Admissions Criteria | Health Professions | SIU

Admissions Criteria

The entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program, offered through the School of Health Sciences within the College of Health and Human Sciences, has been granted Pre-accreditation status for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7051 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814-6116. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY DOCTORATE (OTD) IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Admission Criteria

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program accepts students to begin the course sequence each fall semester. Applicants admitted to the program will be granted admittance into SIUC as a graduate student. The minimum admission guidelines for the clinical Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) Degree program mirror those of the Graduate School at SIUC, with additional guidelines set specific to the OTD program, provided below:

Applicants will possess a minimum of a baccalaureate degree, in any major, from a regionally accredited college or university

• Possess a minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• Submit, along with their application, official transcripts for all attended institutions
• Provide three satisfactory professional recommendation letters from:
  • A supervisor of employment, volunteer service or observation experience
  • A professor or teacher, a healthcare provider, or an academic advisor
  • A person of your choosing who can address your potential for academic success in graduate school

Completion and submission of an application for enrollment into the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program.

Demonstration of college level writing abilities (written essay) as prompted within the personal statement portion of the application.

Professional resume included within the application.

GRE scores are not required to apply.

Complete prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better, prior to the start of the program, to include the following:

• General course in social/behavioral science. Example: General Psychology, Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, or Social Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology
• Human Growth and Development. Example: Developmental Psychology, Child Development, Adolescent Development, Adult Development, Aging or Lifespan Development
• Anatomy - If a two-part series, both courses must be completed to fulfill the Anatomy requirement
• Physiology 200 Level or above
• Social Science or Business Statistics

Prerequisite course grades and/ or an overall GPA lower than the minimum criteria will be considered, however; priority will be given to applications that meet minimum criteria.

If your native language is not English, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score requirements will follow the requirements set forth by the SIUC Graduate School.

Enrollment in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program is limited and based on a competitive process. Applicants will be evaluated on the overall submitted application package and rank order of applications that meet minimum criteria for admission.