The mission of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education is to serve the public by establishing and applying standards that assure quality and continuous improvement in the entry-level preparation of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, and that reflect the evolving nature of education, research, and practice.

CAPTE accredits first professional (entry-level) programs in the U.S. for the physical therapist at the master's and doctoral degree levels and programs for the physical therapist assistant at the associate degree level. CAPTE also accredits a limited number of physical therapist education programs in Canada and Scotland.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at UIC was accredited in November 2000. It replaced an accredited Bachelor of Science program and entered its first class of students in Fall 2001. CAPTE conducted a review of the program for accreditation in April 2007. The program was reaccredited and the next review was set for 2017.

Every physical therapist and physical therapy student has a responsibility to help maintain accreditation standards in physical therapy education programs. The mechanism through which CAPTE acts on someone’s concerns is through the formal complaint process. Information on this process is located at the CAPTE website.