Entry-Level Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD)
The entry-Level Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) is designed for students with a Bachelor's or Master's degree who want to become licensed occupational therapists.
See Also: SHP Bulletin and Student Handbook
Admissions Requirements
Application Opens: July 18
Program Application Deadline: October 15
To be considered for admission to the Entry-Level Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program, applicants must present official documentation of the following student competencies:
Application Process
- Create an account and follow directions listed at the OTCAS website once it opens in mid-July. For more information, visit the OTCAS Applicant Help Center.
- Complete and submit your OTCAS application by October 15.
Note: Your application will be considered incomplete if there is missing information, transcripts and/or documentation by the published deadlines, and will not be processed because of the volume of applications received. - Submit all official transcripts from each college and university that you have attended directly to OTCAS.
- Pay appropriate fees to OTCAS (varies).
- After your OTCAS application is in the verified status, OTCAS will submit your application to UTMB and then UTMB will send an email to the applicant with the link for the supplemental application ($40).
- UTMB Enrollment Services will process your prerequisites and submit your application to the department for admission review. Once received, applicants will be given a UTMB ID number to access MyStar.
- Top candidates will be invited for an individual interview, a group interview, and meet with current OT students at the UTMB campus. No telephone or Skype interviews will be offered. Applicants must attend in person.
Curriculum
The entry-level Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) program includes both didactic and clinical courses totaling 114 credit hours of coursework over a period of 3 years. Level I Fieldwork is embedded in the first 2 years with Fieldwork Practicums. Level II Fieldwork follows successful completion of all didactic courses with the capstone experience at the end of the 3rd year.
All fieldwork education and doctoral capstone must be completed within 24 months of completion of academic coursework.
COVID-19 Updates for New Applicants
We have received a number of emails/messages from our applicants and admitted students regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We want you to know we are thinking about you during this time. The University of Texas Medical Branch, School
of Health Professions wants to help support our future students impacted by the outbreak.
Please continue to monitor the Occupational Therapy web page for additional updates as they become
available.
To see UTMB School of Health Professions latest announcements please feel free to visit our SHP COVID-19 web page for updates.
For University-wide updates on UTMB's COVID-19 information, please visit the UTMB COVID-19 web page.
Application
We will continue accepting student application materials for the Entry-Level Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) up to the official application deadline - October 15.
As soon as you are able to send your documents, please do so.
We are here to help you as you work through the admissions and application process. Please let us know if you have any questions via email at ot.admissions@utmb.edu.
Observation Hours
We understand that fulfilling all parts of the application process may be difficult at this time, so we will remain as flexible as possible with the understanding that you may not be able to fully complete observation hours at this time. Should you not
be able to complete the requirement of documentation of at least 20 clock hours of observation, volunteer or paid experience in one or more occupational therapy settings prior to the application deadline date your application will still be accepted
for review.
If an applicant is invited to interview and remain unable to complete the required observation hours, applicants will be asked to prepare and provide a short 800-word essay detailing your research on the Occupational Therapy profession and why you would
be a good fit for our program.
Recommendation Letters
It is understood that without the observation hours it may be difficult to obtain a letter of recommendation from an OT practitioner. In this case, a third letter of recommendation from another source will be accepted.