Students entering the Occupational Therapy doctoral program must meet the minimum university admissions requirements.

  • A completed application through the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application Service (OTCAS) that includes transcripts, statement of interest, and three professional and/or academic recommendations.
  • A bachelor’s degree and official transcripts from each regionally accredited institution or foreign equivalent undergraduate and graduate program attended. We accept students with a wide variety of undergraduate backgrounds.

          Read more about the diverse backgrounds of occupational therapy students.

  • A minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 in undergraduate coursework.
  • Completion of the following prerequisite course work:
    • Anatomy and Physiology - 8 credit hours with labs; the course content must address the organization of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems in humans
    • Developmental Psychology - 3 credit hour child development or a lifespan course that includes learning principles and motor, language, cognitive, emotional, and social development
    • Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology - 3 credit hour course addressing psychopathology
    • Social Science - 6 credit hours in courses that can include psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, public health, epidemiology, gerontology, and urban studies
    • Statistics - 3 credit hour course addressing behavioral, educational, psychological, or mathematical statistics. Business statistics does not fulfill this requirement.
  • No standardized achievement tests are required.
  • A virtual interview with ODU faculty and practitioners.
  • Participation in the ODU Occupational Therapy virtual observation experience