Occupational Therapy Doctorate
The Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program is a three-year, year-round professional program that prepares students for community or clinical practice, post-doctorate educational experiences, and many other occupational therapy practice opportunities. Students may be admitted to the pre-occupational therapy bachelors degree program directly from high school and upon successful completion of established criteria, may be considered for admittance to the three-year professional program.
Experiential Educational Goals and Objectives
Occupational Therapy Department web site
OTD Experiential Educational Goals and Objectives
The Drake University Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program will prepare students with the flexible, clinical, analytical and practice skills necessary to succeed in occupational therapy through an interdisciplinary blend of professional, science, and liberal arts education. The purpose of the program is to provide graduates with an advanced entry-level knowledge base, skills, attitudes, ethics and values to succeed in occupational therapy careers. The curriculum is designed to provide the graduate with competence in these areas:
A. Research and Evidence-based Practice.
- Graduates will have obtained certification in Human Subjects Research Design.
- Graduates will be able to complete a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methodology designed research project.
- Graduates will be able to produce critically appraised papers of evidence-based interventions.
- Graduates will be able to critically analyze evidence for application to practice.
B. Service learning at the local, national, and international levels for diverse and underserved populations.
- Graduates will have participated in a variety of service learning opportunities in a variety of traditional and nontraditional practice settings for diverse populations.
- Graduates will be able to develop programming for groups and individuals in typical practice settings as well as international practice settings.
- Graduates will be able to develop programming for a variety of service events and community organizations to enhance health and well-being in diverse and underserved populations.
C. Collaborative, compassionate, competent, and innovative practitioners utilizing occupations to advance health and well-being.
- Graduates will be able to grade occupations in collaboration with the individuals they serve to meet their needs to enhance participation in desired life activities.
- Graduates will be able to adapt occupations and equipment in collaboration with the individuals they serve to meet their needs to enhance engagement in desired life activities.
- Graduates will demonstrate therapeutic use of self to improve outcomes for their clients.
- Graduates will collaborate with clients, caregivers, and a variety of professionals to develop strategies and techniques for increasing participation in desired life activities.
D. Entrepreneurial leadership to develop the profession and mentor future occupational therapists.
- Graduates will be able to mentor and educate future occupational therapists in a variety of settings.
- Graduates will be able to deomonstrate leadership skills necessary for volunteer positions in local, state, national, and international levels.
- Graduates will be able to develop emerging practice settings to advance the occupational therapy profession.
- Graduates will understand the importance of life-long learning and professional development throughout their careers.
E. Design adaptive and dynamic teaching-learning environments centered around discovery of knowledge in a variety of settings and contexts.
- Graduates will be able to use activity analysis and synthesis to design interventions for individuals in a variety of settings and contexts.
- Graduates will demonstrate the ability to utilize teaching-learning strategies to assist individuals for increasing engagements in preferred life activities.
- Graduates will have basic knowledge and recognize the need to consult with experienced and specialty or board certified practitioners to advance knowledge and skill level in practice.
Curriculum
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| Total Program Hours: 145.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
*Independent Study during the OTD Year 2 may be worth up to 4 credits each. This will bring the OTD Track Credit total up to 147.5
Admission
The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-3449. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org. The program must have a preaccreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, most states require licensure in order 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.
Admission to the Drake University OTD program is based on academic and personal qualifications that are necessary for successful, competent practice as an occupational therapist. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of the fit between their personal goals and the mission and goals of the OTD program. Prior education, work experience, honors, awards, service to others and leadership activities are also considered in the admission process. Prior shadowing in an OT environment is helpful, but not required.
Students can apply to our OTD program by meeting the following requirements. Please note that these are the requirements applicants must meet in order for their applications to be considered complete. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee admission to the OTD program.
- Submit an application through the Centralized Application Service for Occupational Therapy (OTCAS)
- Submit a Drake University Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) Supplemental Application and $70 application fee
- Take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and have scores submitted directly to OTCAS (institution code 1892); no minimum score is required to be considered for admission to the OTD program
- Earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university by the end of the spring semester prior to entering the OTD program
- Earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (as calculated in OTCAS)
- Complete (or be in the process of completing) the prerequisite coursework outlined in the table below; all required courses must be completed by the end of the spring semester prior to entering the OTD program
| Subject | Credit Hours | Drake Courses |
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Anatomy and Physiology A complete year course sequence in anatomy (one semester) and physiology (one semester) is required. Students may take a combined anatomy/physiology sequence, but they must take both semesters in order to fulfill the requirement. Labs are required. |
8 credit hours (including labs) | HSCI 125/L and 141 (PHAR 125 may replace HSCI 125); or BIO 018/L and 129 |
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General Psychology A one-semester introductory course in psychology is required. This course must fulfill the prerequisite to allow students to take courses in developmental and abnormal psychology. A lab is not required. |
3 credit hours | PSY 001 (4 credit hours) |
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Developmental Psychology Students may take a one-semester course in child and adolecent development, adult development and aging, or lifespan development. A lab is not required. |
3 credit hours | PSY 042 or 044 |
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Abnormal Psychology A one-semester course in abnormal psychology is required. A lab is not required. |
3 credit hours | PSY 076 |
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Physics A one-semester course in general physics is required. This may be a course designed for physics, life science or health science majors. A lab is not required. |
3 credit hours | PHY 011 or 132 |
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Statistics A one-semester course in general statistics is required. Business, psychology or biological science statistics courses are accepted. |
3 credit hours | STAT 060 or 071 |
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Medical Terminology A one-semester course in medical terminology is required. |
1 credit hour | HSCI 095 |
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English Composition A complete year course sequence in college-level English writing or composition is required. The sequence can be made up of a one-semester college-level composition course and a one-semester intensive writing course. |
6 credit hours | FYS and Written Communication AOI |
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Public Speaking A one-semester course focused on public speaking is required. Common course titles include Fundamentals of Speaking or Public Speaking. Interpersonal speaking and communciation courses will NOT be accepted. |
3 credit hours | SCSR 073 |
Students must earn a grade of C or higher in order to receive transfer credit and fulfill prerequisite courses. Please see Drake University's Transfer Credit Information page or contact the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at (515) 271-3018 for more information. Students who wish to fulfill prerequisites using Advanced Placement (AP) scores must earn a 4 or higher on the AP exam. Please see Drake University's AP, IB and CLEP Credit policy or contact the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for more information.
Application materials for the Summer 2017 term are now available. Drake University's Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program operates on a rolling admission process. We recommend submitting application materials early in order to ensure your application is processed and considered in a timely manner. Students with strong applications and academic credentials will be invited to complete the second phase of the admission process, which includes a scored on-campus interview and a scored writing assessment.
2016-2017 Drake University Graduate and Professional Programs Catalog
