Occupational Therapy OTD
Degree Awarded: Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Minimum Required Credits: 30.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.2306
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 29-1122
About the Program
Our post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program is designed for licensed occupational therapists who want to become uniquely positioned as future leaders, advanced content experts, or academics. The OTD program strives to provide students with robust opportunities for interprofessional collaboration, advanced skill development and scholarly inquiry that can be used to solve real-world problems in their clinical and educational practice settings.
Students choose a specialty concentration that meets their needs and interests, including Remedial Vision Rehabilitation or Health and Wellness and complete a capstone project with real-world impact and the potential for scholarly dissemination. Leveraging Drexel’s long history in experiential education, OTD students learn both didactically and experientially and leave the program with the skills needed to create remedial vision or health and wellness programs in their respective practice areas.
The OTD program is designed to be primarily online, with only two partial-residency face-to-face lab courses for students in the remedial vision concentration. This 30-credit doctoral program can be taken over the course of 16 months, 2 years or 5 years, making it convenient for full-time working professionals or those pursuing continuing education reimbursement through their employer. Of the 30 total credits, 18 are in core courses emphasizing interprofessional practice, teaching in higher education, research, grant writing, disseminating scholarship and development & implementation of a capstone project. The remaining 12 credits are dedicated to pursuing an embedded specialty certificate in their chosen concentration.
A bridge option is available for current Drexel students in the entry-level Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program that allows for both early admission to the OTD and a seamless transition to post-professional study. For licensed occupational therapy practitioners seeking advanced training without the commitment to completing a doctoral degree, a 12-credit post-baccalaureate certificate can be pursued in either remedial vision rehabilitation or health and wellness. Certificate students do not complete a capstone project or follow the core curriculum, studying only in their chosen concentration.
Additional Information
For more information about this program, please contact the College of Nursing and Health Professions
Admission Requirements
An applicant to the post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree program must be a registered occupational therapist, and have either a.) a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy completed prior to 2007 or b.) a master’s degree in occupational therapy, from an accredited college or university.
An applicant to the post-professional Certificate Programs must have completed, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in an occupational therapy program, or a bachelor's degree in a related profession, from an accredited undergraduate college or university.
Degree Requirements
Health and Wellness
| Core Courses | ||
| OTD 8003 | Interprofessional Approach to Health Care | 3.0 |
| OTD 8004 | Teaching Occupational Therapy in Higher Education | 3.0 |
| OTD 8005 | Research Methods in Occupational Therapy | 3.0 |
| OTD 8006 | Grant Writing and Disseminating Scholarship | 3.0 |
| OTD 8701 | Health and Wellness Across the Life Cycle | 3.0 |
| OTD 8702 | Global Perspectives of Health | 3.0 |
| OTD 8703 | Health Promotion in Groups, Communities and Populations | 3.0 |
| OTD 8704 | Innovative Occupational Therapy Health and Wellness Practices | 3.0 |
| OTD 9998 | Occupational Therapy Doctoral Project Design | 4.0 |
| OTD 9999 | Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Project and Defense | 2.0 |
| Total Credits | 30.0 | |
Remedial Vision Rehab
| Core Courses | ||
| OTD 8003 | Interprofessional Approach to Health Care | 3.0 |
| OTD 8004 | Teaching Occupational Therapy in Higher Education | 3.0 |
| OTD 8005 | Research Methods in Occupational Therapy | 3.0 |
| OTD 8006 | Grant Writing and Disseminating Scholarship | 3.0 |
| OTD 8501 | Understanding Visual Deficits and Their Relationship to Occupation | 3.0 |
| OTD 8502 | Vision Testing and Screening | 3.0 |
| OTD 8503 | Remedial Vision Rehab I | 3.0 |
| OTD 8504 | Remedial Vision Rehab II | 3.0 |
| OTD 9998 | Occupational Therapy Doctoral Project Design | 4.0 |
| OTD 9999 | Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Project and Defense | 2.0 |
| Total Credits | 30.0 | |
Program Learning Outcomes
1. Engage in interprofessional practice, in their chosen area of specialty.
2. Contribute to the profession, through dissemination of scholarly work
3. Utilize advanced skills in clinical practice and program development
4. Assume advanced roles as leaders, advocates, mentors & scholars in the field of occupational therapy