Occupational Therapy Program

Entry Level Clinical Doctorate

The FDU entry level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy is an eight-semester cohort-based program, running full time including summers. During the length of the program students will participate in coursework, fieldwork, and a capstone experience.

  • Coursework provides students with foundational, practice based and scholarly knowledge to prepare them for their professional career as an occupational therapist.
  • Fieldwork consists of Level I which runs congruently with coursework. Level II fieldwork is independent of coursework and provides a hands-on opportunity to complete supervised entry level practice.
  • The capstone experience is the culminating piece of the entry level doctorate which includes an onsite immersive scholarly experience and project.

An Occupational Therapy Doctorate from FDU will prepare you to be an occupational therapist with skills in generalist practice with the knowledge to advance equitable, diverse, inclusive, interprofessional, and sustainable health care practices. The FDU student can expect an interprofessional learning environment. Coursework will facilitate active learning, collaboration and will prepare students for occupational therapy practice and leadership roles in diverse practice settings and communities.

Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate Details
Admissions
Academics
FAQS

Accreditation Status

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted 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.

Mission

The Occupational Therapy program focuses on educating a new generation of interdisciplinary system thinking and compassionate leaders who are socially and environmentally engaged within local and global health practices to advance equitable, diverse, inclusive, and sustainable health care practices.

Core Values

  • Sustainable Development – committed to building sustainable healthcare practices
  • Interprofessional Practice – promoting team-based client-centered practices to deliver the highest quality care
  • Creativity: cultivating innovative thinking and methods that positively impact pressing sustainable healthcare approaches and practice.
  • Racial Equity: full participation of all individuals and health equity.
  • Inclusion: building a culture of belonging and participation for all people
  • Ethical Practice: fulfilling our commitment to honesty, transparency and accountability for our actions and outcomes.

Philosophy

Occupational Therapy as a rehabilitation profession, is driven by the frameworks and models of rehabilitation science articulated by the American Occupational Therapy Association (Moyers & Dale, 2007), World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning–Disability and Health (2001), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research of the National Institutes of Health. The purpose and role of occupational therapy are to optimize a client’s occupational performance within their social, economic, and environmental spaces. The quintessential goal of OT interventions is in facilitating sustainable approaches to achieving health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in occupations (AOTA, 2014). The OTD program envisions that effective, sustainable development practices will benefit all people, the planet and afford prosperity to improve individuals’ lives and well-being. The previous statement reflects the philosophical underpinnings of the occupational therapy doctorate program and provides the foundations for the curriculum design.