to our students and program! 💙
07/21/2025
Our Summer 2025 Newsletter is out now! Click the link in our bio to see what we’ve been up to! ⭐️💙🐺
07/19/2025
Dr. Gautreau and a few of our students represented us at the 13th Annual Louisiana Parkinson’s Conference today!🧠🦵
They spent the day learning and connecting with individuals with Parkinson’s, care partners, researchers, and healthcare professionals.
07/09/2025
Class of ‘27 is pushing limits and collecting data in exercise testing lab! 🏃♀️📊
07/07/2025
Baby Lab 🩵👶✨
We were joined by , local therapists, and some super cute volunteers to observe primitive reflexes and explore gross motor development in real-time.
06/30/2025
joined us to share how we can better support and interact with the visually impaired and deaf-blind community. The interactive presentation gave us valuable insight into creating more inclusive care. 🧏⭐️👩🦯
✨ A word from Blanche on Blind Grace:
“I have been part of the visually impaired and deaf-blind community since 2003. I love partnering with local groups to educate others on what to do when they interact with a VI person. I started a local nonprofit called Blind Grace as a way to bridge the gap and bring awareness to this amazing community.
At Blind Grace, we champion the blind community by breaking barriers, redefining normal, and inspiring deeper connections through empathy and innovative support. We strive to build a world where everyone can feel, experience, and continue beyond sight.”
Thank you, Blanche, for sharing your knowledge and heart with us! 💛
06/28/2025
We had the most joyful time with our guest today! She showed off her incredible strength and skills while helping us better understand spina bifida. ⭐️🩷
06/26/2025
Our students attended the Ochsner Sports Medicine Journal Club yesterday — an awesome opportunity to dive into current research and connect with fellow clinicians. 🧠⭐️🏋️
06/13/2025
Our balance & coordination lab offered a fun-filled opportunity for hands-on learning.💛🧠
⭐️We’re especially grateful for our amazing standardized patients, whose time & support are incredibly valuable to our educational experience.⭐️
06/10/2025
The Southern Clinical Education Consortium is proud to host APTA's Level 1 Credential Clinical Instructor Program August 2-3, 2025! The CCIP course offers an opportunity for clinicians to recognize and improve their skills as mentors and educators in a collaborative environment. See attached flyer for details.
*Updated flyer and link*
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University Dept of Physical Therapy:
Welcome to Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University’s Department of Physical Therapy! Our Department offers two opportunities: an Associate’s degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant, and the Doctor of Physical Therapy.
The Physical Therapist Assistant Program (PTA) is designed to prepare individuals to effectively assist in treatment and assessment of physical therapy patients under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. Both pre-requisite and clinical courses are included in the curriculum.
Applications to the PTA Program at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University are due on or before January 1 for the June class. A maximum of 26 students every year are accepted into the program.
The Doctor of Physical Therapy* is a professional doctorate designed to prepare physical therapists for practice in an evolving healthcare environment.
The DPT program of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (FranU) is designed to prepare the next generation of physical therapists who are not only grounded in the essential knowledge required of the profession, but also trained with the latest technology. Our program focuses on developing individuals who will have the clinical perspective needed to be compassionate, ethical servant leaders in the profession and in the community.
We are happy to announce that the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education has approved our institution to enroll students. Please check our website for information on how to apply through the PTCAS system. The application deadline for the 2019-2020 Cycle is March 16th.
*Effective May 2nd, 2018, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call (225) 768-1792 or email dpt@franu.edu.
Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates that the program is progressing toward accreditation and may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation.
