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Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy practitioners work with people of all ages who, because of illness, injury, or developmental or psychological impairment, need specialized assistance in learning skills to enable them to lead independent, productive, and satisfying lives. This entry-level program for non-therapists is designed to prepare the student to treat clients with various disabilities, and be eligible for certification as an occupational therapist after successful completion of the Master of Science degree.

Program Benefits

• Twenty-eight month program of combined academic and clinical education
• Intended for the student who has a baccalaureate degree in an area of study other than occupational therapy
• The professional component provides a solid preparation for entry-level clinical practice as an occupational therapist

The Occupational Therapy department provides a strong, integrated, curriculum which will provide you with the skills and competencies needed to enter the profession. We have developed a variety of learning activities for each of our courses that will guide your learning and development into an occupational therapy professional. These learning activities will be presented through a variety of instructional formats. These formats will provide opportunities for the faculty to bring in materials and presentations from national and regional experts and provide flexibility in learning environments for students. The learning formats will include traditional face-to-face classroom learning with faculty and other students, WEB-enhanced learning (such as WebCt), face-to-face interaction via audio and video technologies (distance education technology), and combinations of these formats. WMU OT department faculty has extensive experience with the "blended learning" format, with these efforts supported by WMU Online Education. Each semester of the program will include a combination of these learning formats in the Kalamazoo undergraduate and graduate programs and in the Grand Rapids graduate program.

The Kalamazoo and the Grand Rapids entry-level occupational therapy master's degree programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. ACOTE's telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA. Graduates of the programs are 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.