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The Division of Occupational Therapy was established in 2019 within the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at °®¶¹´«Ã½'s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. 

Our Vision

The vision of the Division of Occupational Therapy at °®¶¹´«Ã½ is to educate and mentor doctorally prepared practitioners who will be collaborative, innovative, and have the skills and knowledge to meet the health, well-being and occupational participation needs of a diverse global society through occupational engagement.  

Our Mission

The Division of Occupational Therapy at °®¶¹´«Ã½ prepares reflective, motivated and disciplined occupational therapists for clinical scholarship mastery in the roles of practitioner, manager and contributor who are prepared for society’s ever-changing needs. The occupational therapy program will graduate practitioners who are innovative leaders in the field, clinically informed, grounded in the perspective of occupation and demonstrate the ability to translate and apply research into clinical practice. 

°®¶¹´«Ã½'s Division of Occupational Therapy creates a learning community of scholars, researchers, educators and students with a wide range of professional and personal experience who are committed to meeting the diverse needs of a global society.  

Our Philosophy

The philosophy of the Division of Occupational Therapy at °®¶¹´«Ã½ is to provide high-impact educational experiences grounded in our belief that occupation is a health determinant and participating in occupations is a fundamental human right. 

We believe learning is an occupation, and we provide students with opportunities to engage in dynamic learning experiences in an environment that fosters and advances diversity, equity and inclusion. We promote and facilitate the professional development of occupational therapy students by fostering a culture of learning that emphasizes clinical reasoning, cultural humility and integration of the values and ethics of occupational therapy.

We are committed to developing occupational therapy practitioners prepared for evidence-based practice as practitioners, managers and contributors to promote individual, community and population health as the core of occupational therapy practice.

Accreditation and Licensure

°®¶¹´«Ã½'s Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Entry-Level Professional program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Candidacy Status by the of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), 7501 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 510E, Bethesda, Md. 20814; telephone 301-652-AOTA.

The program must undergo a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for occupational therapists administered by the . After successfully completing this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR). 

In addition, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.