Utah Valley University and Rocky Mountain University announced an agreement this week to create the UVU/RMU Accelerated Pathway BS/DPT. Under the agreement, UVU students in health science and exercise science programs who meet a 3.0 GPA threshold and RMU admission requirements may apply to enter RMU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program one year prior to UVU graduation.

Students’ first two semesters of DPT course work at RMU will count towards the completion of a bachelor’s degree at UVU.

“This partnership strengthens our commitment to offering clear, innovative academic routes that help students progress efficiently from undergraduate learning to advanced professional preparation,” UVU provost Wane Vaught said in a news release. “By allowing qualified students to begin graduate-level DPT coursework during their senior year, we are expanding opportunity, reducing time to degree, and preparing more highly skilled professionals who are ready to meet the growing healthcare needs of our community.”

Malissa Martin, the executive vice president of academic affairs and provost of Rocky Mountain University, told the Daily Herald the two schools entered into a similar agreement last year for students pursuing a doctor of occupational therapy program. Seven students joined the program last year and 13 are expected to join this year.

Martin added that RMU signed similar agreements with Southern Utah University this spring for the occupational therapy and physical therapy programs.

“Our goal is to give students an opportunity to get to their clinical practice sooner,” she said.

The physical therapy program with UVU, and both programs with SUU, are expected to begin in the 2027 summer semester. Martin said the new model will bring more in-state students into RMU during a time of stiff competition in the higher education environment.

“It’s good for the community, it’s good for the student and their families, and it’s good for the professions,” Martin said. “We’re very well known in preparing high-quality professionals for the professions, and we just felt that this was the right thing to do.”

Provo-based RMU offers graduate-level healthcare education degrees and has an enrollment of 1,696. The partnerships with UVU and SUU mark the first time RMU has worked with other schools to provide accelerated pathways, according to Martin.

However, RMU has a number of partnerships with various institutions to reserve interview seats for program applicants, or memorandums of understanding for tuition discounts, according to Martin.