All candidates seeking admission to the Graduate Occupational Therapy Program must complete the courses below. Equivalent courses previously taken at other institutions may be considered for transfer credit, except for those identified below as required to be taken at Dominican University New York (DUNY) after acceptance to the program. Specific courses listed below require a minimum grade of B-. In all other courses, anything less than a B- might not be accepted, and a grade of lower than a C will not be accepted. In addition, candidates must have a prerequisite GPA of at least 3.0.
NOTE: Courses with a grade of “P” are not accepted. Anatomy and Physiology I and II courses that are entirely online are not accepted. However, hybrid versions with online lectures and in-person labs are acceptable. (See further explanation below about courses taken during the height of the pandemic and declared public health emergency between January 2020 and May 2021, when most colleges and universities were affected and required to teach only online courses). Courses taken after May 2021 must either be entirely in-person or hybrid, as noted above.
All undergraduate-level prerequisites must be completed before beginning the professional course sequence in the Fall trimester to which the candidates have been accepted.
- CS 111 Dynamics of Oral Communication (may be called Public Speaking by some institutions)
- BI 223 Anatomy and Physiology I – must have been taken within the past 5 years and earn at least a B-
- BI 224 Anatomy and Physiology II – must have been taken within the past 5 years and earn at least a B-
- MA 225 Introduction to Statistics
- PS 102 General Psychology II or equivalent
- PS 210 Lifespan Human Development
- PS 226 Abnormal Psychology
- SO 111 Introduction to Sociology or an Introductory Anthropology course
- BI 333 Neuroscience – must earn at least a B-
- PY221 General Physics with lab (or PY 114 Topics in Physics, only taught at DUNY) – must earn at least a B-
SPECIAL NOTE RELATED TO ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY COURSES TAKEN BETWEEN JANUARY 2020 AND MAY 2021:
Online Anatomy and Physiology I & II courses taken during this period may be acceptable but require the submission of the course syllabus, including detailed information about the specific online laboratories and the virtual lab application used. Acceptability is solely the purview of the Biology faculty of DUNY, not the OT program or the Graduate Admissions Office of DUNY.
The following courses must be taken at Dominican University New York
OT 521 Introduction to Occupational Therapy Practice #
OT 532 Kinesiology in Occupational Therapy Practice #
# – May only be taken after all other prerequisites are completed, and the student has been officially accepted into the Graduate Occupational Therapy Program. Courses are only offered during the summer trimester before the fall start of the professional course sequence.
This statement of prerequisites is subject to amendment in two respects:
- Writing proficiency is critical in the profession of Occupational Therapy. DUNY is committed to providing its students with the preparation to assist them in the Program and their later careers. Thus, all candidates are required to provide two writing samples, contained within the OTCAS application, as part of the Program’s admission process. Candidates demonstrating low proficiency in writing may be required to take a remedial writing course or tutoring assistance from DUNY’s Academic Success Center.
- The Anatomy & Physiology Challenge Examination is required to transfer Anatomy & Physiology I and/or II with grades of B- or higher earned more than five years before applying to DUNY. The challenge exam may only be repeated once. Students who do not meet the academic standard for the challenge exam will be required to retake BI 223 and/or BI 224 (Anatomy and Physiology I and II). Students with grades lower than B- in BI 223 and BI224 will be required to retake these courses. Please note that science prerequisites may only be retaken once to earn the minimum required grade.