Occupational Therapy
Professors
John Jackson, Chair
Amanda Blevins
Whitney Ennis
Amy Evans
Teri Gilley
Angelika Pine
Lynne Umbarger
Lindsey Williams
Stephanie Williams
The Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) Program will close and is transitioning to an entry level Doctorate of occupational Therapy Program (OTD) with a start date of fall 2020. The last cohort in the MOT program is expected to graduate in December 2021.
The Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program will be offered on the Emory & Henry College School of Health Sciences Campus in Marion. The OTD program is a 36-month program, consisting of nine consecutive semesters, including two 12-week clinical fieldworks and one 1 14-week experiential experience.
Program Mission
Emory & Henry College’s motto is “Increase in Excellence” and has an intention to be a learning community with a commitment to freedom and civic virtue. The mission of the Occupational Therapy Program is to graduate competent entry-level occupational therapists that are occupation-centered and possess leadership skills, advocacy, critical thinking and professional reasoning skills that will enable them to serve and meet the occupational therapy needs of communities. Graduates will have necessary skills to work in a variety of settings including rural healthcare settings to meet the needs of those who are underserved in areas of health disparities.
Vision
The vision of the Occupational Therapy Program is to be innovative and a national leader in occupational therapy graduate education and to transform the lives of others in order to promote a positive change in the region, nation and world communities.
Requirements for Admission
Admission Requirements:
Hold a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
Completed a minimum of 40 documented hours of observations with an Occupational Therapist.
Have a minimum overall cumulative GPA of 2.75 and 3.0 for prerequisite courses.
Have a grade of ‘C’ or better in all required prerequisite courses.
Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) using Emory & Henry College’s OTCAS ETS #7409.
Completion of CPR for Healthcare Professionals certification, immunizations, and background check prior to enrollment.
3 letters of recommendation from professionals with at least one from an Occupational Therapist.
500-word essay.
Required Prerequisite Courses:
Human Anatomy and Physiology 8 hours
Physics and/or Kinesiology 3 hours
Abnormal Psychology 3 hours
Human or Psychology Development 3 hours
Statistics or Research Design 3 hours
Sociology and/or Philosophy and/or Ethics 3 hours
Medical Terminology 1-3 hours
*No AP or CLEP credit will be allowed for the prerequisite courses. All prerequisites are subject to evaluation. There may be afew course alternatives but these will need to be approved by the program director. Admission will be on a competitive and space available basis. The OTD Admissions Committee uses an internal rubric scoring system to score items such as overall GPA, prerequisite GPA, last 60 hours GPA, GRE scores, application essay, references, onsite interview, etc. Based on the admission rubric the Admissions Committee will select applicants for an admission interview. Additional points are scored for Emory & Henry College graduates, current residents of Southwest Virginia (as defined by Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority), and Northeast Tennessee (as defined by the program - Sullivan County, Washington County, Johnson County, Carter County, Unicoi County, Greene County, Hawkins County and Hancock County). A bachelor's degree can be in progress but must be completed prior to enrollment of the program. CPR for professionals, all immunizations must be current, and background check must be completed prior to enrollment in the program. At time of enrollment, each student must sign a Technical Standards/Essential Functions form.
The Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program at Emory & Henry College will participate in the Occupational Therapist Centralized Application Service, known as OTCAS, for each admissions cycle. Applicants applying to the entry-level occupational therapist education program for a fall start should apply online using the OTCAS application beginning in July of the prior year (https://otcas.liaisoncas.com). Deadline for the application will be December of prior year to the next fall start.
Early Decision (Non-Binding) Information
The early decision application deadline is September 1, 2021. Applicants must submit all required documents in OTCAS by the deadline including the OTCAS application, official transcripts, three references, GRE scores and application additional questions with essay response. Supplemental fee must be paid by deadline.
Applicants are required to have an overall and prerequisite GPA of 3.5 or higher in order to be considered for early decision.
Applicants may be offered early admission, denied admission, or deferred to regular applicant status. Interviews will be conducted in September. Admission decisions on early decision applicants will be made by October 2021. The early decision program is a non-binding option.
Academic policies/Requirements for Promotion and Graduation
Attaining the OTD degree requires the successful completion of all didactic courses, clinical fieldworks, and a capstone experience and project as sequenced into nine consecutive semesters. The two full-time clinical fieldworks and one capstone experience are completed at off-campus sites, and students are responsible for all travel and living expenses during the fieldworks and capstone experience. Satisfactory progress through the Program requires a GPA of B (3.00) each semester. The minimum passing grade for each course is a C (2.00) as long as the semester GPA is maintained at a grade of B (3.00). Level two fieldworks and the capstone experience must be completed within a 24-month period of time after the completion of the didactic portion of the program.
Transfer Credit
The Occupational Therapy Program may accept up to 9 credits of program-specific courses that will be considered on a case by case basis. The coursework must have been completed at a regionally accredited institution, from a program currently accredited by the program’s accrediting body and taken within the 2 years prior to requesting consideration for transfer. The courses will be evaluated by the Admissions Committee of the program, including a faculty member with knowledge/expertise in the content area of the course being considered, to determine equivalency to program courses in the Occupational Therapy Program at Emory & Henry College.
In order to consider transfer of credit to these programs, the applicant must meet the following criteria:
1. An applicant cannot have been dismissed by another program secondary to not meeting academic or professional standards.
2. An applicant seeking transfer to this program must meet the minimal standard requirements for acceptance into the program.
Students are assigned an academic advisor within the program to monitor their progress and to recommend resources for students experiencing academic difficulty. Students who fail to maintain the academic requirements and/or ethical policies are subject to probation or dismissal. Students dismissed from the Program may apply for readmission after one year.
Please refer to the Program's Student Handbook for details on all academic policies.
ACCREDITATION
The entry-level occupational therapy master’s degree program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. 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 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.
The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has Candidacy status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org. The program must have a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates 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 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.
Candidacy status does not guarantee Accreditation by ACOTE.