2026 Summit: “Rethinking Return on Investment, Access, Affordability, and Abundance in DPT Education"
Fri, Apr 10
|Online Forum
Join us for a forward-looking summit addressing a disruptive challenge, the economic sustainability of DPT education, where academic leaders, educators, clinicians, and innovators examine rising tuition, capped loans, equity gaps, and ROI shaping the future. Register by April 7, 2026 @ 11 pm PT.
Time & Location
Apr 10, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT – Apr 11, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT
Online Forum
Guests
About the event
The 2026 Disruptive Innovation in PT Education Summit convenes academic leaders, private practice owners, educators, and clinicians to confront one of the most urgent issues facing physical therapy today: How do we ensure the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) remains a high-value, financially sustainable degree in the face of rising tuition, capped federal loans, and widening equity gaps?
With new national data on student debt, demographic disparities, and workforce needs, this summit challenges institutions to rethink the economic model of physical therapist education. While many DPT graduates continue to realize a positive return on investment (ROI), the tipping point appears to be narrowing—particularly for students taking on debt exceeding $150,000, a threshold above which the economic power of the degree declines. For learners from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds, the debt burden is often greater, and their experiences within educational programs more tenuous.