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Occupational Therapy Doctorate (Entry-Level)

  • Gannon’s Occupational Therapy Program at the Erie campus was founded in 1992 and has successfully cultivated decades of occupational therapists. The program has admited its last cohort of master's level students into the 5-year accelerated program in the fall of 2023. Click here to view the current master’s program. The program is transitioning to the doctoral level via the new Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral program. The doctoral program seeks to admit its first student cohort in the fall of 2024 to continue the tradition of creating therapists who demonstrate excellence in all areas of the occupational therapy process.  

    Our Entry-Level OTD Program will continue to offer students clinically based, grant funded, community learning programs that originated in our MSOT program. View this short video to learn about these exciting opportunities.

    Prepare for a Rewarding Career with an Occupational Therapy Degree from Gannon University 

    Occupational therapists help others achieve optimal participation in life’s occupations after experiencing disruption due to illness, injury or disability. Occupational therapists adapt to ever-changing environments, work collaboratively with our global community, serve as leaders in society, and contribute to the knowledge base of the profession. Gannon’s occupational therapy program will engage you in learning aspects of the evaluation, intervention and entire therapy process to secure your own purposeful career in occupational therapy.

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    Learn to Lead the Way in Occupational Therapy

    • Develop, teach and implement interventions and rehabilitation programs for a variety of people who have physical and mental challenges.
    • Learn to help people across the lifespan, individuals who have experienced injuries, illnesses and disabilities, experience independence in performing daily activities.
    • Earn an annual median wage of $85,350, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

    Experience an Exceptional Learning Environment

    • Enjoy several interprofessional and academic opportunities that prepare you to collaborate with health care professionals upon graduation.
    • Access several software programs to enhance learning, such as the ICE Learning Library, Visible Body Software and ClinEdWeb.
    • Present your research to the community at our annual Occupational Therapy Scholarship Celebration in your final semester. 

    Mission

    Through leadership, service, and collaboration, the Gannon University Occupational Therapy Program will develop altruistic lifelong learners who promote participation in occupation to support the well-being of all clients, groups, and populations.  

    Vision

    We envision that the Gannon Occupational Therapy Program will be widely recognized for leadership, scholarship, service, and training globally connected and diverse students who adapt to and address society’s ever changing occupational needs.

    Goals

    The program is designed to foster life-long learners who:

    1. adapt to ever-changing professional environments,
    2. contribute to the knowledge base, advancement, and sustainability of the profession,
    3. provide leadership in the profession and society,
    4. acknowledge the importance of holism in their own lives and in the lives of their clients,
    5. work collaboratively,
    6. value engagement and advocacy within the community, and
    7. demonstrate excellence in all aspects of the evaluation and intervention process in an equitable manner across diverse populations.

    Occupational Therapy Tuition

    For information on tuition and fees please visit the tuition web page. 

    Planned Curriculum

    Click here to download the curriculum.


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    DOCTORAL-DEGREE-LEVEL OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROGRAM (Applicant Program)

    The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org.

    The program must be granted Candidacy Status, 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 this exam, 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.

    Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork as well as an individual 14-week capstone experience within [24] months following the completion of the didactic portion of the program. The doctoral capstone experience must be started after completion of all coursework and Level II fieldwork as well as completion of preparatory activities defined in 2018 ACOTE OTD Standard D.1.3.