The present investigation sought to explore whether meaningful relationships exist between underrepresented minority (URM) status, pipeline program participation, and student pursuit of physical therapy (PT) as a career. A total of 139 first-year post-Baccalaureate entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students participated in the research investigation by completing an online survey involving self-report of undergraduate GPA scores, GRE percentile ranking, and reflections on pipeline program experiences during high school and undergraduate years. Among study participants, 45.3% were URM students and 54.7% were non-URM students. Neither URM status nor pipeline program participation accounted for the variability in the number of entry-level DPT programs to which students applied. Student academic effort (overall unweighted GPA and unweighted science GPA) leading up to PT school application was not influenced by URM status or pipeline program participation. Underrepresented minorities, regardless of pipeline program participation, performed lower on average on the analytical section of the GRE as compared to their majority peers. Underrepresented minorities without pipeline program participation demonstrated higher performance on the quantitative section of the GRE as compared to their majority counterparts. Pipeline program participation demonstrated a suppressive effect on URM performance on the quantitative section of the GRE; however, URM students with pipeline program experience maintained higher quantitative GRE percentile rankings on average as compared to their majority peers. Underrepresented students with pipeline program experience demonstrated significantly higher career interest development and self-efficacy beliefs. All students with pipeline program experience, regardless of background characteristics, demonstrated significantly greater career interest development, self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and goal representations. Implications for increasing diversity among physical therapy professionals through successful recruitment and admission of URM students into entry-level DPT programs are highlighted by the present research study. Efforts to facilitate PT-specific pipeline programs for the purpose of supporting the academic achievement, test-taking skill, and qualitative experiences of prospective PT students, particularly those from URM backgrounds, can be informed by the outcomes of the current study and the associated body of literature regarding pipeline programs and URM student success. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]