Cleveland State University

Occupational Therapy, which began in 1917, is a health field that focuses on individuals' ability to do their everyday occupations in self-care, work, and leisure (such as dressing, homemaking, working, and recreating). Its goal is to help people achieve their own unique, desired lifestyles. It requires getting to know individuals personally, understanding their goals, and identifying creative ways to allow them to reach their desired levels of independence and productivity. This work is highly personal and creative. In addition to working directly with clients, occupational therapists often consult with others important to the client about adapting the client's lifestyle or environment. Occupational Therapists also design programs for themselves or others to implement, they speak on behalf of clients and their families, and they participate in research.

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, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-3449. ACOTE's telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org. Students must complete a minimum of 79 credits, including 24 weeks (940 hours) of full-time fieldwork in order to be eligible to sit for the national certification examination and to apply for state licensure. The fieldwork must be completed within 24 months after completion of the academic course work. The certifying body for occupational therapists is the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) (www.nbcot.org). Note: A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or to attain state licensure.

FACULTY RESEARCH

The Occupational Therapy Program faculty has an outstanding record of research and publications.

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

A limited number of graduate assistantships (minimum of nine credit hours per semester) are available to full-time students for the second year of the Program. Assistantships may be in the form of a stipend. Assistants may be involved in departmental projects or work with individual faculty on specific research and teaching endeavors. Contact the School of Health Sciences at (216) 687-3567 or via email at healthsci@csuohio.edu for more details.

ADMISSION INFORMATION

Admission to the program is limited to forty-five students. Applications are available electronically through the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application System (OTCAS) on or around July 18th of the year prior to admission. All applications, transcripts, and GRE scores must be submitted electronically through OTCAS no later than October 1st of the year prior to admission.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

Students must have:

1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
2. GRE Writing Test score of 3.5 or higher. Test scores taken within 5 years will be accepted.
3. An overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 or a score at the 50th percentile or above in each area of the GRE.
4. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in prerequisite courses, with at least two of the natural science prerequisites, and at least 4 of the 8 required courses (or their equivalent) completed prior to the application deadline.