Occupational Therapy

Prerequisite coursework

Changes for the 2022-23 application cycle include:

Medical Terminology course requirement added

All prerequisite (prereq) courses must be completed prior to beginning the program; without exception. Students may apply with outstanding prereq courses so long as the student demonstrates a plan to complete those courses before matriculating in the program. Accepted students completing prereq courses while applying will need to submit a final transcript demonstrating the successful completion of these courses. Comparable courses from regionally accredited institutions are acceptable. No prerequisite coursework with a grade below C will be accepted, and a maximum of two C’s in the program’s prereqs is permitted. Prerequisite science courses (anatomy & physiology, physics and stats) must be completed in the 7 years prior to application. We require that the remaining prereq courses be completed in the 10 years prior to application. Prereq courses taken prior to these deadlines are unacceptable and must be retaken in order to qualify.

Prereq Expandable

1 sem. of human anatomy AND 1 sem. of human physiology; OR a 2 sem. sequence of combined human anatomy & physiology (A&P)
The two courses must each contain a lab component
The two courses must cover the majority of the following: a comprehensive study of physiological principles, membrane physiology, body fluid compartments, fluid and electrolyte balance, and the skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, reproductive, and urinary systems of the human body.
UWL courses: BIO 312 & BIO 313

1 sem. of physics with lab
An acceptable physics course must be math based (studies physics concepts using algebra and trigonometry, or calculus), and it must also cover the majority of the following topics: matter, motion, energy, thermodynamics, waves, light, and electricity.
A biomechanics course is NOT acceptable.
UWL courses: either PHY 103 or PHY 104 is acceptable.

1 sem.
An acceptable course should cover the majority of the following: descriptive statistics, binomial and normal distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, along with an introduction to z, t, F, chi-square test statistics, computer use, and statistics software.
UWL course: STAT 145

1 sem.
An acceptable course will emphasize the historical, theoretical, and methodological approaches to human development across the entire lifespan. It should include psychological principles, concepts, historical and recent research for areas of prenatal, cognitive, language, social/emotional, and physical development.
UWL courses: PSY 210 or PSY 212

1 sem.
The course needs to study the majority of the following: clinical descriptions, biopsychosocial causes and the associated treatments of psychological disorders with special emphasis on mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and assessment and diagnosis.
UWL course: PSY 204 or 304

1 sem.
An acceptable course needs to cover the majority of the following: the role of socio-cultural, socioeconomic, and diversity factors and lifestyle choices in contemporary society.
UWL course: Any SOC or ANT course

1 sem.
UWL courses: HP 150, CHE 460, RTH 355

The program accepts Advanced Placement (AP) credit, provided the official transcript from the undergrad institution lists the credits/courses for which AP credit was granted. For example, if a student received credit for their AP Stats performance their transcript should list a Stats course for which they "tested out"; such as UWL's STAT 145. An AP exam score alone is insufficient. The undergrad school must grant credit for an acceptable equivalent college course based on the exam results. It is these credits listed on the official transcript which we evaluate and apply toward prereq course requirements.

Common satisfactory prereq courses from other schools:

If you would like to know whether a particular course will satisfy one of our prereq course requirements please email Pete Amann at pamann@uwlax.edu. Please include the school where the course was taken, course number, and course description in your message. You may also email pamann@uwlax.edu for transcript reviews. Please include a copy of your unofficial transcript as an attachment.