Program Description

An entry level doctoral degree in occupational therapy will prepare students to enter the profession with strong foundational skills in occupational therapy assessment and intervention, advanced training in clinical skills, leadership and advocacy, clinical research, and program development. Throughout the doctoral program, students will be challenged to learn and apply occupational therapy principles to traditional and emerging areas of practice, in hospital and community-based settings and for individual clients and population groups. Graduates gain valuable skills to become leaders in their field, advance in their careers, and position themselves as agents of change to influence policy and practice.

Students entering the OTD Program complete 3 years (9 semesters) of professional courses to prepare them for all areas of occupational therapy practice. The curriculum includes 24 weeks of full-time fieldwork experiences. Students may choose to complete a graduate certificate to focus their preparation for a specific area of practice. OTD students conclude their education with a 14-week doctoral capstone where they apply and expand their knowledge and take on leadership roles to develop a new program addressing specific client needs, conduct research, promote policy changes, or provide education.

UNH BS-OT Students Apply to the Advanced Standing Clinical Doctorate (OTD)

Students who are completing the undergraduate portion of our occupational therapy program declare their intent to apply to our Advanced Standing OTD program by the end of their sophomore year. These students take professional courses as part of their baccalaureate degree requirements.

Students applying to the Advanced Standing program must apply for admission to the Graduate School and meet Graduate School requirements for entry into the graduate portion of their program, and be officially admitted by the Graduate School. This process occurs in the spring semester of the senior year. An overall minimum grade point of 3.0 is required for admission. Students must earn a grade of B- or above in all OT courses at 700 level. However, they may not earn more than 8 credits at B- or lower in OT courses at 700 level or above. They must have passed all level I fieldwork requirements.

Students should speak with their academic advisor regarding specific application requirements for writing a personal statement and letters of recommendation.

Requirements for the Program

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
OT 830 & 830L	Assistive Technology for Enhancing Occupational Performance and Assistive Technology for Enhancing Occupational Performance Lab	4
or OT 871 & 871L	Enabling Participation in Community Groups and Enabling Participation in Community Groups Lab
OT 845	Administration and Management for Occupational Therapy Practice	3
OT 846	Fieldwork and Professionalism-Level II	1
OT 854	Level II Fieldwork, I	8
OT 855	Level II Fieldwork Discussion	1
OT 856	Level II Fieldwork, II	8
OT 862 & 862L & 862R	OT Evaluation and Intervention for Children and OT Evaluation and Intervention for Children - Lab and OT Evaluation and Intervention for Children Recitation	4
or OT 860 & 860L & 860R	Psychosocial Evaluation and Intervention and Psychosocial Evaluation and Intervention Lab and Psychosocial Evaluation & Intervention Recitation
OT 865	Occupational Therapy Practice and Professional Reasoning	3
OT 964	Age Well: Occupational Therapy with Older Adults	3
OT 998	Recent Advances in Neurological Evaluation and Intervention	3
OT 983	Engagement in Research	3
OT 965	Occupational Therapy Practice and Professional Reasoning	3
OT 975	Leadership in OT Systems of Practice	3
OT 901	Introduction to Capstone	2
OT 902	Capstone Preparation	3
OT 903	Capstone: Project Implementation, Evaluation and Dissemination	12
Elective or Graduate Certificate Course		3-4

Student Learning Outcomes

Occupational Therapy OTD Entry-level Program Student Outcomes at the completion of the professional entry-level OTD Program, our graduates will:

Demonstrate commitment and ability to use meaningful occupation for promoting health and well-being.

Our curriculum emphasizes the idea that engagement in everyday occupations will lead to fulfillment of life roles and the promotion of health and well-being of individuals, communities, and populations. Our graduates are ready and dedicated to apply occupation-based evaluation and intervention techniques, and to share and expand authentic occupational therapy practice.

Demonstrate professional attitudes and behaviors in their interactions with clients and others.

Our graduates will be dedicated to ethical, client-driven practice demonstrating cultural sensitivity, integrity, honesty, compassion, and fairness. They will demonstrate respect for all persons with whom they work, appreciating and considering individual identities, priorities, abilities, and life experiences. They will be able to collaborate in intraprofessional and interdisciplinary teams within various settings, understanding the roles and expertise of other occupational therapists and other professionals.

Demonstrate entry-level competencies as OT practitioners across diverse practice settings, skilled in the delivery evidence-based, occupation–centered evaluation and intervention techniques.

Our graduates develop critical thinking skills and the capacity for creative clinical reasoning for providing client-centered, occupation-centered services. Graduates will apply a variety of evaluation methods for understanding a person’s occupational history, abilities, challenges and goals. They will apply occupation-centered intervention approaches and innovative technologies to address the needs of individuals and populations in traditional and emerging medical, educational, and other community-based practice settings.

Demonstrate skills for translating research-to-practice and generating new knowledge grounded in occupational therapy practice.

Our graduates will be skilled in identifying, critiquing, and synthesizing relevant research for delivering evidence-based services. Graduates will demonstrate capacity to translate research evidence to influence practice. They will have skills for contributing to the body of knowledge that supports and advances the profession.

Demonstrate skills to become leaders and innovators as practitioners, researchers, advocates, educators, administrators, policy-makers, and entrepreneurs.

Our graduates will apply leadership knowledge and skills, ethical reasoning, knowledge of policy and systems to be agents of change in diverse settings. Our graduates will be life-long learners and innovative thinkers committed to ongoing professional development. Our graduates will support and promote occupational justice for individuals, communities, and populations.

Application Requirements & Deadlines

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Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

Fall: N/A
Spring: N/A
Summer: March 1
Special: N/A

Application fee: $65

Campus: Durham

New England Regional: No

Accelerated Masters Eligible: No

New Hampshire Residents

Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission or you will not be able to register for classes.

Transcripts

If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC.

If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.

If admitted, you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:

Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.

Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.

Letters of Recommendation: 2 Required

Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

Brief essay, stating interest in continuing into the graduate program to enter the profession.

Resume

A current resume is required with your submitted application.

Additional Department Requirements

Prerequisite Course Verification Form (required): The regular program requires that all applicants print and complete the OT Prerequisite Course Verification Form. All prerequisites must be completed at the time of application. Please email the form to the UNH Graduate School. If you have questions about using the form, please contact Barbara.White@unh.edu in the OT department. Those applying to the Advanced Standing program, or current and recently graduated UNH B.S. in Occupational Therapy students, do not have to submit the prerequisite verification form.

Students who are currently in the UNH BS Occupational Therapy Program and applying to the Occupational Therapy Advanced Standing OTD Program should talk with their academic advisor in the Occupational Therapy Department regarding any questions on the application process.

The Occupational Therapy Department at UNH has applied for accreditation for an entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program 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-AOTAand 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). The UNH Program is scheduled for on-site evaluation in the fall of 2025, prior to a May 2026 graduation.

Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork within two years of completing professional program academic coursework. They must also complete an individual 14-week doctoral capstone experience within 12 months following the completion of all required coursework and Level II fieldwork as well as completion of preparatory capstone activities.

After completing all program requirements, students are 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 the NBCOT 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 UNH Occupational Therapy Department will accept applications from interested students with a baccalaureate degree for entry into the OTD Program in the Fall 2022 to begin courses in the Summer 2023.

UNH students enrolled in the BS/OTD Program will begin taking professional level courses as part of their BS degree and enter the OTD Program with advanced standing in Summer of 2024.

Important Notes

All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.

International Applicants

Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.

Occupational Therapy (Advanced Standing) (O.T.D)