Occupational Therapy

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Department Faculty

Timothy Blasius, Donald Earley, Janet Nagayda

Overview

The education program in occupational therapy, leading to an entry-level Master of Science in Occupational degree (M.S.O.T.), has both undergraduate and graduate components. Occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession that provides services to individuals across the life-span whose abilities to cope with tasks of living are impaired by physical injury or illness, the aging process, psychological and social disability, or developmental disabilities. The goal of occupational therapy is to assist individuals to achieve a maximum level of independent living by developing and enhancing the capacities that remain after disease, accident, deformity or disability, and/or through adapting the individual’s environment.

The Occupational Therapy Program is 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. AOTA’s phone number is (301) 652-AOTA. Students successfully completing all requirements for both the undergraduate and graduate portions of the occupational therapy program (including all fieldwork) leading to the Master of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy, will be eligible to sit for the National Certification Examination for Occupational Therapy 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). Most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

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