The Occupational Therapy Program

The Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy offered by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is a full time, year-round program and takes 30 months to complete.  The program is a total of 86 credits for students entering with an earned bachelor’s degree.  Students in the dual degree program will take the same graduate classes as other students, and will earn 72 credits.  The first two years are devoted to academic study with beginning fieldwork experiences and the last six months are spent in full-time clinical fieldwork.  Level 2 fieldwork must be completed within 24 months of the completion of the academic portion of the program

The curriculum is organized by curricular theme over 8 semesters.  Specific course information can be located in the graduate catalog.

For those students who are interested in pursuing independent research in preparation for continued graduate studies, there is a thesis option available.  The intent to pursue the thesis option must be declared by the end of the first spring semester.  Completing a thesis results in one additional semester of study and will delay beginning Level 2 fieldwork until the Fall 3 semester. 

ACCREDITED OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROGRAM

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, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD  20824-1220.  ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA.  The program is 30 months long and includes 6 months of full-time Level II fieldwork.  Students must complete Level II fieldwork within 24 months of the completion of the didactic portion of the curriculum in order to graduate. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).  After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR).  In addition, most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.  A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.