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 Pre Accreditation 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. The program must 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. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.   

Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork within 18 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program and graduate within five (5) years of starting 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 2.750 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 $65.00 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

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Required Courses
ANA 6005 and ANA 6005L	Applied Human Anatomy and Applied Human Anatomy Lab	4
ANA 6009	Applied Neuroanatomy	3
OCC 6000	Introduction to Occupational Therapy	3
OCC 6003	Evidence-Based Practice	3
OCC 6004	Health and Equity Disparities	1
OCC 6007	Human Occupations Across the Lifespan	3
OCC 6008 and OCC 6008L	Applied Human Movement and Applied Human Movement Lab	2
OCC 6010	Research Methods	3
OCC 6011 and OCC 6011L	Mental Health Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions and Mental Health Conditions, Assessments, and Interventions Lab	5
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 6028	Management in Occupational Therapy	3
OCC 6032	Level II Fieldwork A	6
OCC 6033	Level II Fieldwork B	6
OCC 6040	Learning Community	1
OCC 6045	Level I Fieldwork-A and Mental Health Learning Community	2
OCC 6050 and OCC 6050L	Foundations of Pediatric Practice and Principles of Assessment and Foundations of Pediatric Practice and Principles of Assessment Lab	5
OCC 6055 and OCC 6055L	Pediatric Occupational Therapy Intervention Strategies and Specialized Practice and Pediatric Occupational Therapy Intervention Strategies and Specialized Practice Lab	5
OCC 6060	Level I Fieldwork-B and Adult Learning Community	2
OCC 6065	Community Practice Seminar	2
OCC 6070 and OCC 6070L	Foundations of Adult Orthopedic Conditions, Assessment, and Treatment and Foundations of Adult Orthopedic Conditions, Assessment, and Treatment Lab	4
OCC 6075 and OCC 6075L	Foundations of Adult Neurologic Conditions, Assessment, and Treatment and Foundations of Adult Neurologic Conditions, Assessment, and Treatment Lab	5
OCC 6080	Level I Fieldwork-C and Pediatric Learning Community	2
OCC 6090	NBCOT Exam Preparation	0
Total Units		78

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 within 18 months of the expected timeframe for completion of didactic coursework.
• 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.