The Occupational Therapy program is approved by New York State Education Department and fully accredited through (ACOTE) the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. Utica College’s OT program is unique in its community alliances that allow students and professors to promote critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and skill development.
Occupational Therapy
Students who have been accepted as freshmen into the direct entry program mst complete Core and Major Course requirements (35 credits) for the Health Studies Degree. No required prerequisite course can be repeated more than once. Students may apply to the HSOT program as incoming freshmen or as transfers following three semesters of college work with a GPA of 3.0 or better. In order to continue into the OT course work as seniors, students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, and have completed a total of 25 hours of observation with an OT in at least two different settings by January of their junior year.
Health studies students interested in occupational therapy must meet with the chair of the occupational therapy program for specific advising as early in their academic career as possible.
Learning Objectives
Graduates will:
- Identify key components of professional ethics and behaviors of health practitioners.
- Interpret and apply Human Development concepts across the life span to evaluate and improve the health of individuals with/without various medical conditions.
- Demonstrate critical appraisal skills when utilizing clinical research in order to be critical consumers of research as well as advocates for their future healthcare clients.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the varied interdisciplinary health care roles inclusive of Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Nursing, Therapeutic Recreation and Psychology-Child Life.
- Communicate an awareness of and appreciation for the importance of interacting effectively with people of diverse backgrounds.