BS-Occupational Therapy 5yr

The Occupational therapy program allows opportunities for in-depth study and field practicum experiences with individuals of all ages who have limited capacity to perform in their everyday lives. The goal of occupational therapy is to assist the individual to achieve the maximum level of independent living through remediation of or adaptation to physical, cognitive, perceptual, or mental health impairments.

This program is designed to prepare students for career opportunities in occupational therapy. Gannon's OT Program has two points of entry: a five-year, entry-level masters degree program, beginning at the Freshman year, and a three-year entry level masters degree program for students who enter after obtaining a baccalaureate degree in another field. Students in the five-year program are awarded a baccalaureate degree in health sciences at the end of their fourth year. Upon completion of their fifth year students are awarded a Master of Science degree and are eligible to take the National Certification Examination. Students in the three-year program graduate with the Master of Science degree and are eligible to take the National Certification Examination at the end of the three-year program.

Two three month clinical fieldwork experiences are required during the summer and fall of the last year of the program. Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA. Space may be available for transfer into the sophomore or junior year for students who began their studies in other majors and for individuals who are Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants.

The Occupational Therapy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). Graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. 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 license eligibility is usually based on the results of the Certification Examination. For further information on accreditation, the address, and web address telephone number for ACOTE are 7501 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 510E, 20814-3449; (301) 652-2682; www.aota.org/nonmembers/area13/links/link13.asp.

Individuals with certain types of criminal records (felonies) may be barred from practicing occupational therapy at the national or state level. Individuals with records should contact NBCOT at the following address: NBCOT, 12 South Summit Avenue, Suite 100, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-4150 or via e-mail at: http://http:www.nbcot.org, and the occupational therapy licensing board of the state where they would like to practice prior to applying for admission to any OT program. Both of these organizations will do early evaluations of the record and let the individual know if they would be allowed to practice and any restrictions with might apply.

Admission Requirements 1. Completion of 16 academic units at the high school level, four of which must be English; remainder of units are to be compromised of four units of social sciences, two to four units of mathematics including algebra, two to four units of science including biology and chemistry with labs. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 407 2. Your academic course selection, grades, rank in class, guidance counselor recommendation and SAT/ACT scores will be carefully reviewed for admission consideration. 3. Aminimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 4. An SAT score of 1080 or above (math and critical reading sections only), ACT score of 21 or above (composite score) 5. Demonstrate motivation and curiosity through interests and extracurricular activities. 6. Letters of recommendation are considered, as is a personal essay discussing reasons for choosing occupational therapy. 7. Observation or volunteer hours in occupational therapy clinics are not required for admission, but 40 hours are required for the Introduction to Occupational Therapy course your first semester. Completing these hours ahead of time is recommended; additionally, you then have the possibility of getting letters of recommendation from therapists, which can increase your chances of acceptance. 8. Students must have demonstrated efficiency in using tools common to distance education. This might include a learning platform, special courses, or job experience. Students taking an online course at Gannon University will require internet access to utilize Blackboard for their coursework. Blackboard can be found in the http://my.gannon.edu portal. Blackboard supports the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Chrome.