Faculty
Daniel Diaz, PhD, DPT, BS
Fall 1980 - Fall 2120
Assistant Professor I
Physical Therapy Program - CA
danieldiaz@scuhs.edu
Current Position
Biography
Dr. Diaz is a licensed physical therapist in the State of California who has 7+ years of post-licensure experience in his first year as a full-time faculty member after several years in an adjunct role in various graduate and undergraduate programs. He holds a baccalaureate degree in Exercise Science, a doctoral degree in Physical Therapy, and has a PhD candidate in Leadership with an emphasis in the Health Sciences. His dissertation was titled “The Meaning Doctoral Physical Therapists Make of Their Previous Student Service-Learning Experiences with the Homeless Population”. In addition, he has a specialty certification in orthopedics. He holds the rank of assistant professor at Southern California University of the Health Sciences.
Dr. Diaz’s clinical experiences include orthopedics, aquatic therapy, vestibular, and TMJ. His expertise in orthopedics and movement science was further developed via an orthopedic residency, movement science fellowship, Movement Links Specialist certification, and dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) coursework, including a DNS Exercise Trainer certification.
Dr. Diaz’s primary teaching responsibilities have included: anatomy, service-learning, orthopedics, and therapeutic exercise.
In addition to his content expertise, Dr. Diaz has acquired/developed his instructional and student evaluation skills through graduate coursework and continuing education courses that focus on leadership, higher education, the adult learner, online learning, pain science, and movement science.
In recent years, student ratings of his effectiveness as an instructor have ranged from 4 to 5 on a 5-point scale. Comments provided by peer evaluators for Dr. Diaz cite his teaching strengths as maintaining exceptionally high professional standards, making sure each student develops ownership of their learning experience, and delivering the curriculum with humor and simplified explanations. Student comments demonstrate an appreciation for Dr. Diaz’s sense of humor, high but fair expectations, and ability to explain complex concepts in a relatable way. In addition, Dr. Diaz has also been selected by students as a commencement speaker.
Degrees
Ph.D., Leadership, Health Sciences, University of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, Kentucky, United StatesDissertation: The Meaning Doctoral Physical Therapists Make of Their Previous Student Service-Learning Experiences with the Homeless Population
D.P.T., Physical Therapy, Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles, California, United StatesDissertation: N/A
Certifications (Healthcare)
American Heart Association, Basic Life Support Provider, 235416820149, 2023-05-19, 2025-05-01
Post-Graduate Training
Type: Residency, Healthcare Partners, Residency, Orthopedics, Torrance, California, United States, December 2015, December 2016
Type: Fellowship, Azusa Pacific University, Fellowship, Movement System, Azusa, California, United States, February 2018, February 2019
Work Experience
2022 - Ongoing
Adjunct Faculty and Assistant Professor, Southern California University, Whittier, California, United States
2021 - 2023
Adjunct Faculty, Stanbridge University, Alhambra, California, United States
2021 - 2022
Adjunct Faculty, West Coast University, Los Angeles, California, United States
Physical Therapist, South Bay Sports Medicine, Torrance, California, United States
2018 - 2023
Adjunct Faculty, Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles, California, United States
2015 - 2021
Physical Therapist, Healthcare Partners (now Optum), Torrance, California, United States
2011 - 2023
Adjunct Faculty, California State University, Los Angeles, California
Hospital / Clinical Appointments
Physical Therapist, University Health Center, Whittier September 2023
Scholarly Contributions and Creative Productions
Poster Presentation
Completed/Published
Honors and Awards
Fall 2024 - Fall 2024
Global Health SIG Ribbon, 2024, Global Health SIG
Professional Membership
Spring 2024 - Ongoing
APTA, March 2016, Ongoing
Interests
anatomy, therapeutic exercise, orthopedics, hands-on skills, clinical mentoring, leadership, education, integrative healthcare, physical therapy, education, orthopedics, wellness, integrative health
Hear from the Students Who’ve Been in Your Shoes
I chose SCU when looking for a PA program because of their Integrative Medicine approach. I am from Michigan, and not many programs focus on this Integrative, Holistic approach when it comes to patient care in the Midwest, and I felt that was very important for me to learn as a future provider. My transition to semi-virtual learning has been very smooth and quite enjoyable. [su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]My favorite part about attending SCU is how tight-knit and diverse the community is. Coming from a large undergrad university and moving so far, it was very important for me to have a PA program that made me feel valued and invested in my success. At SCU, they do a great job of making you feel that.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Brianna Hadley
MSPA Class of 2022
One of the great things about SCU is we do have a campus layout, so all your classes aren't in a single room. We have our cadaver lab. We have different specialty rooms for physical assessment classes vs. acupuncture classes. All our acupuncture-specific classes have all the herbs in the room. You can pull out the herbs and look at them, whether in class or in between classes to get that extra studying in.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]My favorite part of SCU is the collaboration from our beginning terms. We were working alongside chiropractor students, PA students, and ayurvedic students. It's a unique community where we get to learn about these different fields and sit in classrooms with them and work with them in the clinic. It allows you to get an understanding of all the different fields and how they can work together, and what is unique about your field. I think that is a wonderful aspect that I didn't think was going to be as prominent as it is here; even now, in my upper term classes and I am not in class with chiropractic students, I can still reach out to them about a certain aspect I may not understand or if I am working on a case. I want another perspective I know I have them to reach out to, so that has been a great networking community to have resources for.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Dr. Jamie Kuljis
Graduate, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
"There are a lot of things that I love about the program at SCU. The first one is that the faculty come from a long line of Ayurvedic knowledge deeply rooted in ancient classical text. They studied Ayurveda, but they also lived it. When you learn from people who embody this wisdom, it's much easier to grasp this knowledge. The second thing I love is the camaraderie within the cohort. The combination of the training, supportive faculty, and the support of my peers and classmates has given me the confidence I need to start my own practice."
Portia Harris
Student, Ayurveda Program
Some of my favorite courses at SCU have to be the chiropractic procedure classes; those are the classes you get to hone in on your chiro skills, your palpation skills and ultimately work on the adjustments that make you a chiropractor. Those are the classes I feel enhance my knowledge the most and are some of the reasons I chose to become a chiropractor here are SCU.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]On top of chiropractic procedures classes, my favorite is the cadaver lab experience. The cadaver classes opened up my perception of what the human body is made up of. It allowed me to get an in-person perspective of how the body works and looks on the inside. I am genuinely thankful for those experiences because they opened and broadened my horizons to the human body and anatomy in general.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Jordan Vega
Student, Doctor of Chiropractic
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