For DPT students and their programs
International clinical rotations for DPT students.
A full clinical rotation, on a real caseload, in a health system organised on a different principle from the one you trained in. Here is what that involves, how it fits inside a US DPT program, and what it costs.
What counts as an international clinical rotation
Plenty of programs abroad are observerships or short service trips. A clinical rotation is different: it is one of the full-time clinical experiences your DPT program requires, supervised by a licensed clinician, assessed on your program's instrument, and counted toward your clinical hours. You treat patients. You document. Your clinical instructor signs off on your performance the same way one would at home.
That is the only kind of placement we arrange. Since 2006 EduGlobal Associates has placed US physical therapy students at partner clinics across Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg, and 78 US programs have sent students to us.
How it fits inside your DPT program
- Length. Rotations run 6 to 12 weeks. 21 of our 25 sites accept a 6-week placement, so a shorter terminal rotation usually works.
- Hours. Typically 35–40 a week, Monday to Friday.
- Supervision. Every clinical instructor speaks English. At 19 of our 25 sites you are one of one or two students, so you get your CI's real attention.
- Assessment. Your CI uses whichever instrument your program uses — the electronic CPI, including CPI 3.0, is the most common — so your assessment reaches your DCE in the form they expect.
- Approval. Your DCE approves the site, as for any clinical. One affiliation agreement with us covers every clinic in the network, and many programs already have one in place. The detail written for DCEs.
Where you can go
25 partner sites in Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg, mostly outpatient orthopedic and sports, alongside post-acute rehabilitation wards, a large regional hospital, a cardiopulmonary inpatient site, a hand centre and pelvic floor practice. Some are in cities — Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence — and some are in small hill and mountain towns. Every site page sets out its caseload, patient populations, housing, commute and cost.
What it costs
For the 2027 cycle the administration fee is $2,150 in Italy and Luxembourg and $5,150 in Switzerland, which includes visa processing. It covers travel health insurance, professional and general liability insurance, training for your clinical instructor, and our help finding somewhere to stay. Flights, housing and day-to-day living are yours.
Our estimate for a 10-week placement, fee included, runs from about $4,250 to $8,750 depending on the site, before food and day-to-day living. These are best-effort estimates, not quotes. Costs, site by site · plan your own budget.
The practical questions
- Do I need to speak another language? No. Your CI speaks English. Many patients won't, and learning to treat without a shared language turns out to be the most valuable part.
- Do I need a visa? At 22 of our 25 sites, not for US citizens staying 90 days or less. Where one is needed, we handle it.
- Who is there if something goes wrong? Our Vice President of European Operations and Senior Director of Student Services are both based in Italy and both practising physiotherapists.
Every question students ask us
Is it worth it?
We won't claim an international rotation improves your residency match or your CPI scores; we have no evidence for that. What it does give you is a real caseload with close supervision, inside a system where access isn't the question — and the experience of practising without the language, equipment and assumptions you trained with. The honest case, and where it stops.
Start with one minute
Tell us when, and roughly where.
No application at this stage. We'll come back with the sites that fit your program.