Program of Study for the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
Admission Requirements: Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; complete application to the Graduate School ; official general GRE exam scores, unless waived.
To be considered for admission, applicants must meet or exceed the criteria for admission to the Graduate School . Meeting this condition does not guarantee admission. All aspects of the application are reviewed by the program relative to the entire applicant pool prior to recommending admission.
Standardized Exam Waiver Eligibility: The standardized exam (GRE) may be waived for applicants with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Additional Admission Requirements: Complete application through the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application System (OTCAS); observation hours with an occupational therapy practitioner, preferably across at least three diverse settings, documented according to date and time observed; at least one reference letter from a current or previous instructor and one from a licensed healthcare provider; a writing sample based on a prompt addressing the non-credit prerequisite; interview with program faculty; and successful passage of a criminal background check as required by clinical fieldwork sites.
Prerequisites: The program faculty reserves the right to request course syllabi to confirm course content for prerequisite coursework in: Human anatomy (with lab)*; Human physiology (with lab)*; Statistics (covering both descriptive and inferential statistics); Human development (a lifespan course is preferred; child development may be accepted); and Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology. Social or cultural systems (may come from a variety of disciplines; focus should be on social or cultural institutions, systems, or practices than transcend the level of the individual).
In addition, a social sciences course focused on sociocultural groups or population health: Cultural Anthropology, Disability Studies, Sociology of Health, Family and Society, Social Inequality, Public Health, Medical Anthropology (or the equivalent of one of these courses).
* Note: When Anatomy and Physiology are taken as a combined course, two semesters with labs are required to meet this requirement.
Additional Information: The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy begins in the Fall semester and progresses across 24 subsequent months, including summer sessions. It is designed as a two-year full-time program of study. The program is based fully on campus through Fall of year two; in the Spring and Summer of the second year students will be enrolled in two 12-week fieldwork placements that may or may not be in the local area. Academic coursework in Spring of year two will be offered fully online to accommodate students who have remote placements.
Location: Boone Campus
Note on Academic Standards for Retention in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
In order to maintain enrollment status, students must: adhere to the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy expectations for professional behavior; follow the American Occupational Therapy Association Code of Ethics; earn no more than two final course grades of “C” or lower in required coursework. These requirements are more fully outlined in the MS in Occupational Therapy Student Handbook and will be discussed at program orientation.
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