NIU PT DEI Alliance Travel Fund

The NIU PT DEI Alliance Travel Fund will help provide clinical traveling funds for students in the Northern Illinois University physical therapy program. 

Throughout the program, students complete a total of four clinical experiences where they gain more hands-on experience as student physical therapists in different clinical settings. However, due to the shortage of PT clinical instructors/sites and the exceptional amount of student physical therapy students needing to be placed, it has been difficult to place all students at clinical sites close to home. For this reason, gaining access to transportation and board can be challenging and costly for some student physical therapists.  

The NIU PT DEI Alliance is a student-lead organization that strives to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the physical therapy profession and allied health community. We created this fund to provide financial assistance to students during their travels for each external clinical experience. We understand the stress additional clinical expenses can create on our fellow students and began thinking of ways in which we can solve this problem. We wanted to ensure that finances were not a deterrent for any student when selecting clinical rotations, as these experiences allow for significant growth as clinicians. Additionally, we recognize that we cannot completely eliminate all clinical expenses but believe this project can lighten some of the load that clinical rotations can bring to students. 

We believe that clinical costs should not be a barrier to any student’s ability to fulfill their clinical education requirements and goal of graduating and becoming a physical therapist. 

Your donation will allow students in the Northern Illinois’ Physical Therapy Program funds for clinical expenses. Gifts received will immediately go to work in providing access for transportation, housing, and any extra traveling costs to student physical therapists in the NIU physical therapy program. We thank you for all your donations.