Program Overview

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Introduction to the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program

The Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program at the University of the Incarnate Word is designed to inspire learning and transformational knowledge for competency in clinical practice, administration, advocacy, education, leadership, and research. Graduates can expect to have an exciting career working with individuals from newborn babies to the elderly, helping them overcome challenges with performing meaningful activities or "occupations."

What is Occupational Therapy?

The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (4th ed.; AOTA, 2020c) defines occupational therapy as the "therapeutic use of everyday life occupations with persons, groups, or populations (i.e., clients) for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation." Occupational therapy practitioners use their knowledge of the transactional relationship among the client, their engagement in valuable occupations, and the context to design occupation-based intervention plans.

Why Study at UIW?

The University of the Incarnate Word combines high-quality professional education with service to the community and abundant clinical experience. UIW is informed by its Mission and guided by the example of its founders (the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word). The Doctor of Occupational Therapy program is prepared to guide students in their professional development and personal achievements.

Mission Core Values

• Education: The University educates men and women who will become concerned and enlightened citizens.
• Truth: The faculty and students support one another in the search for the communications of truth.
• Faith: The University is committed to educational excellence in a context of faith in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God.
• Service: The curriculum includes a global perspective and an emphasis on social justice and community service.
• Innovation: The University is open to thoughtful innovation that serves the spiritual and material needs of people.

About the OTD Program

The OTD program was started in 2021, with the first class matriculating in Fall 2023. Classrooms and lab spaces are located at the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, which has four designated OTD labs: activities of daily living lab, kinesiology lab, pediatric lab, and an innovation lab. These labs are specifically designed to develop hands-on skills and provide opportunities for competency training and testing. A full-access library is located onsite with a full-time librarian, as well as counseling and information technology support.

Doctoral Degree

The Entry-Level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree is a terminal degree, or highest-level degree, for clinical practice. The OTD degree prepares students beyond the level of a generalist practitioner to further expand knowledge and skills as a direct care provider, consultant, educator, manager, leader, researcher, and advocate for the profession and consumer.

Service Opportunities

The UIW OTD program is vested in creating learning opportunities for building social justice through advocacy projects by embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion. The advocacy project is designed to engage in sociocultural, socioeconomic, diversity factors, and lifestyle choices of populations locally or internationally to address occupational justice.

Community Clinic

The School of Rehabilitation Sciences offers free occupational and physical therapy services for individuals age 13 and older who are not eligible for Medicare benefits. The clinic serves underserved and uninsured members of the community and those who do not have physical or occupational therapy benefits as part of their health insurance coverage or who have exhausted their yearly benefit.

Interprofessional Education

The OTD program at UIW has many opportunities to learn and develop through interprofessional education. The School of Rehabilitation Sciences houses the Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and the Master of Science in Athletic Training degrees. Across UIW, there are additional interprofessional classroom and lab experiences through the School of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Optometry, and School of Pharmacy.

Fieldwork Education

The OTD student will be engaged in three separate Fieldwork I experiences along with a Fieldwork Seminar to develop professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills through interprofessional and interprofessional practice areas in healthcare, community, schools, and mental health agencies. Each student is required to complete a minimum of 12 weeks of full-time Fieldwork II experiences in Year 3 of the curriculum.

OTD Capstone Experience

The OTD student is required to develop an individual capstone project after completion of all didactic coursework and fieldwork experiences. The student is guided toward the capstone project through coursework, capstone courses, and support from the Doctoral Capstone Coordinator, faculty mentor, and expert mentor.

Student Objectives and Future Outcomes

OTD students will:

• Demonstrate competency in scholarship, lifelong learning, evidence-based practice, occupation-based practice, education, and research through advocating for the OT profession and consumers of occupational therapy services.
• Discover and define truth in communication and research, mutual understanding, self-realization, and the common good through provision as a health and wellness provider within state and federal regulatory guidelines.
• Incorporate a global perspective for social justice and occupational justice through inclusion, diversity, and equity to maximize health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities.
• Innovate using advanced, evidenced-based, occupation-based clinical skills, technology, and expertise to serve the spiritual, physical, mental health, and material needs of a diverse population.
• Engage in interprofessional and interprofessional education and practice that addresses evidence-based, occupation-based, client-centered, and cost-effective healthcare and demonstrates influence in changing policies, environments, and complex systems.

Graduation Requirements

OTD students must meet all University requirements for graduation as cited in the Graduate Bulletin. Students must complete all Level II Fieldwork and the Capstone Requirement of the OTD program within 24 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program. Completion of the program from matriculation to graduation must occur within five years or 60 months.

National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Credentialing

Graduates of the UIW OTD program will be eligible to sit for the National Certification Examination for occupational therapists, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the graduate will be an Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT certification examination.

Accreditation Information

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

Admissions Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree: Applicants must complete a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
• Academic Excellence: The recommended minimum GPA is a 3.0 overall GPA and a 2.9 prerequisite GPA.
• Strong References: Three letters of recommendation, with at least one letter from a licensed occupational therapist or healthcare professional, are required.
• Observation Hours: At least 50 hours of observation with an occupational therapist or an occupational therapist assistant are recommended.

Prerequisite Coursework

Prerequisite science courses must be designated for science majors, pre-medical, or pre-health majors. Undergraduate science courses that are designated as courses for non-majors are not accepted as prerequisites for entry into the UIW OTD program. Applicants must earn a C or higher in the following prerequisite courses:

• Human Anatomy with Lab (4 hours)
• Human Physiology with Lab (4 hours) or Combined Human Anatomy Physiology I and II with Lab (4 hours each)
• College-level Science with Lab (General Biology, Chemistry, or Physics) (4 hours)
• Medical Terminology
• Introduction to Psychology (3 hours)
• Abnormal Psychology (3 hours)
• Social Science (Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology) (3 hours)
• Statistics or Research Class (3 hours)

Degree Plan

The UIW's Doctor of Occupational Therapy program is prepared to guide students in their professional development and personal achievements. Classroom and laboratory experiences build on the teaching-learning processes that evolve developmentally over the successful completion of 114 credits in 8 semesters.

Year One

• Fall Semester:
  • OTD 6310 Professional Development in Occupational Therapy (3 credits)
  • OTD 6215 Theoretical Foundations in Occupational Therapy (2 credits)
  • OTD 6513 Functional Kinesiology and Anatomy (5 credits)
  • OTD 6311 Occupations 1: Foundations (3 credits)
  • OTD 6210 Ethics and Occupational Justice (2 credits)
  • OTD 6312 Research I: Foundation of Scholarship (3 credits)
• Spring Semester:
  • OTD 6423 Neuroscience Principles for Occupational Therapy (4 credits)
  • OTD 6323 Clinical Health Conditions I (3 credits)
  • OTD 6321 Occupations II: Mental Health (3 credits)
  • OTD 6224 Fieldwork I Seminar: Mental Health (2 credits)
  • OTD 6521 Occupations III: Adult (5 credits)
  • OTD 6322 Research II: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods (3 credits)
• Summer Semester:
  • OTD 7435 Administration and Policy Development (4 credits)
  • OTD 7335 Instructional Design (3 credits)
  • OTD 7331 Occupations IV: Lifespan Development (3 credits)

Year Two

• Fall Semester:
  • OTD 7541 Occupations V: Children and Youth (5 credits)
  • OTD 7244 Fieldwork I Seminar: Children and Youth (2 credits)
  • OTD 7345 Capstone Project I: Development (3 credits)
  • OTD 7446 Innovation (4 credits)
  • OTD 7342 Research III: Proposal (3 credits)
  • OTD 7145 Advocacy Project (1 credit)
• Spring Semester:
  • OTD 7551 Occupations VI: Adult and Older Adult (5 credits)
  • OTD 7254 Fieldwork I Seminar: Adult and Older Adult (2 credits)
  • OTD 7355 Capstone Project II: Design (3 credits)
  • OTD 7356 Competency (3 credits)
  • OTD 7352 Research IV: Data Collection and Analysis (3 credits)
  • OTD 7253 Clinical Health Conditions II: Pharmacology and Comorbidities (2 credits)
• Summer Semester:
  • OTD 8964 Fieldwork IIA (9 credits)

Year Three

• Fall Semester:
  • OTD 8974 Fieldwork IIB (9 credits)
• Spring Semester:
  • OTD 8985 Doctoral Capstone Experience (9 credits)
  • OTD 8385 Transition to Practice (3 credits)

Tuition and Financial Assistance

The estimated total cost of attendance for the OTD program includes tuition, fees, health insurance, books, supplies, and living expenses.

Year 1

• Educational Expenses: $52,613
• Misc Expenses (Transportation/Personal Living Expenses, Room/Board): $24,578

Year 2

• Educational Expenses: $52,113
• Misc Expenses (Transportation/Personal Living Expenses, Room/Board): $24,578

Year 3

• Educational Expenses: $37,203
• Misc Expenses (Transportation/Personal Living Expenses, Room/Board): $24,578

Total Estimated Cost of Attendance

• Total Educational Expenses: $141,929
• Total Misc Expenses: $74,734

Financial Assistance

The University of the Incarnate Word's Office of Financial Assistance provides various types of financial assistance. Students are encouraged to visit the Office of Financial Assistance webpage to find information about submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Internal Scholarships and Grants

• Dean's Scholarship: Available to incoming students in the Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT), Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), or Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs.
• Other internal scholarships may be available.

External Scholarships

• Achieve Today Scholarship
• AOTA E.K Wise Scholarship
• ASAHP Scholarship
• Avonte Oquendo Memorial Scholarship for Autism
• Bexar County Medical Society (BCMS) Alliance Allied Health Scholarship
• Café Bustelo El Café Del Futuro Scholarship
• Daughters of the American Revolution PT/OT Scholarship
• GeneTex Scholarship
• HACU Scholarships
• HIE Help Center PT/OT/ST Scholarship
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund
• Indian Health Service Scholarship Program
• IOKDS Health Career Scholarship
• LULAC National Scholarship Fund
• Macy's Emergency Scholarship Fund
• Pat Tillman Foundation Scholarship
• San Antonio Auto Dealers Scholarship
• SPARC Therapy Scholarship
• The American Occupational Therapy Foundation Scholarships
• TOTA Endowed Scholarship
• TOTF Scholarship
• Veterans United Foundation Scholarship