Program Standards

  • As adult learners in a graduate-level professional education program, students are expected to be fully responsible for their learning and achievement
  • The first-year students entering the program in the Fall are required to attend the program orientation days which are heldin June on at least one weekday
  • The Graduate Occupational Therapy program requires all students to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for each trimester and cumulatively
  • The courses must be taken in the order established in the curriculum
  • There is no part-time option
  • A student may repeat or withdraw from one (1) 6-credit and one (1) 3-credit course only once during the entirety of the program.
  • Due to the intensive and condensed nature of the on-campus portion of the program, there are no excused absences. Failure to attend the entirety of the first session of each course in each trimester will result in the student needing to immediately withdraw from the course and register for it at the next available opportunity.
  • The academic portion of the program must be completed within 150% of the normal length of the curriculum
  • Level II Fieldwork must be completed within 18 months of the completion of the academic portion of the curriculum

Program of Study

The entry-level Master’s Occupational Therapy curriculum requires students to participate in seven trimesters of academic work (63 credits) and two trimesters of field work (6 credits) for a total of 69 credits.

All students require the completion of two Level I and Level II Fieldwork Experiences. For Level I Fieldwork experiences, all students require two six-day experiences in connection with the Level I Fieldwork Seminar course (3 credits).

Level II Fieldwork experiences for all students require the completion of two full-time three-month-long Level II Fieldwork experiences (3 credits for each fieldwork) directly following the last academic trimester. All Level II Fieldwork must be completed within eighteen (18) months after completion of the academic coursework.

Students enter the program with a strong liberal arts foundation, including specified courses in the social sciences and basic sciences. The prerequisite course of OT 521 Introduction to Occupational Therapy will ensure that all OT students, regardless of prior education, have a basic understanding of the profession’s history, philosophy, and domains of concern, to facilitate a successful transition to the graduate professional-level of OT education.

The degree conferred upon completion of the program is a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy for those already holding Bachelor degrees or higher, and a combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science degree for COTAs holding an Associate degree.