The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) does not offer accreditation for post-professional programs in occupational therapy, such as the Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTDP).
Program Description
The Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy program is designed for licensed occupational therapists who possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree in occupational therapy who are looking to elevate their professional degree to the doctoral level. The OTDP is ideal for occupational therapists who would like to keep up with trends in the profession enhance their skills, and improve career opportunities through earning a doctoral degree.
Admission to the Program
Applications are accepted for admission for the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Application deadlines are July 1 for Fall, December 1 for Spring, and April 1 for Summer. Applicants must complete and submit the application for admission online at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/health-professions/admissions/application.aspx
Admission Requirements
The following requirements must be met to be eligible for admission to the OTDP program:
- A bachelor’s or master’s degree in occupational therapy
- License to practice occupational therapy within the U.S.
- Applicants must have a minimum of one year of clinical practice in the United States as a licensed occupational therapist
- All official college transcripts, including undergraduate, occupational therapy program, graduate, and any other university coursework
- A minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
- At least one supporting letter of recommendation from a current or former employer or a professional colleague in the field of occupational therapy
- Résumé listing professional experience
- Essay detailing personal and professional goals in 500 words
- TOEFL or IELTS scores (internationally trained applicants from non-English speaking countries only). Writing skill scores are strongly preferred to be at or above 24.
- Applicants may be offered the opportunity to interview in order to demonstrate appropriateness for admission to the OTDP program.
OTDP Curriculum
Students with a master’s degree in occupational therapy are required to complete 27 semester credit hours. Students with a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy are required to complete 33 semester credit hours. All students are required to take the non-credit, no-fee course (Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in OT) and 6 additional core courses, along with 2 capstone courses. Students with a master’s degree in occupational therapy choose 2 electives and students with a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy choose 4 electives. All courses are taught online (elective courses may require weekend on-site visits to Lubbock). Most courses will be taught once per year. Students are required to successfully complete a minimum of two courses within each academic year. While each student’s curriculum is flexible, it is expected that coursework requirements for the OTDP degree be completed within five years. Each student will design a degree plan on admission to the program in conjunction with the Program Director.
Non-Credit, No Fee Course (required for graduation):
Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
Required Courses:
Professional Seminar
Current Issues in Occupational Therapy Practice
Practice-Based Scholarship
Evidence for Practice
Outcomes Measurement
Capstone Pre-Proposal
Capstone 1: Project Proposal
Capstone 2: Project Implementation and Evaluation
Elective Courses:
Principles of Management and Leadership in Healthcare
Health Insurance and Reimbursement
Curriculum Design and Teaching in Health Professions
Educational Evaluation in Health Professions
Health and Wellness Promotion
Independent Study
Capstone Description
The capstone courses provide the student with the opportunity to develop advanced skills through in-depth exposure in one of the following areas of concentration: clinical practice skills, research skills, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, or education. The doctoral capstone is a 2-course learning experience that includes planning, implementation, and systematic evaluation demonstrating the synthesis of knowledge gained in the specific concentration area.
Students will identify an area of concentration and faculty capstone supervisor prior to enrollment in the Capstone 1 course. During the first capstone course, the student will work with his or her capstone faculty supervisor to develop a project proposal that includes individual objectives, evaluation methods, timeline for completion, and a plan for dissemination of findings. Approval of the capstone project proposal is required for the successful completion of the first capstone course.
During the second capstone course, the faculty supervisor provides supervision as the student implements the capstone project and disseminates findings. The implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of the project is required for the successful completion of the second capstone course.
-
HPOT
1002
Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice with TeamSTEPPS Essentials
(0:0:0,O)
An introduction to broad concepts related to interprofessional core competencies for healthcare providers.
-
HPOT
1012
Digital Health and Telehealth
(0:0:0,O)
This course is designed to introduce students in the School of Health Professions to the fundamentals of digital health tools and their applications, regulatory and ethical considerations, and best practices. Students will learn about the benefits and challenges of using technology in healthcare, including remote patient monitoring, virtual visits, and mobile health applications. The course will also address legal and ethical issues such as privacy, security, and informed consent. Best practices for implementing telehealth services will be discussed, including considerations for patient engagement and user experience. Finally, the course will explore the future of digital health, including emerging technologies and trends.
-
HPOT
7110
Capstone Pre-Proposal
(1:2:0,O)
This course begins the process of Capstone topic selection and matches students with faculty mentors for the Capstone 1 and Capstone 2 courses. This course must be taken prior to enrolling in Capstone 1.
-
HPOT
7290
Capstone 1: Project Proposal
(2:3:0,O)
Provides a description of concentration areas and doctoral capstone expectations. Focuses on the completion of a capstone proposal that includes a problem statement, literature review, theoretical basis, goals with objectives, and an evaluation plan.
-
HPOT
7301
Principles of Management and Leadership in Healthcare
(3:3:0,O)
The emphasis of this course is on understanding the principles of management and leadership theory and application in health organizations. Topics include personality assessments, leadership competencies and skills, leadership models, outcomes measurement, and ethics in health leadership. Key concepts of management, including planning, organizing, decision making, motivation, and communication will be addressed.
-
HPOT
7302
Health Insurance and Reimbursement
(3:3:0,O)
This course provides an overview of health insurance, including public and private payers, self-funded insurance, managed care, health insurance markets, and policy changes that impact these areas. In addition, the course will cover healthcare payment systems and reimbursement methods of various payers in the health services marketplace.
-
HPOT
7303
Curriculum Design and Teaching in Health Professions
(3:3:3.5,H)
This course discusses the theories and applications of curriculum design, emphasizing applications to entry-level and post-professional educational settings in Physical Therapy. Students are exposed to core theories, principles and applications that relate to teaching occupational therapy students and professionals.
-
HPOT
7304
Educational Evaluation in Health Professions
(3:2:3,H)
This course discusses educational evaluation theory and tools, emphasizing methods of objective and performance-based evaluation. Students will learn to draft specific evaluation measures used in an educational setting.
-
HPOT
7305
Health and Wellness Promotion
(3:5:0,O)
This course focuses on the theories and practice of health promotion and wellness and is designed to assist students in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to successfully integrate health promotion and wellness into occupational therapy practice. A major focus is on learning to use behavior modification techniques to help motivate and support lifestyle changes, improve health, and prevent disease. As part of this course, students will research and develop a health promotion intervention that can be delivered in their occupational therapy practice setting.
-
HPOT
7350
Professional Seminar
(3:5:0,O)
Explores the growth of the profession of occupational therapy and implications for professional development. Focuses on the investigation of current and future career pursuits. Includes topics such as strengths assessment, leadership, scholarship, education, and professional organizations.
-
HPOT
7351
Current Issues in Occupational Therapy Practice
(3:5:0,O)
Examines issues that impact the delivery of occupational therapy services in health and other systems. Focuses on the confluence of sociocultural, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical factors impacting the profession and practice of occupational therapy. Includes topics such as federal and state legislation and regulation; ethics; advocacy; interprofessional collaboration; and promotion of the distinct value
of occupational therapy.
-
HPOT
7352
Practice-Based Scholarship
(3:3:0,O)
Learn methods to support the systematic examination of everyday practice. Focuses on the investigation of a problem relevant to current practice. Includes topics such as identification of a practice question, systematic measurement of specified aspects of practice, data collection and analysis methods, and the dissemination of findings.
-
HPOT
7353
Evidence for Practice
(3:3:0,O)
Learn strategies to identify, analyze, and utilize evidence. Focuses on the utilization of resources to identify peer-reviewed evidence and development of strategies to interpret and evaluate findings. Includes topics such as levels of evidence; theoretical basis; quantitative and qualitative research design, and basic statistics.
-
HPOT
7354
Outcomes Measurement
(3:3:0,O)
Learn methods to measure the effectiveness of interventions. Focuses on the utility and value of functional assessment. Includes topics such as occupation-based tools; reliability and validity; and reimbursement.
-
HPOT
7370
Independent Study
(3:3:0,O)
This independent study course is designed to meet the student's needs and/or interests. Instructor approval required prior to enrollment. Note: Required elective if doctoral project is a research project.
-
HPOT
7391
Capstone 2: Project Implementation and Evaluation
(3:5:0,O)
Focuses on completion and dissemination of a mentored, doctoral capstone project that demonstrates synthesis of in-depth knowledge in a focused area of study. NOTE: Requires completion of all core coursework.