Overview of the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program
*Students have the option of pursuing an entry-level Master’s Degree (Master of Science in Occupational Therapy [MSOT]) or an entry-level Doctoral Degree (Doctor of Occupational Therapy [OTD]) in occupational therapy. All students must first be accepted into the MSOT program to be eligible to apply to the OTD program during the second semester of the MSOT program. Those students who are admitted to the OTD program will transition to the OTD program in the third semester.
The OTD is a 34-month, full-time, campus-based program. The first five semesters are on campus in primarily face-to-face courses, followed by two semesters of fieldwork placements and one semester of a capstone experience. Students are expected to be available to visit campus five days a week, although that is not always required.
The OTD program is located on the west campus – near the Brody School of Medicine and ECU Health Medical Center – within the College of Allied Health Sciences that shares a fully accessible and state-of-the art building with the College of Nursing and Laupus Health Sciences Library. We encourage all individuals who are considering applying to the programs to visit our Department of Occupational Therapy.
We also encourage you to explore our website thoroughly to determine if the programs’ vision and mission, structured curriculum, and faculty members’ research and scholarly agendas will be a good match for your educational needs and occupational goals.
Accreditation
The entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association. The program must 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 the national certification examination, 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.
For more information about accreditation, please contact: ACOTE, American Occupational Therapy Association, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, Phone: (301) 652-AOTA. ACOTE website address is www.acoteonline.org.
Estimating the Program Cost
Tuition and Fees
Every semester, the university updates the costs of tuition and fees. The OTD program covers 8 semesters. Please recognize that tuition and fees for the summer sessions are calculated differently than for regular fall and spring semesters. The guide below will help you determine the anticipated tuition cost by using the numbers located under “Main Campus” on the Tuition and Fees website. Please make sure you look at the appropriate fees (undergraduate/graduate and in-state/out-of-state). Here you will find PDFs with the costs by semester. This information is for estimation purposes only, and some variability may exist by student. The Graduate School also offers a website on Tuition and Fees.
Professional School Tuition Fees
There is a required fee for professional students in the College of Allied Health Sciences. These fees vary by program. As a student in the professional occupational therapy programs, all students are charged a tuition differential based on the number of credits for the semester. The fee ranges approximately $500-$1000 per semester. This cost is NOT included on the Tuition and Fee Schedule sheets identified above. Please keep this in mind when calculating anticipated costs.
Books
The books you purchase for the OTD program will become part of your professional library. Many of them are used in multiple courses and will be excellent resources for fieldwork and as you begin practice after graduation. It is anticipated you will spend approximately $1,600 in books with the majority of that cost being the first 2 semesters.
Fieldwork
Students are not responsible for locating their own fieldwork placements. The OTD program will provide fieldwork placements for students through a collaborative process of selection. Most of the fieldwork placements do occur within the state of North Carolina, and you should recognize there may be extra cost associated with travel to a fieldwork site or housing during the time of the placement. Students enrolled in fieldwork will also be paying tuition for credits during that time.
Capstone
In the OTD program, students will complete three Capstone Seminars, a 14-week Capstone Experience, and a Capstone Project Dissemination. Selection of a site for the Capstone Experience will be a collaborative process between the student and the Doctoral Capstone Coordinator. There may be extra cost associated with travel to the capstone site and/or housing during the 14-week Capstone Experience. Many OTD students complete their 14-week capstone experience off-campus during the final semester, but those students will still be responsible for paying the tuition for the credits during that time.
Research
Depending on the research project in which a student is participating, there may be associated research costs that should be under $200 per student. The research advisor works to keep the cost of research down for the students.
Program Technology Requirements and Resources
Occupational therapy students are expected to have access to a computer with Internet capabilities and are encouraged to purchase a laptop computer with wireless capability. In addition, they are expected to have reliable internet service at their residence to support times of remote learning. Students, as part of their fees, are provided Microsoft Office 365. Student usage of computers during class time is based on individual faculty allowance; check the course syllabus for guidance as well as with the instructor at the time. Suggested specifications provided by the university are located on the bottom of the webpage here: https://itcs.ecu.edu/pirate-techs/student-computer-requirements/.It is strongly recommended that, if a student needs media or technology equipment, they seek the resources provided by the Laupus Library. See the following link for more information https://hsl.ecu.edu/using-the-library/borrow-equipment/. The Laupus Library Computer Lab loans out laptops, iPads, cameras, a video projector, etc. as part of their equipment loan program. The loan program is available to East Carolina University faculty, staff, and students.
Essential Functions and Technical Standards for Program Admission and Continued Enrollment
The Essential Functions and Technical Standards for admission and continued enrollment establish the expectations and requisite abilities considered necessary for professionals in the field of occupational therapy. All students must be able to achieve competency in the Essential Functions and Technical Standards in all areas, such as cognition, critical thinking, physical and emotional demands, ethical standards, communication, safety, etc., needed to evaluate and treat those with physical and mental disabilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for clients. The full document of the Essential Functions and Technical Standards can be found here.
Graduation Requirements
Students in the OTD program are expected to complete all degree requirements and graduate after completing 8 consecutive semesters (including summer semesters). However, in rare cases where a student is unable to follow these timelines, a student in the OTD program has 6 years to complete all degree requirements. This timeline begins with the registration for the first semester in the graduate occupational therapy coursework. However, OTD students are not allowed to have any period of non-enrollment for their preparatory/academic coursework for more than 1 academic year (which requires approval by the Graduate Program Director and Department Chair) and must complete both OCCT 8804 Fieldwork IIA and OCCT 8805 Fieldwork IIB within 24 months of the start of OCCT 8804 Fieldwork IIA to graduate from the program. After Level II Fieldworks are complete, OTD students must complete OCCT 8904 Capstone Experience and OCCT8905 Capstone Project within 12 months of the start of OCCT 8904 Capstone Experience to graduate from the program (as long as this is still within the 6-year timeframe). More details about the graduation requirements are provided in the Occupational Therapy Graduate Student Handbook.