Admissions to the Entry Level Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Degree
Weekend Program (OTW)
School of Occupational Therapy Goals for the OT Weekend Program:
The MSOT program will provide:
1. A comprehensive, student centered, entry level masters program in occupational therapy that builds upon the students' liberal arts and science foundational knowledge, their understanding of issues related to globalism and diversity as preparation for entry level practice
2. A Christian learning environment that promotes and assists in developing professional behaviors that incorporate the values and attitudes of excellence, caring, honesty and respect that are consistent with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for the American Occupational Therapy Association
3. Didactic, laboratory, and clinical experiences that provide exposure to a broad range of traditional and emerging healthcare and human service delivery models
4. Exposure to basic skills associated with the potential varied roles of an occupation therapist as a practitioner, consultant, educator, manager, researcher and advocate.
5. Opportunities to prepare the student to be a self-directed life long learner by encouraging independent inquiry, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, self-reflection, and self- assessment.
6. A foundation in occupational therapy research allowing the student to be an effective consumer of the latest research and knowledge bases that undergird practice and contribute to the growth and dissemination of research and knowledge.
The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) weekend program is primarily designed for occupational therapy assistants (OTA) who want to obtain a master's degree in occupational therapy. Preference for admission will be given first to occupational therapy assistants, then to physical therapy assistants and other health care professionals. Non-health care candidates should consider the OTD program. The weekend format is designed for those who will complete coursework concurrently while working in a health care related field.
TERMINAL OBJECTIVES: Student learning outcomes
At the time of graduation from the program, the student will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the ability to engage in occupation-centered practice by identifying a person’s occupational history, choices, concerns, and priorities.
2. Evaluate and implement the use of occupation to promote health and wellness, prevent and remediate disability, and support function in daily life activities with individuals across the age span.
3. Articulate the relationship between occupational therapy theory and evaluation and design interventions to achieve occupation-related outcomes.
4. Evaluate the outcome of intervention.
5. Express him/herself clearly and persuasively in both written and verbal communication.
6. Critique and conduct research related to occupational therapy, and report the results in written form appropriate for dissemination to other professionals and/or consumers.
7. Critically evaluate information to develop and implement evidence-based intervention.
8. Demonstrate application of clinical reasoning to predict the impact of physical, psychosocial, emotional, cognitive, and contextual factors on engagement in occupation.
9. Take responsibility for establishing and documenting competence in practice, educational participation, and research by participating in professional development and educational activities
10. Exhibit ethical standards, values, and attitudes that are expected of an occupational therapy practitioner as outlined in position papers and official documents of the occupational therapy profession.
11. Share and critique ideas, programs, and solutions through virtual discussion groups, networking, as well as participation in professional forums.
12. Contribute to practice by determining needs of individuals as well as populations and identify strategies to address needs through system consultation, policy development, program development, supervision, education or health care planning.
Applicants who do not already have a bachelor's degree must:
1. Have a minimum of one year's experience in their profession (preference given to Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTA) although other health care professionals are invited to apply and will be considered on an individual basis).
2. Non-OTA's must complete OTW 5040 prior to the start of the second semester of enrollment in the MSOT program.
3. Submit a completed application form along with a $50.00 non-refundable application fee.
4. Have completed a minimum of 90 semester credits from a regionally accredited college or university with a required cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Have completed a minimum of 90 semester credits from a regionally accredited college or university with a required cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
The credits hours that will be accepted toward meeting the 90 hour minimum must adhere to Belmont University’s undergraduate transfer policy as follows:
Belmont University accepts credit issued by institutions academically accredited through the Southern, Western, Northwest, New England, North Central, or Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. For colleges with a different institutional accreditation, the university seeks to research and understand the transferring college’s academic standards at the institutional level and at the course level to ensure course content and rigor similar to Belmont’s.
To be eligible for review, the following three items must be initially confirmed:
a) The institution was accredited during the period of the student’s enrollment by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
b) Verification that the student and courses were part of an academic degree program. Courses in diploma / certificate programs or vocationally focused degree programs are not eligible for transfer.
c) The courses were taught in a standard academic term period and clearly represented on an official transcript as semester or quarter hours. Clock hour courses are not accepted.
If the above three items are confirmed, the student may be asked to provide the following during Belmont’s final review of eligibility and possible equivalency:
a) A letter from the chief academic officer describing the transferring college’s academic standards and any current articulation agreements with other colleges / universities.
b) Course descriptions and syllabi for courses intended for transfer.
c) Academic credentials of the instructor in each of those courses.
In addition, credits earned from courses that were repeated at the same institution will be counted only once to fulfill the 90 hour minimum requirement.
5. Complete the following prerequisite courses with a grade of "B" or better. All pre-requisite coursework must have been completed within six years prior to the semester for which you are applying. If courses were completed more than six years ago, please consult the Program Director to determine an alternate method of demonstrating competency in a particular area.
a. A minimum of 4 credits of Human Anatomy (with lab), Human Physiology, OR Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (If Anatomy and Physiology I is taken, then Anatomy and Physiology II must be taken as well)
b. Statistics,
c. Introduction to Psychology,
d. Introduction to Sociology OR Anthropology,
e. Human Growth and Development,(lifespan course,
f. 6 credits of communication courses (English, Writing. Or Public speaking)
g. Be computer literate
6. Submit two letters of reference with one of the letters being from an occupational therapist. The person making the recommendation should use the forms provided.
7. Non-OTAs who are admitted to the program must demonstrate familiarity with occupational therapy through completion of a minimum of 50 hours of observational, volunteer or work experiences. These hours do not have to be completed prior to the application process but must be completed by the start of the Program.
8. Submit a hand written statement explaining:
a. How becoming an occupational therapist will help you attain your career goals
b. How your career goals are congruent with the philosophy and/or Core Values and Attitudes of the occupational therapy profession.
c. Why you are motivated to enroll in Belmont's Entry Level Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree weekend program (OTW).
9. Interview: Each eligible candidate must take part in an interview with a faculty member. Opportunities for individual interviews are offered during the Preview Days scheduled during the fall and spring semesters. The admissions process is competitive and only a select number of applicants will be invited for an interview. You will be contacted about interview dates if you are selected for an interview after you apply. If you have any questions, please contact our Admissions Assistant at 615-460-6798 or msot@mail.belmont.edu.
Applicants who already have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in another discipline, must:
1. Have a minimum of one year's experience in their profession (preference given to OTA although other health care professionals are invited to apply and will be considered on an individual basis).
2. Non-OTA's must complete OTW 5040 prior to the start of the second semester of enrollment in the MSOT program.
3. Submit a completed application form along with a $50.00 non-refundable application fee.
4. Have a recommended cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
5. Have an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken within the past five years. A combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE is recommended. GRE score reports should be sent to Belmont University from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Please specify Institution Code 1058 and School Code 0618 to the ETS.
6. Complete the following prerequisite courses with a grade of "B" or better. All pre-requisite coursework must have been completed within six years prior to the semester for which you are applying. If courses were completed more than six years ago, please consult the Coordinator of the Weekend Program to determine an alternate method of demonstrating competency in a particular area.
a. A minimum of 4 credits of Human Anatomy (with lab), Human Physiology, OR Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (If Anatomy and Physiology I is taken, then Anatomy and Physiology II must be taken as well);
b. Statistics;
c. Introduction to Psychology;
d. Introduction to Sociology OR Anthropology;
e. Human Growth and Development,(lifespan course);
f. 6 credits of communication courses (English, Writing. Or Public speaking);
g. Be computer literate
7. Submit two letters of reference with one of the letters being from an occupational therapist. The person making the recommendation should use the forms provided.
8. Non-OTAs who are admitted to the program must demonstrate familiarity with occupational therapy through completion of a minimum of 50 hours of observational, volunteer or work experiences. These hours do not have to be completed prior to the application process but must be completed by the start of the Program.
9. Submit a hand written statement explaining:
a. How becoming an occupational therapist will help you attain your career goals.
b. How your career goals are congruent with the philosophy and/or Core Values and Attitudes of the occupational therapy profession.
c. Why you are motivated to enroll in Belmont's Entry Level Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree weekend program (OTW).
10. Interview: Each eligible candidate must take part in an interview with a faculty member. Opportunities for individual interviews are offered during the Preview Days scheduled during the fall and spring semesters. The admissions process is competitive and only a select number of applicants will be invited for an interview. You will be contacted about interview dates if you are selected for an interview after you apply. If you have any questions, please contact our Admissions Assistant at 615-460-6798 or msot@mail.belmont.edu.
The following information pertains to all MSOT applicants: A non-refundable $50.00 application fee must accompany all application materials. Checks should be made out to Belmont University. Applications are not acted upon until all required materials have been received. The early decision deadline for OTA applicants is January 1 and the regular decision deadline for OTA's is March 15. Applications from non-OTA's and OTA's who have not met all application requirements will be reviewed after March 15. A maximum of 32 students are admitted into the MSOT Weekend Program each year. It is in the best interest of prospective students to complete their application early because of the limited number of positions in the class. Completed applications will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee and a written determination of their status will be mailed to the student.
Competitive applicants who are still in the process of completing their admission requirements (pre-requisites, observation hours, etc) may be eligible for conditional acceptance (which will be rendered after March 15) however the conditional acceptance will be rescinded if all requirements are not completed prior to the start of the fall semester for which the student is applying.
Accreditation
The Occupational Therapy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. AOTA's phone number is (301) 652-AOTA.
Graduates of the program 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). Most 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.