Master of Physical Therapy – Vancouver

The MPT-Vancouver cohort is taught at UBC's Point Grey campus. All of our facilities feature state-of-the-art plinth labs and lecture theatres with videoconferencing technology, as well as breakout rooms and study spaces for students.

The MPT Program’s fully distributed model of learning uses technology that allows instructors and students to interact in real-time at multiple locations. All MPT students complete the same curriculum at the same time, regardless of site. Distributed learning is a well-established model used by health profession programs across the country. There are significant advantages to distributed learning, such as access to expertise from across the province and unique placement opportunities.

The MPT program is delivered using an advanced system of high-definition videoconferencing technology. Classes may be delivered from distributed sites depending on where the instructor teaches the class. Students from all sites can ask instructors questions and interact with each other in real-time through video conferencing equipment. Clinical skills or classes that require group work are delivered by local faculty, instructors and Clinical Skills Assistants (CSA). Clinical Skills Assistants are usually practicing healthcare professionals within the community. This blended approach to education and training applies to all students in the program.

Students will experience a wide variety of clinical settings in both public and private sectors with the potential to participate in innovative projects and novel clinical experiences. Clinical learning for students takes place in communities across the province, however, for MPT- Fraser Valley students, there is a focus on clinical sites within the Fraser Health Authority. MPT- North students focus on clinical sites within the Northern Health Authority, or sites across the province that are designated as rural.  The location of clinical learning sites will vary each year.

Since expansion began in 2019, the UBC Department of Physical Therapy, in partnership with the provincial government, the UBC Faculty of Medicine, the University of Northern British Columbia, and all six provincial health authorities, has increased enrolment by 50%. As a result, distributed education, clinical training, and physical therapy research and teaching across BC have significantly increased. This province-wide approach is made possible through a robust information technology system that allows instructors and students in multiple locations to interact simultaneously, taking learning beyond classrooms and into clinics and hospitals in urban and rural settings.

The distributed Master of Physical Therapy Program aims to increase the number of rural and Indigenous students seeking physical therapy careers, while also allowing students to complete their training in rural and underserved communities, where they are more likely to return to practice once their training is complete.

MPT-North

MPT-Fraser Valley

MPT-Victoria