Program Requirements

Occupational Therapists are health care professionals who assist individuals of all ages in activities associated with everyday life and occupational concerns. Occupational therapists provide comprehensive evaluations of the client’s home, school and work environments, make recommendations for adaptive equipment and training in its use, therapeutic interventions to achieve maximal outcomes and provide education for family members and caregivers when needed. Occupational therapists utilize a holistic perspective in which the focus is on adapting an individual’s environment to fit the person.

REQUIRED COURSES FOR ADMISSION BY MOST OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SCHOOLS
Course Name Credits MSJ Course(s) Pre-requisites
Principles of Biology I 4 BIO 111 & 111A  
General Physics I & II 8 PHY 201 & 201A
PHY 202 & 202A		 MTH 185
Anatomy and Physiology I & II 8 BIO 201 & 201A
BIO 202 & 202A		 BIO 111 & CHE 112
Statistics 3 MTH 176 MTH 098
Lifespan Development 3 PSY 204 or 205 PSY 103
Written Word 3 ENG 101  
Sociology 3 SOC 103  
Health Care Ethics 3 ETH:PHI 250  
Recommended COURSES
Course Name Credits MSJ Course(s) Pre-requisites
Embryology 4 BIO 203 &203A BIO 111
Neurobiology 4 BIO 328 & 328A BIO 201 or BIO 197
Pathophysiology 4 BIO 225 BIO 197 & BIO 198 or BIO 201 & BIO 202
300 level or above Psychology courses
300 level or above Biology courses in Human Development, Movement Science or Exercise Physiology

The courses that are listed above are commonly required or recommended by graduate schools.  In addition to the specific courses that are listed above, students are expected to take core courses in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.  Students who are interested in a particular school should refer to that school’s website for specific requirements.

HPAC Advisor:  Marsha Eifert-Mangine, EdD, PT, ATC
Office:  Health Sciences Division (SW141), 513-244-4785
Email:  marsha_eifert-mangine@mail.msj.edu

Admission Requirements

Occupational Therapy School Admission Requirements

Many professional occupational therapy education programs are a combined bachelor’s/master's program. These programs often take transfer students into the master’s program, but may require individuals to complete transitional course work at their institutions in order to be admitted into their occupational therapy professional education programs. Completion of clinical observation in the field is required by some but not all schools, but most schools require letters of recommendation as part of the application process. Clinical observation is a common path taken to obtain letters of recommendation from licensed, competent professionals. Many occupational therapy education programs require a written personal statement as part of the application. To learn more about a career in occupational therapy visit the AOTA website at www.aota.org or further information about studying to become an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, send inquiries to educate@aota.org. To ask questions of an OT or OTA student, send inquiries to AskAStudent@aota.org.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Some programs require the completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The revised GRE (implemented August 1, 2011) is a four-hour computerized exam that includes two multiple-choice sections (Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning) and an Analytical Writing Section. The reasoning sections are scored individually on a scale from 130 to 170 in one point increments and the writing section is scored on a scale from 0 to 6 in 0.5 point increments.  The GRE is offered year-round but you must wait 60 days to retake the exam. Students should take the exam 12-18 months before the expected date of entry to the professional program. Each school has its own minimum requirements.  Additional information and free test preparation materials are available at http://www.ets.org/gre.

 In order to be eligible to sit for the NBCOT certification examination, one must graduate from an ACOTE-accredited program. A list of accredited occupational therapy programs can be found at http://www.aota.org/Students/Schools.aspx

Doctoral Degree Programs

The University of Toledo (Formerly the Medical University of Ohio at Toledo) www.utoledo.edu/hshs/ot/

Master’s Degree Programs

Hyperlinks to these and all accredited OT programs can be accessed through the AOTA at: http://www.aota.org/Students/Schools.aspx

These summaries and course listings are intended to serve as guidelines. Please refer to the College Catalog at http://www.msj.edu/catalogs for the latest information on course listings.

College of Mount St. Joseph, September, 2012