Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy, called physical therapy in many countries, is the health profession that helps people recover, keep and improve movement. World Physiotherapy, the international body of the profession, says that physiotherapists provide services that develop, maintain and restore people's maximum movement and functional ability, at any stage of life, when movement is threatened by ageing, injury, disease or environmental factors. Their work covers health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

The name changes with the country: physiotherapist, physical therapist or, in some countries, kinesiologist. World Physiotherapy stresses that they are all part of the same profession. What does change is the level of the degree and the registration needed to practise, so the country of study matters more here than in most subjects.

What students learn

Physiotherapists are trained to examine and assess a patient, formulate a diagnosis, prognosis and plan, carry out the treatment and evaluate its results. Treatment relies on physical means such as therapeutic exercise, manual techniques and equipment rather than on medication.

The curriculum starts with the sciences of the body and moves towards clinical work. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) lists content areas such as biology, anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, kinesiology, neuroscience, pharmacology and pathology, together with clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice. Supervised clinical placements are a large part of every programme: about 23% of a US doctoral curriculum is clinical education, and the University of Southampton states that its BSc students complete over 1,000 hours of clinical placements.

Qualifications and levels

  • Spain: physiotherapist is a regulated profession that requires the official bachelor's degree (Grado en Fisioterapia), and the degree has 240 ECTS credits, normally taken in four years. The Universidad de Murcia, for example, teaches it in Spanish, with 80 first-year places and an admission cut-off mark of 10.474 for 2025-26. The official register of degrees (RUCT) returns 74 bachelor's entries for Fisioterapia, including some that are being phased out.
  • United Kingdom: according to NHS Health Careers, a full-time degree can take three years and a part-time course six years; a two-year accelerated master's is an option for holders of a relevant degree, and there are degree apprenticeships. Graduates must register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) before practising. Undergraduate entry typically requires two or three A levels, including a biological science and/or PE.
  • United States: the entry qualification is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from a programme accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), followed by a state licensure exam. DPT programmes typically last three years, and most require a bachelor's degree for admission. After graduation, clinical residencies of about one year give training in a specialty.
  • Australia: physiotherapists must be registered with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia to practise, and students enrolled in approved programmes of study are registered as students.

Where to study physiotherapy

SpainExchange lists 86 schools for this subject. Spain has the most, with 47, followed by Brazil and the United Kingdom with 6 each, Australia with 4, and Argentina and the United States with 3 each; there are also schools in Russia, Mexico, Canada, the Czech Republic, Suriname and Peru. In Spain they include public universities such as the Universidad de Murcia, the Universidad de Cádiz, the Universidad de Oviedo and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and private ones such as the Universidad Europea de Madrid and the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera. Abroad, examples are the University of Southampton, Bond University in Australia and the Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico.

Teaching and placements take place in the local language, because students treat patients from an early stage. Spanish universities mostly teach the degree in Spanish. English-language universities set a high language requirement for health courses; Southampton asks for an overall IELTS score of 7.0 for its physiotherapy BSc. Always check that the programme is approved by the regulator of the country where you plan to work: the HCPC in the United Kingdom, CAPTE accreditation in the United States, or the Physiotherapy Board of Australia.

Careers

Physiotherapists work in hospitals, private clinics, patients' homes and nursing homes, and some are self-employed. Common areas of practice are musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory, paediatric and sports physiotherapy, and care of older people.

In the United States, physical therapists held about 283,700 jobs in 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists employed 36 percent of them and hospitals 26 percent. Employment is projected to grow 12 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations.

Frequently asked questions

Are physiotherapy and physical therapy the same thing?

Yes. According to World Physiotherapy, physiotherapists have different titles in different countries, including physical therapist and kinesiologist, but they are all part of the same profession.

How long does it take to become a physiotherapist?

Four years (240 ECTS credits) in Spain and typically three years full time in the United Kingdom. In the United States the Doctor of Physical Therapy typically takes three years after a bachelor's degree.

Can I work in another country with my degree?

Not automatically. Physiotherapy is regulated country by country: Spain requires the official degree, the United Kingdom HCPC registration, the United States a state licence and Australia registration with its national board. Ask the regulator of the destination country what it requires from holders of foreign qualifications.

Is physiotherapy taught in English in Spain?

Mostly not. Public universities such as the Universidad de Murcia teach the degree in Spanish. The official register also lists a degree titled "Fisioterapia / Bachelor in Physiotherapy" at the private Universidad San Pablo-CEU, so ask each university about the language of teaching and of the clinical placements.