Occupational Therapy Major

[abc123mom]

My dd is considering majoring in OT. I was wondering if anyone has kids that are/have majored in that. Where did they go to college? How was the workload? What high school science/math classes did they take? Any input, advice would be appreciated.

[Barbara H]

Great career - OT helped our family so much!

 

Most have a Master's degree and some a doctorate. I would expect in high school that the student take a college prep level of math and sciences. Because most students do incur some debt to go to graduate school, I would look carefully at undergrad debt and consider lower cost school options such as public universities. Graduate programs will have prerequisites they expect to see such as biology, anatomy, kinesology. But, students can choose from a wide variety of majors as long as they get in prerequisites.

 

Here are a couple of great places to get started with information about occupational therapy careers.

From the US Dept of Labor http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapists.htm#tab-1

From the American Occupational Therapy Organization http://www.aota.org/Students/Prospective.aspx

On both sites you can find out abouit the typical educational path, job duties, pay, etc.

[lamolina]

My sister in law is an OT, she has a 4 year undergrad degree. I am not sure if OT has now changed to where a Masters is required?

[AngieW in Texas]

OT generally requires a Masters.

 

My 17yo is planning on getting a BS in Neuroscience and then getting a Masters of Occupational Therapy.

 

The courses that she needs to make sure she has as an undergrad are:

Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs

Physics or Kinesiology (for one of the schools she is looking at)

Abnormal Psychology

Developmental Psychology

Sociology or Anthropology

Statistics

Medical Terminology

[8filltheheart]

Our dd is pursuing OTA (assistant). From what she has researched, there really isn't much difference between a 2 yr and 4 yr degree. The distinction starts at the master/doctorate level.

 

I recommend this site: http://www.aota.org/Educate/Schools.aspx

 

FWIW, there are about 30 hrs of pre-reqs for admission into an OTA program. Some states only have 1 accredited program for the entire state, so admissions can be competitive.

 

HTH

[hsmamainva]

Occupational Therapy is a Masters program so you can major in anything for your Bachelor's and then there are suggested classes to make sure your student takes while pursuing their Bachelor's degree because they are considered pre-requisites for graduate school. Such classes would be Chemistry, Physics, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Medical Terminology, etc.

 

Acceptance into almost all OT master's programs also require a certain number of "shadowing hours" where you volunteer at an occupational therapy clinic or practice for a certain number of hours (anywhere from 30 - 60 hours is required).

 

So they look at pre-requisite classes taken, GPA (3.0 is a minimum requirement -- many require 3.4 or better), GRE scores (the higher the better), and the number of shadowing hours.

 

Here's a list of colleges that offer an OT masters program. You can then visit each one online to find out their individual requirements.

 

http://www.aota.org/Educate/Schools/EntryLevelOT/38119.aspx

 

My oldest is currently a junior in college, completing her Bachelor's in Psychology and looking forward to pursuing her Masters in Occupational Therapy. She's working as a paid intern at a local pediatric Occupational Therapy clinic, and working 16 - 20 hours per week. She loves it!

[MomsintheGarden]

A friend of mine has a daughter who is in "pre-OT" for WVU (http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/ot/Education/Traditional-MOT-Program/Default.aspx). WVU has a 2 + 3 Master's program. The student takes prerequisite and general education courses for 2 years, applies to the OT program in the 2nd year of prereqs, is in the OT program for the remaining 3 years, so graduates with a Master's in 5 years. Her daughter has shadowed at an OT practice, and will continue to do so.

 

WVU accepts about 40 students each year to their OT program. Since the school is in WV, I believe they prefer WV residents in their application process.