Post-Baccalaureate OTD Curriculum
The curriculum is reviewed regularly and subject to modification in both content and credit as deemed necessary to maintain a high-quality educational experience and to keep current with best practices in the profession.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summer Semester | Credits | |
| OTD 510 | Clinical Anatomy in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OTD 500 | Philosophy and Science of Occupational Therapy | 2 |
| OTD 510L | Clinical Anatomy in OT Practice Lab | 1 |
| OTD 505 | Development of Human Occupations Seminar | 2 |
| Credits | 8 | |
| Fall Semester | ||
| OTD 501 | Occupational Therapy Theory | 3 |
| OTD 502L | OT Service Learning | 1 |
| OTD 503 | OT Practice Framework & Professional Reasoning | 2 |
| OTD 515 | Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice | 3 |
| OTD 511 | Applied Kinesiology | 2 |
| OTD 511L | Applied Kinesiology Lab | 1 |
| OTD 512 | Applied Neuroscience in OT Practice | 4 |
| OTD 512L | Applied Neuroscience in OT Practice Lab | 1 |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| OTD 522 | Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth I | 6 |
| OTD 522L | Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth I Lab | 1 |
| OTD 522F | Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth I Fieldwork | 1 |
| OTD 520 | Occupational Therapy Mental Health and Psychosocial Practice I | 3 |
| OTD 520L | Occupational Therapy Mental Health and Psychosocial Practice I Lab | 1 |
| OTD 530 | Administration and Management of Systems | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Summer Semester | ||
| OTD 524 | Occupational Therapy for Adults and Older Adults I | 6 |
| OTD 524L | Occupational Therapy for Adults and Older Adults I Lab | 1 |
| OTD 524F | Occupational Therapy for Adults and Older Adults I Fieldwork | 1 |
| OTD 528L | Biomechanical Interventions Lab | 1 |
| OTD 531 | Leadership and Change | 2 |
| OTD 526 | Technology in OT Practice | 2 |
| OTD 526L | Technology in OT Practice Lab | 1 |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Fall Semester | ||
| OTD 523 | Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth II | 6 |
| OTD 523F | OT for Children and Youth II Fieldwork | 1 |
| OTD 523L | OT for Children and Youth II Lab | 1 |
| OTD 521 | OT Mental Health and Psychosocial Practice II | 3 |
| OTD 521F | OT Mental Health and Psychosocial Practice II Fieldwork | 1 |
| OTD 521L | OT Mental Health and Psychosocial Practice II Lab | 1 |
| OTD 751 | Capstone Seminar I - Exploration | 2 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| OTD 525 | OT for Adults and Older Adults II | 6 |
| OTD 525F | OT for Adults and Older Adults II Fieldwork | 1 |
| OTD 525L | OT for Adults and Older Adults II Lab | 1 |
| OTD 527 | Work and Ergonomics | 3 |
| OTD 760 | Principles of Teaching/Learning | 2 |
| OTD 752 | Knowledge Translation and Synthesis | 3 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Summer Semester | ||
| OTD 580 | Fieldwork Level IIA | 6 |
| OTD 753 | Capstone Seminar II - Planning | 2 |
| Credits | 8 | |
| Fall Semester | ||
| OTD 581 | Fieldwork Level IIB | 6 |
| Credits | 6 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| OTD 582 | Professional Development | 2 |
| OTD 754 | Capstone Seminar III - Preparation | 2 |
| OTD 790 | Doctoral Project Seminar | 1 |
| OTD 791 | Doctoral Experience | 2 |
| OTD 762 | Health Policy, Law & Advocacy | 2 |
| OTD 764 | Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship | 2 |
| Credits | 11 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Summer Semester | ||
| OTD 790 | Doctoral Project Seminar | 1 |
| OTD 791 | Doctoral Experience | 4 |
| Credits | 5 | |
| Total Credits | 115 | |
Fieldwork Expectations
All students are responsible for transportation to all fieldwork experiences. All students are required to maintain viable health insurance, malpractice insurance, CPR certification and current immunization record according to their fieldwork placement requirements. A fieldwork site may have additional requirements as part of its affiliation agreement such as background checks and site-specific mandatory in-services. Failure to comply with fieldwork requirements may negatively impact a student's ability to participate in fieldwork. The department also requires current membership in the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Capstone Expectations
All students are required to complete a capstone experience (OT 791) and a capstone project (OT 790) in the final semester. All fieldwork and didactic requirements must be satisfactorily fulfilled and a student must pass a comprehensive competency exam prior to matriculating into OT 790 and OT 791.
- CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE: The capstone experience is a mentored process by an individual with demonstrated expertise in the student's area of interest. The capstone experience may occur in a traditional clinical site or non-traditional/non-clinical site that is appropriate for the implementation of the capstone project and the integration of learning. Students are responsible for transportation to all capstone experiences. All students are required to maintain viable health insurance, malpractice insurance, CPR certification and current immunization record according to their capstone placements. A capstone site may have additional requirements as part of its affiliation agreement or memorandum of understanding such as background checks and site-specific mandatory in-services. Failure to comply with capstone experiential requirements may negatively impact a student's ability to participate.
- CAPSTONE PROJECT: The doctoral capstone project is an opportunity for students to demonstrate in-depth knowledge in occupational therapy and the attainment of all program learning outcomes. The project concludes in the production of a scholarly manuscript and oral presentation to the occupational therapy practice community.
Progression, Retention and Graduation Requirements
All policies and procedures regarding progression, retention and graduation are found in the OTD Student Handbook. These policies and procedures are routinely reviewed with the students at the beginning of each semester and/or during advising.
Grade and Course Sequence Requirements
The program uses a tiered approach to curricular progression.
- During Tier 1 (summer and fall of the first year), students must meet a semester GPA of 3.0 and a C+ in all OT courses.
- During Tiers 2–4 (remainder of the program), students must meet a semester GPA of 3.2 and a B- in all lecture courses, and a B+ in laboratory courses and in Level I fieldwork.
- In addition, all students must acquire a “Pass” in their Level II fieldwork (Tier 3) and Doctoral Capstone Experience (Tier 4).
Failure to meet the aforementioned requirements will result in a referral to the Academic Progression and Retention Committee (APRC). The outcome of such referral may be: program probation with course remediation; a program probation with a course repeat (and repay); or a program dismissal.
All courses must be taken sequentially as indicated in the program of study. Students may request in writing to the department chairperson (or designee) any deviations from the course sequence, waivers from occupational therapy courses, and/or transfer credits from other occupational therapy programs. All requests must be approved by the APRC and the department chairperson.
Fieldwork Requirements
- Students must complete all the required didactic coursework and be in good academic standing prior to starting Level II fieldwork (OT 780 and OT 781).
- All Level II fieldwork experiences must be completed within 12 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program.
Capstone Requirements
- Students must complete all didactic coursework and Level II fieldwork, be in good academic standing and pass a comprehensive exam prior to starting the Doctoral Capstone Experience (OT 791) and Project (OT 790).
- The Doctoral Capstone Experience and Project must be completed within 12 months following the successful passing of the comprehensive exam.
Successful completion of all didactic, fieldwork and capstone requirements is necessary for graduation with the degree of Doctor of Occupational Therapy.