This fall, UAB’s School of Health Professions will enroll its first cohort of 25 students in its new clinical doctorate in occupational therapy degree (OTD) program, which is the first of its kind in Alabama.
Proposed several years ago by Elizabeth Barstow, Ph.D., associate professor in the school, and Department of Occupational Therapy professor Laura Vogtle, Ph.D., the new online, post-professional doctorate program began accepting applications in January after being approved by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees this past fall.
Barstow and Vogtle, who directs the post-professional OTD program, surveyed existing OTD programs across the country and examined professional documents and standards to create a version that maximizes existing UAB offerings and newly created courses while catering to the needs of post-professional students. The degree is designed to be earned entirely online while enrolled part-time to accommodate working occupational therapists likely only to have time to take one or two courses per semester, Barstow said.
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Despite having not held its first class, the OTD program is ranked No. 1 in the Best Online Colleges for Value by SR Education Group based on tuition costs and UAB’s academic strength score. |
“We cater to working adults and understand that people who commit to the OTD program have work, families and other responsibilities,” continued Barstow, a recipient of the 2018 President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. “The curriculum is designed for that particular person. It’s an online program with flexibility.”
UAB’s creation of a post-professional OTD program also paved the way for another new program: an entry-level OTD program for students who have degrees in other fields but want to become occupational therapists. Curriculum for the entry-level OTD is being developed, Barstow said.
UAB’s move predated the spring mandate by the American Occupational Therapy Association that entry-level degree requirements for occupational therapists would rise to the doctoral level by July 2027, effectively placing UAB ahead of the curve in this field. Barstow said that inquiries from practicing alumni and occupational therapy students alerted them to changing tides in the field.
Degree details
The OTD program offers three separate tracks: a generalist track applicable across practice settings, as well as low vision rehabilitation and health care quality and safety tracks. The low vision rehab program is an extension of the school’s graduate certificate program in low vision rehabilitation, which Barstow directs and which earned the 2017 Envision Oculus Award for its impact on improving the lives of people with low vision. One of the courses Barstow instructs in the certificate program, “Foundations in Low Vision Rehabilitation II,” received the 2017 UAB Provost’s Transformative Online Course Award.
Elizabeth Barstow, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Health ProfessionsDuring their survey of other OTD programs offered to post-professional students, only one other offered any courses devoted to low vision training, Barstow said.
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“We cater to working occupational therapists with either a bachelor’s or masters degree and understand that people who commit to the OTD program have work, families and other responsibilities.” |
“Now, students who want to focus on low vision rehab can earn both their OTD and graduate certificate at the same time,” she added.
The health care quality and safety track formed in partnership with the Department of Health Services Administration, offers a graduate certificate spanning those areas enabling occupational therapists who want to develop their leadership skills and move into management positions. Students pursuing an OTD on the health care quality and safety track can earn their certificate at the same time, as with the low vision rehab track.
“We saw the trend forming,” Barstow said. “We knew we already had the low vision rehabilitation and health care quality and safety certificates in place at UAB, and it just seemed like a great fit for us to go ahead and get this new doctorate on the books.”
A promising start
Despite having not held its first class, the OTD program was ranked No. 1 earlier this year in the Best Online Colleges for Value by SR Education Group based on tuition costs and UAB’s academic strength score, which is based on average college entrance exam scores provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.
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“When we are able to offer diversity in different degree paths, it’s more interesting for occupational therapists who want to continue their education.” |
“We were excited,” Barstow said of earning the No. 1 ranking, “but also shocked, because we’d never admitted a class.”
Enrollments in the OTD program have also spiked enrollments for the low vision and health care quality and safety certificate programs, which can be dually earned with the OTD. The fall’s enrollment numbers for the certificate programs are higher than ever, Barstow said, and attributes that rise to diversifying options for interested students.
“The programs feed into each other and make the other more robust,” she said. “When we are able to offer diversity in different degree paths, it’s more interesting for occupational therapists who want to continue their education.”
