Doctor of Occupational Therapy

At-A-Glance

  • Full-time program. SCU strongly recommends that students not work while attending the OTD program.
  • Credit hours: 101
  • 7.5 terms, approximately two and a half years.
  • No bachelor’s degree is required. Students with at least 90 credits can be accepted into the program.
  • Students must complete all degree requirements within 15 trimesters (5 years) of matriculation.
  • Students must be able to achieve and maintain certain technical standards of knowledge and skill to become a skilled and effective practitioner.聽 The technical standards stated in the following document apply to satisfactory performance in all academic and clinical coursework, as well as fulfillment of 鈥渘on-academic鈥� essential functions of the curriculum involving physical, cognitive, and behavioral factors that are essential to a professional healthcare practitioner and are requisite for program completion.聽聽

Complete Your Bachelor鈥檚 While Earning Your Doctor of Occupational Therapy – No Extra Time Required

SCU offers an embedded bachelor’s degree option for students pursuing the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD). This pathway allows students who have not yet completed a bachelor鈥檚 degree to earn their bachelor鈥檚 degree while completing the OTD program. The curriculum is designed so that many courses count toward both degrees, enabling students to complete their bachelor鈥檚 and doctoral requirements within the same timeline.

The Mission of the OTD Program

Through an innovative approach to education, we prepare exceptional practitioners who are evidence-based, occupation-centered, and skilled in a lifestyle approach to integrative health. Our graduates are life-long learners who promote transformational occupational justice and health equity for diverse persons, groups and populations.

  • Evidence-Based Knowledge:聽Critically apply the latest research and knowledge bases that support occupational therapy practice and contribute to the growth and dissemination of research inclusive of in-depth knowledge applied in the doctoral capstone project and experience.
  • Therapeutic Use of Occupations:聽Articulate and apply therapeutic use of occupations with individuals, groups or populations for the purpose of participation in roles and situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings.
  • Client-Centered Care:聽Develop and implement client-centered care that is inclusive of cultural values, beliefs and needs and considers occupational justice and health equity.
  • Lifestyle Health + Occupational Performance Outcomes:聽Articulate and apply occupational therapy theory and evidence-based evaluations and interventions to achieve expected outcomes as related to occupation and lifestyle health.
  • Occupational Therapy Process:聽Plan and apply evidence-based occupational therapy interventions to address the physical, functional cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support engagement in everyday life activities as related to occupation, well-being, and quality of life, as informed by the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF).
  • 尝别补诲别谤蝉丑颈辫:听Demonstrate leadership skills employing therapeutic use of self and science driven evidence in all practice areas and settings inclusive of: a direct care provider, consultant, educator, manager, researcher, and advocate for the profession and the consumer.
  • Ethical Reasoning:聽Uphold the ethical standards, values, and attitudes of the occupational therapy profession in all.
  • Collaboration and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Collaborate with stakeholders to provide evidence-based care and demonstrate health equity, inclusion and diversity across all practice settings.
  • Lifelong Learning:聽Demonstrate the ability to participate as an active, self-directed learner applying the skills of a life-long learner.