Benefits of getting your PhD at LSU Health Shreveport

The research-focused degree is designed to transition clinicians to academia in order to meet the demand for research-trained faculty in rehabilitation science programs, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology.

The PhD in Rehabilitation Science program at LSU Health Shreveport is committed to producing scientists and academic faculty equipped to face the challenges of modern educational and healthcare environments.  The program’s mission is aligned with the overall LSU Health Shreveport mission to promote excellence in research, instruction, and clinical services in Louisiana.

As part of a major academic medical center, the opportunities for translational research are robust for the participation and contributions of rehabilitation scientists. The program offers collaborative opportunities for professionals to engage with others, such as biomedical engineers and basic scientists, to complete and disseminate original research and produce technologies that advance function, participation, and human performance in communities, work environments, and at play. 

Three Curricular Concentrations: 

• Movement Science 

• Neurocognitive Rehabilitation

• Open Concentration

Collaborative Research Culture at LSUHS

The program is housed in the Rehabilitation Sciences Department in the School of Allied Health Professions in addition to three entry-level clinical programs for Communication Disorders, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy and three post-professional Physical Therapy residencies in Orthopaedics, Neurology, and Wound Management.

The School of Allied Health Professions also comprises three faculty practice clinics: the Children’s Center which provides the region’s only multidisciplinary diagnostic center for diagnosis of autism and ADHD, the Mollie E. Webb Speech and Hearing Center which offers highly specialized speech and hearing care, and the Rehabilitation Clinic which provides occupational, physical, and speech-language therapy.  

LSUHS offers a broad and collaborative research culture between the Schools of Allied Health Professions, Medicine, and Graduate Studies. The University is home to four distinct Centers of Excellence that demonstrate this collaborative spirit of inquiry and innovation: Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, Center for Excellence in Arthritis and Rheumatology, Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences, and Center for Emerging Viral Threats. There are also Centers for Brain Health, Louisiana Addiction Research, and two COBRE centers.

In addition, there are vast opportunities for clinical research through the 500-bed Level I Trauma Center and academic medical center on campus. LSUHS's partnership with the Ochsner Health System provides enhanced infrastructure for information technologies and artificial intelligence to pursue emerging and innovative clinical technologies based on big data, prospective surveillance, and virtual reality. These technologies along with the Master of Public Health program provide collaborative opportunities for PhD students to pursue topics in health policy, population health, and the impact of rehabilitation services on health outcomes and costs.