Occupational Therapy Doctorate, Center City

The Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) is an entry-level professional doctorate designed to prepare students to enter the field of occupational therapy at the doctoral level.  Students with a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in a field other than occupational therapy and who are in the process of completing, or have successfully completed, the prerequisite courses are eligible to apply.

The OTD program is designed to prepare occupational therapists with in-depth knowledge of one or more of the following: clinical practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, and theory development. Our graduates may engage in collaborative research and practice as direct care providers, consultants, educators, managers, leaders, researchers, and advocates for the profession and the consumer. The OTD program is completed in three years and consists of  118 graduate credits of coursework to develop professional knowledge and competencies.

The OTD program consists of three years of training:

September-May: fall and spring semester coursework

May-June: summer session coursework

September-December: fall semester coursework

January-June: two full-time Fieldwork Level II rotations (full-time) and online coursework

July-August: summer session coursework fully online

September-December: minimum of 280 hours doctoral capstone experience and doctoral capstone project and fall session coursework

January-May: minimum of 280 hours doctoral capstone experience and doctoral capstone project, spring session coursework, and completion of scholarly project suitable for publication & oral presentation

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program is a year-round, three-year program comprised of classroom, laboratory, exams, and clinical education rotation. 

The Fact Sheet contains additional institutional information. For questions, contact [email protected]

The entry-level Doctoral program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

ACOTE, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD  20814 
Phone: 301-652-6611  |  https://www.acoteonline.org/

ACOTE® accredited occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant educational programs satisfy the states’ educational requirements in all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Students graduating from an ACOTE® accredited occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant educational programs are eligible to take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) certification exam and apply for licensure in all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. NBCOT Program data results are available here.

For more information regarding state qualifications and licensure requirements, please refer to the AOTA State Licensure webpage. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.