Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Upon successful completion of academic preparation and level II fieldwork experiences, students are eligible to take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT) exam. For more information on NBCOT visit https://www.nbcot.org/

The OTD's inaugural class entered the program in 2018 and took the NBCOT exam in 2021. 

To explore NBCOT Pass Rate for OT programs click NBCOT Performance Rate. 

Once qualified applicants enter the doctoral program, the faculty is committed to seeing that students successfully complete the program in a timely manner. In 2018, the inaugural year of the OTD program, we admitted seven students; 5 students or 71% successfully completed the 3-year sequence and graduated. Two of the doctoral students decided to change programs and graduated with a Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2020. In the second cohort 100% of students completed their degrees and  graduated on time 

For the incoming class of 2020, 5 students had their degrees conferred in August 2023 while the remaining 6 students will have their degrees conferred in January 2024.*

*The 2023 graduation rates are a result of the program sequence change. Students in the program at the time of the change had the option to complete the program with either the original or revised sequence. Of the 11 students admitted in 2020- 1 changed to the MS program, 5 graduated in August 2023 and 5 graduated in January 2024. So all students graduated from the OT department (OTD=10; MS=1) and were eligible to sit for the NBCOT exam.

**The 2021 graduation rates of 77% reflects that 2/9 Incoming cohort transferred to the MS program due to life circumstances. All students in the incoming 2021 OTD cohort have graduated from either the MS or OTD program and have successfully passed the NBCOT exam. 

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652- AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program 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, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.  Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork and an individual 14-week capstone experience within 24 months following the completion of the didactic portion of the program. The doctoral capstone experience must be started after completion of all coursework, Level II fieldwork and preparatory activities defined in 2018 ACOTE OTD Standard D.1.3. 

OTD In-State Tuition (2024-2025 Academic Year) 

OTD Out-of-State Tuition (2024-2025 Academic Year)