The post-professional OTD requires 40 credit hours, including 25 credit hours of core courses and 15 credit hours of required electives.
The curriculum is designed for working occupational therapists. Students are encouraged to take one to two courses per semester and should work with the program director to plan their course progression. Students who want to take more than 6 credit hours in a semester must receive approval from the program director.
OT 701: Theoretical Foundations for Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits)
Occupational therapy frameworks, theory, philosophy, conceptual models, and practice models as guides to clinical reasoning; integration into clinical practice.
OT 702: Leadership for OT Practice Excellence (2 credits)
Leadership competencies for the occupational therapist; leadership and management theories to guide and enhance professional practice.
OT 703: Advocacy and Healthcare Policy in Population Health (3 credits)
Broad overview and challenges of the current U.S. healthcare system; impact of regulation on health care access, delivery, cost, and quality; effective patient-professional relationships.
OT 704: Research Design for Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits)
Emphasis on study designs, advanced statistical concepts, internal and external validity, confounding variables, extrapolation of findings from sample to population; critique of the professional literature.
OT 705: Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practice Design and Application (3 credits))
Strategies for evidence-based service delivery; critical analysis of the literature to support clinical practice. OT 704 is a prerequisite for this course.
OT 706: Management for Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits) Managing people and resources in a practice environment changing due to political, regulatory, economic, and social drivers.
OT 707: Occupational Therapists as Educators (2 credits)
Role of the occupational therapist as educator; teaching and learning styles; effective organization of educational experiences.
OT 798: Occupational Therapy Capstone Experience/Non-Thesis Project (minimum of 6 credits)
Students complete a capstone project, paper, and presentation. OT 798 is completed over two or more semesters and requires a minimum of 6 credit hours.
Required Electives
Students work with the program director upon admission to select 15 credit hours of electives that meet the degree requirements and support their professional goals.