OT Doctoral Program

Welcome to the University of Louisiana at Monroe
Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org.

The program must be granted Candidacy Status, have a preaccreditation review, 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. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

About the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD)

Recognizing the unique needs of our diverse student population and community, the purpose of the OTD Program at ULM is to educate students who function as competent entry-level occupational therapists in a dynamic and diverse society and a rapidly changing health care environment.

The new OTD program is a clinical doctorate consisting of six semesters of course work followed by 24 weeks of level II clinical fieldwork and a 14-week doctoral internship with a focus on scholarship, culminating in a capstone project. The entire program, including clinical fieldwork and capstone project, is 9 semesters (3 years). The mode of delivery will be hybrid (primarily face-to-face with online education as appropriate).

The Level II Fieldwork and Capstone will occur off-site. Students must complete all Level II Fieldwork and Capstone requirements within 2 years following the completion of occupational therapy content courses.