Can I study in the USA with a Hungarian undergraduate degree?

I graduated in B.S degree in physical therapy 2 years ago. How can I study sport medicine in USA? ?

• I was a student in physical therapy in Shahid Beheshti medical university of Iran from 2002 to 2006 in B.S. degree. I'm interested in sport medicine filed and would like to continue my education in this field for upper degrees.

• Answer:

  What you must first ask yourself is: do you want to continue to be a physical therapist or do you want to become a sports medicine physician or orthopedic surgeon. If you wish to continue to be a physical therapist, you must first have the federation of state boards of physical therapy in the state in which you hope to reside review your educational records. If the physical therapy degree in Iran covers the same material as a US program, you will be eligible to sit for the licensure exam. If you pass, you can continue to practice as a PT. Your options for furthering your education include advanced certifications such as a manual therapy fellowship or sitting for the APTA endorsed sports med certification. If your degree is not equivelent to US standards, you will need to enter a traditional US accredited PT program. This first requires 3-4 years of undergraduate education including chemistry, physics, psychology, biology, anatomy and physiology and mathematics, for example. You would most likely need to take the GRE (and examination for graduate school) and complete any observation hours that are required by the program. You would then apply to the PT program. If accepted, this is usually another 3 years of education and results in a masters or doctorate degree (DPT). If you are hoping to become a physician, you must first take the "pre-medicine" course of undergraduate education. You will then need to sit for the MCAT examination for entrance into medical school and apply to a medical program. After four years of medical school your best options are either to complete a residency in family medicine and then sports medicine or complete a residency in orthopedic surgery. Good luck.