APTA Academy of Education

What APTA Academy of Education does

The APTA Academy of Education is a non-profit professional association serving physical therapist educators in the United States. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Marietta, GA, the Academy operates as a section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and is supported by a small staff of 1-10 employees. Its 3,500+ members are primarily faculty, program directors, clinical education coordinators, and administrators working in PT and PTA education programs.

The Academy's product portfolio is content- and credentialing-led. Flagship assets include the Journal of Physical Therapy Education (JoPTE), which was accepted for MEDLINE indexing in December 2023; the annual Education Leadership Conference (ELC) co-hosted with ACAPT; the Faculty Development Workshop; the Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership (FHEL), transferred into the Academy in 2023 with its first cohort graduating in July 2024; the Excellence in Education Certificate; the DCE/ACCE Workshop; the PTA Honor Society; and seven active Special Interest Groups. The Academy also operates EduSphere, a Higher Logic-powered online member community, and delivers webinars and courses through Zoom and the APTA Learning Center. Member-facing operations run on the Novi AMS association management platform, and a new website was launched in 2023 to modernize digital infrastructure.

Revenue is generated from individual membership dues tiered at $15-$60/year, event registration fees, FHEL fellowship tuition, JoPTE subscriptions and advertising, EduSphere sponsorships, and classified listings. The Academy does not raise external capital and operates as a member-funded non-profit within the APTA federation. There is no evidence of AI/ML capabilities; the technology footprint consists entirely of off-the-shelf SaaS tools. Recent strategic activity has centered on institutionalizing the FHEL fellowship, elevating JoPTE's academic standing, and modernizing the member-facing digital stack.

Name

APTA Academy of Education

Legal name

APTA Academy of Education

Website

https://aptaeducation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The APTA Academy of Education is a non-profit professional association serving 3,500+ U.S. physical therapist educators. Founded in 1941 as a section of APTA, it delivers conferences, a MEDLINE-indexed journal, fellowship and certificate programs, and an online member community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Marietta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees categorized by member type (Physical Therapist, PTA, Students, Retired, Interprofessional Partners). Membership is required to access member benefits, JoPTE journal, SIGs, and Academy resources.
2. Events and Conferences: Revenue from Physical Therapy Faculty Development Workshop, CSM conference, ELC conference, DCE/ACCE Workshop, and various webinar series registration fees
3. Classified Advertising: Job postings and classified ads for employment opportunities, educational activities, equipment, and fellowships размещаются на сайте по ценам от $50-202.50 в зависимости от срока размещения и статуса члена
4. Journal Subscriptions: JoPTE (Journal of Physical Therapy Education) subscription for students at $10, free for members
5. Sponsorships: Sponsorship packages for Physical Therapy Faculty Development Workshop (PTFDW) at Platinum $5,000, Gold $2,500, Silver $1,000, and In-Kind levels

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

APTA Academy of Education is a nonprofit professional membership association that sells tiered individual memberships, a quarterly peer-reviewed journal (JoPTE), annual conferences and workshops (ELC, PT Faculty Development Workshop, DCE/ACCE Workshop), the Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership (FHEL), the Excellence in Education Certificate Program, webinars, journal clubs, and classified advertising. These offerings are directed at physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, PT/PTA students, and program directors working in academic, clinical, and community education roles.

Product overview

APTA Academy of Education is a professional membership organization for physical therapy educators, offering a unified portfolio of products and services centered on advancing education in physical therapy. The core offerings include the quarterly Journal of Physical Therapy Education (JoPTE), annual Education Leadership Conference (ELC), Physical Therapy Faculty Development Workshop, and Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership (FHEL). Members benefit from six Special Interest Groups (SIGs), the EduSphere Online Communities platform, webinars, journal clubs, classified advertising, and awards. Professional development products include DCE/ACCE workshops and Excellence in Education certificates. The organization also publishes sponsored sponsorship packages for its flagship events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EduSphere Community: Online community platform for members to connect, share resources, and engage in discussions.
• JoPTE (Journal of Physical Therapy Education)
• FHEL (Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership)
• EduPulse Articles

Products and services

• Academy Membership Tiered annual membership for physical therapists ($60/yr), PTAs ($40/yr), post-professional students ($25/yr), PT/PTA students ($15/yr), PT retired ($50/yr), PTA retired ($35/yr), and Interprofessional Partners ($55/yr); grants access to JoPTE, SIGs, EduSphere, webinars, and member resources.
• Journal of Physical Therapy Education (JoPTE) Quarterly peer-reviewed scholarly journal providing research and articles on physical therapy education; online access included with membership, with a separate $10/year student subscription available.
• Education Leadership Conference (ELC) Annual national conference dedicated solely to PT education, held jointly with the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT); features presentations, networking, and professional development for PT/PTA educators.
• Physical Therapy Faculty Development Workshop

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2023Collaborative initiative for the Education Leadership Conference (ELC) - the only national conference dedicated solely to PT education. The partnership combines APTA Academy of Education's educational expertise with ACAPT's academic PT leadership to advance physical therapy education through conferences, workshops, and professional development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• MedBridge: A commercial continuing education and patient-engagement platform for physical therapists. Competes with the Academy on PT-focused CE content delivery at scale via online, on-demand formats, representing a newer commercial model in the Academy's traditional space.

Others

• Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE): The accrediting body for PT and PTA education programs. CAPTE is adjacent rather than directly competitive — it sets standards while the Academy supports educators — but both organizations serve the same PT education ecosystem.
• Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT): The national organization representing PT licensure boards. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but operates in the same PT professional ecosystem with overlapping membership and stakeholder audiences.

Broad incumbents

• American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA): The national professional association for occupational therapists. A broader incumbent offering comparable membership, journal, conference, and specialty-section structures, but serving OT rather than PT — the closest analog outside the PT profession.
• American Physical Therapy Association (APTA): The parent national professional association for physical therapists in the US. The Academy operates as a specialty section within APTA, sharing mission and membership infrastructure, but APTA itself addresses the entire PT profession rather than education specifically.

Direct peers

• American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT): A nonprofit organization supporting academic physical therapy programs. ACAPT is a direct peer in PT education and a strategic partner on the Education Leadership Conference (ELC), making it the most comparable organization on the academic-PT-education dimension.
• APTA Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy: A fellow specialty section of APTA focused on orthopaedic physical therapy. Shares APTA membership infrastructure and nonprofit professional-association model, comparable in structure and member engagement mechanics though different clinical focus.
• APTA Academy of Research: APTA specialty section advancing physical therapy research. Former President Pamela Levangie led this organization before heading the Academy of Education, reflecting closely overlapping leadership and member communities.
• APTA Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy: Another APTA specialty section dedicated to neurologic PT. Operates under the same APTA governance model with SIGs, journals, and member-driven programming, making it directly comparable on operational structure.
• APTA Academy of Sports Physical Therapy: APTA specialty section for sports physical therapy. Another sister section with parallel governance, journal, conference, and SIG structure — directly comparable as a peer specialty section within APTA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/APTAAcademyofEducation
• Xx.com/APTA_AcadPTEd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apta-academy-of-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about APTA Academy of Education