Occupational Therapy, M.S.
The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) is designed to prepare graduates to take the national licensing examination (i.e., NBCOT) to become Occupational Therapists.
Accreditation
Point Loma Nazarene University's Master of Science in Occupational Therapy has been granted program accreditation by the Western Association of Senior Colleges and University Commission (WSCUC). WSCUC can be contacted at 1080 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 500, Alameda, CA 94501: (510) 748-9001.
The entry-level occupational therapy master’s degree program at PLNU 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 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD, 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA; its web address is www.acoteonline.org, and its email address is accred@aota.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.
Additionally, students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork within 18 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program.
National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT®) Exam Pass Rate
The Point Loma Nazarene University Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Department will publish its Occupational Therapy National Certification Exam (NBCOT®) pass rates for the five most recent graduating classes when this information becomes available.
Program Learning Outcomes
The Point Loma Nazarene University Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Program Graduate will be able to:
- Use critical reasoning to provide evidence-based occupational therapy services across the lifespan, in a variety of service delivery models, health care settings, and community-based systems.
- Develop and utilize a therapeutic use of self during client interactions, which supports the client’s engagement in occupational therapy, and achievement of the clients’ goals.
- Provide services within a client-centered and occupation-based framework, with consideration of contextual factors, which influence a person, groups’, and/or populations’ ability to engage in meaningful occupational tasks and roles.
- Demonstrate compliance with legal, ethical, and professional standards when interacting with clients, service providers, and/or systems.
- Exhibit the ability to document, manage, and evaluate outcomes of services provided.
- Develop clinical programs, which meet a need for underserved persons, groups, and/or populations in the community.
- Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in clinical practice through the delivery of high quality, accessible, and culturally responsive care within a technological and global environment.
- Advance the awareness and ability to work collaboratively with interdisciplinary team members to enhance the provision of client-centered, quality occupational therapy services.
Admission Requirements
See https://www.pointloma.edu/graduate-studies/programs/occupational-therapy-ms
Application Process
Applications to the program occur through the Centralized Application Service for Occupational Therapy (OTCAS). Please visit the OTCAS website for more information or email OTCAS.
Applications are reviewed when the OTCAS application has been verified. Students may have up to 8 credit hours of the required prerequisite courses in progress at the time of application but must complete these courses prior to the program start date, except for Anatomy and Physiology I and II, which must be completed by the time of application to the program.
Interviews and acceptance will be on a rolling basis throughout the year until the cohort is filled.
Admission Criteria
To be admitted into the Occupational Therapy program, an applicant must meet these requirements:
- Completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. College seniors are eligible to apply providing they will receive their degree prior to the August start of the program.
- Applicants must meet a minimum GPA of 3.000 in their most recent 60 semester units of work, including both graduate and undergraduate coursework.
- Prerequisite courses may only be repeated once; the second course grade will be used to calculate the average GPA.
- All applicants must meet the program’s technical standards.
Prerequisite Courses
Completion of the following prerequisite courses
- One semester of each of the following, each course completed with a grade of “B-” or 3.000 or better:
- Anatomy & Physiology I with lab (must be completed within the past 5 years)
- Anatomy & Physiology II with lab (must be completed within the past 5 years)
- In lieu of a combined A & P, you may take one semester of anatomy and one semester of physiology. Online and in-person classes accepted1.
- One semester of each of the following, each course completed with a grade of “B-“or better within the past 10 years. Courses can be taken online.
- Abnormal Psychology (3 units)
- Lifespan Development or Developmental Psychology (3 units)
- Medical Terminology (at least 1 unit)2
- Introductory Statistics (in behavioral or social sciences, 3 units)
- Sociology, Anthropology, or Social Psychology (3 units)
These courses must be taken at any accredited community, public, or private college or university. Online courses at accredited colleges are also acceptable for psychology, sociology, anthropology, or statistics courses.
Applicants are not given credit for previous coursework towards degree completion in an occupational therapy program. High School AP course credit may be accepted based on the Program Director/Admission Committee review.
You may have up to eight (8) credit hours of prerequisite courses in progress at the time of application to the program. If you are accepted into the program while currently enrolled in required prerequisite courses, you will be provisionally accepted. The provisional acceptance will be changed to full acceptance once transcripts are received that confirm successful completion of outstanding prerequisite courses that are aligned with the criteria above.
- 1
Students looking to fulfill their anatomy prerequisite have the option to complete it through PLNU's Anatomy Learning Institute.
- 2
Medical Terminology either must be on your official transcript with the required grade/units or you can connect with our admissions team to discuss alternatives by emailing gradinfo@pointloma.edu.
Experience
Observation Hours
- A minimum of 40 observation hours (virtual or in-person) are required. Documentation of hours should be uploaded to the OTCAS. In lieu of observation hours, however, students may watch videos and write a paper about the OT profession from viewing the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) website’s career resources. Refer to below for more details on this second option.
- For students submitting proof of knowledge about the OT profession gained from the AOTA website, address the following points in a well-thought-out summary that does not exceed three pages. You will send this documentation to the graduate admissions office.
- What were the OT practice areas discussed in the AOTA career videos?
- How do current OT practice areas support the original tenets of the OT profession?
- What surprised you about the OT profession?
- What practice areas resonated with you and why?
- Additionally, there is a 20-hour video learning platform that can be used to obtain credit for 20 observation hours. The cost of this video learning is $49.99 and can be located on the site ClinEdWeb. Send completed certificate to gradinfo@pointloma.edu.
Work/Volunteer Experience
- Preference is given to applicants who have prior work and/or volunteer experience in healthcare or educational settings. You will describe applicable work and volunteer experience on the OTCAS.
Preferences
- Point Loma Nazarene University graduates.
Letters of Recommendation
Three letters of reference (personal or professional) are required. You will be provided with the link on OTCAS to send to your references.
Personal Essay
Please answer the following essay question in no more than 300 words:
- PLNU's MSOT program mission is to produce competent and professional graduates who provide evidence-based and occupation-focused interventions that serve others as an expression of faith. How have your personal, educational, spiritual, and professional life experiences contributed to your passion for becoming an occupational therapist?
International Students
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL), taken within the last 2 years, is required for any applicants for whom English is not their native language. The TOFEL requirement may be waived for applicants with a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited US institution. To review your application, we must receive official scores from ETS for the TOFEL. Only the IBT (Internet Based Test) form of the TOEFL will be accepted. We require a total score of 93 and a speaking score of 26 for entry into our program.
Advanced Placement/Transfer Credit
Applicants are not given credit for previous coursework towards degree completion in an occupational therapy program.
Occupational Therapy Student Handbook
Click here to view the MSOT Student Handbook
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ANA 6005 and ANA 6005L | Applied Human Anatomy and Applied Human Anatomy Lab | 5 |
| ANA 6009 | Applied Neuroanatomy | 3 |
| OCC 6000 | Introduction to Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OCC 6002 | Professionalism in Occupational Therapy Seminar I | 1 |
| OCC 6003 | Evidence-Based Practice | 3 |
| OCC 6004 | Health and Equity Disparities | 1 |
| OCC 6005 | Community Practice Seminar I | 1 |
| OCC 6006 | Case-Based Learning Seminar I | 0 |
| OCC 6007 | Human Occupations Across the Lifespan | 3 |
| OCC 6008 and OCC 6008L | Applied Human Movement and Applied Human Movement Lab | 3 |
| OCC 6010 | Research Methods I | 3 |
| OCC 6011 and OCC 6011L | Mental Health Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions and Mental Health Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions Lab | 4 |
| OCC 6012 | Case-Based Learning Seminar II | 0 |
| OCC 6013 | Level I Fieldwork A - Mental Health Conditions | 1 |
| OCC 6014 and OCC 6014L | Group Process and Group Process Lab | 2 |
| OCC 6015 | Case-Based Learning Seminar III | 0 |
| OCC 6016 | Healthcare Systems and Professional Documentation | 3 |
| OCC 6017 | Interprofessional Seminar | 0 |
| OCC 6018 and OCC 6018L | Assistive Technology and Assistive Technology Lab | 3 |
| OCC 6019 and OCC 6019L | Patient Skills Management and Patient Skills Management Lab | 2 |
| OCC 6020 and OCC 6020L | Childhood Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions and Childhood Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions Lab | 5 |
| OCC 6021 and OCC 6021L | Adolescent Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions and Adolescent Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions Lab | 3 |
| OCC 6022 | Case-Based Learning Seminar IV | 0 |
| OCC 6023 | Level I Fieldwork B - Pediatric/Adolescent | 1 |
| OCC 6024 | Research Methods II | 2 |
| OCC 6025 | Community Practice Seminar II | 2 |
| OCC 6026 and OCC 6026L | Orthopedic Adult - Older Adult Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions and Orthopedic Adult - Older Adult Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions Lab | 5 |
| OCC 6027 and OCC 6027L | Neurologic Adult - Older Adult Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions and Neurologic Adult - Older Adult Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions Lab | 5 |
| OCC 6028 | Management in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OCC 6029 | Case-Based Learning Seminar V | 0 |
| OCC 6030 | Level I Fieldwork C - Adult/Older Adult | 1 |
| OCC 6031 | Professionalism in Occupational Therapy Seminar II | 1 |
| OCC 6032 | Level II Fieldwork A | 6 |
| OCC 6033 | Level II Fieldwork B | 6 |
| OCC 6034 | Professionalism in Occupational Therapy Seminar III | 0 |
| Total Units | 81 | |
Graduation Requirements
To earn and receive a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree, a student must satisfy all of the following:
- Successful completion of all didactic educational requirements.
- Successful completion of two, 12-week Level II Fieldwork experience courses within 24 months of finishing didactic coursework.
- A completed application for degree candidacy conveyed to the Office of Records. Note: Students may participate in Commencement convocations with an approved plan of six or fewer units remaining to complete their degree in the following semester.
- Payment in full of all tuition, fees, and other financial obligations owed to the university, including a degree processing fee, and
- All requirements completed within five (5) years from the time of initial enrollment.
MSOT Program Graduation Rates
The Point Loma Nazarene University Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Department will publish its Occupational Therapy graduation rates for the most recent graduating glasses when this information becomes available.