The Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science offers an entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree. The entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate Degree is designed to prepare students to become Occupational Therapy practitioners.  Graduates will learn how to help people attain their desired level of participation in life regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, or socioeconomic background.  They will learn Occupational Therapy practice across the lifespan and across practice settings.  They will become scholarly and innovative thinkers, and will articulate clearly through written and verbal communication the value of the profession.

The University of Vermont’s 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 (2682) and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. The program must have a preaccreditation 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.

Degree Requirements

Students enter the entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy program with a bachelor's degree. The program is an 8-semester, 98-credit program that consists of traditional, didactic teaching, experiential learning, fieldwork, and a scholarship capstone project and experience. Students must satisfactorily complete every aspect of the program. Students must also complete and maintain College of Nursing and Health Sciences mandatories including but not limited to:  Immunizations, CPR, HIPPA/OSHA training, criminal background checks, etc.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork in the OTD program is where students are given the opportunity to practice learned skills in real-world settings. In the OTD program, students participate in 2 Level II fieldwork experiences, 12-weeks each for a total of 24 weeks. During these Level II fieldwork experiences, students work under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapist. Students must successfully pass the 2 12-week Level II fieldwork experiences as part of the entry-level OTD program.

Capstone Experience and Project

Students are expected to complete a capstone project. The capstone project is an individual, scholarly project that enhances the student’s knowledge in an interest area. As part of the capstone project, the student designs and executes a 14-week capstone experience and identifies a capstone mentor to work with during this process. Students must successfully complete and disseminate the entire capstone experience and project as part of the entry-level OTD program.