Hybrid Curriculum
The University of Minnesota graduate OT program uses a hybrid educational approach that blends distance (technology-enhanced) and on-site, face-to-face instruction and interaction with other students and faculty. Within the curriculum, students participate in experiential opportunities to apply knowledge from the classroom coursework into traditional and emerging practice contexts. Students will learn online through interactive asynchronous and synchronous instruction methods as well as come to campus for varying amounts of time each semester, for face-to-face sessions, that allow for interaction with faculty and students as well as application of skills for occupational therapy service delivery.
Learning Objectives of the Program
Evaluate Models, Policies and Systems
The student will:
Evaluate models, policies and systems in settings where occupational therapy services are emerging or delivered.
With the goal of learning to:
- Appraise current and future directions for health care, education, and social service systems that guide practice and service.
- Critique health, education, employment, academic and community models that structure emerging OT services.
- Create innovative practice in emerging OT settings.
- Analyze policies and develop, formulate procedures for effective OT services.
Evaluate Evidence
The student will:
Evaluate evidence to drive innovative practice for individuals, communities, and populations.
With the goal of learning to:
- Apply ethical guidelines to complex practice situations. Identify a problem for a population-, community- or individual- level practice related problem or question.
- Appraise evidence relevant to the question or problem and reframe their questions accordingly.
- Formulate a research proposal around their practice-related problem or question.
Achieve Proficiency
The student will:
Achieve proficiency in one of the following areas of advanced practice: clinical practice, research, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, or theory development.
With the goal of learning to:
- Evaluate outcome(s) of their proposed approach.
- Compare and contrast 3-4 potential specialty practice areas.
- Investigate knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to possess emerging expertise in specialty area.
- Select specialty [advanced] practice area.
- Develop capstone project in selected specialty area.
- Formulate specific individualized capstone objectives and plan.
- Develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to possess emerging expertise in specialty [advanced] practice area.
Inspire, Empower and Lead Others
The student will:
Inspire, empower and lead others to be agents of beneficial change.
With the goal of learning to:
- Demonstrate emerging expertise through the application of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in specialty area.
- Understand leadership practices and how they impact behavior of individuals and groups in organizations. examples across multiple contexts.
Experiential Learning
Students begin applying the occupational therapy process and framework starting in the first semester of the program. Throughout the first two years of the program, students will complete four unique Level I fieldwork experiences that are faculty-led with traditional and emerging practice settings. Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork as well as an individual 14-week doctoral capstone experience within 24 months following their completion of the Level I fieldwork and classroom-based coursework of the program. The doctoral capstone experience begins once all coursework, Level II fieldwork and preparatory activities are completed.
Level I Fieldwork
Level I experiences provide students the opportunity to apply the occupational therapy practice framework (Domain and Process) in traditional and emerging practice settings under the direction of faculty. Faculty led Level I Fieldwork experiences - according to the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) - is to introduce the fieldwork experience and allow application of knowledge to practice while developing understanding of client needs. Level I fieldwork experiences occur in Year 1 and 2 of the program (Semesters 1, 2, 4, and 5).
Visit the Level I Fieldwork page for more details.
Level II Fieldwork
Level II fieldwork courses occur after successful completion of all Level I fieldwork experiences didactic curriculum. Each student is required to register for two Level II Fieldwork courses. Level II fieldwork supports development of a generalist occupational therapist. Students participate in a variety of settings and with a variety of populations. Fieldwork aligns with the curriculum design and consists of a minimum of 24 weeks full-time equivalent experience. This is typically arranged into two-12 week experiences. Level II fieldwork experiences occur in Year 3 of the program (Semester 7 and 8). It is the policy of the University of MN that all level II fieldwork must be completed within 24 months of finishing the didactic semesters.
Level II fieldwork is an integral part of entry-level occupational therapy education, requiring careful placement of students into experiences. Placement decisions align with the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy profession, and program’s curriculum design. In addition, all fieldwork sites require an Affiliation Agreement, which is a legal document negotiated between the University of Minnesota and the fieldwork site.
Visit the Level II Fieldwork page for more details.
Capstone Experience and Project
The Doctoral Experiential Component and Capstone Project are the culmination of doctoral preparation for occupational therapy students. These individualized experiences provide the student an opportunity to further develop their professional knowledge and abilities in a focused area of occupational therapy. Students carry out a capstone project associated with their experience and type- where they implement a scholarly data-driven analysis, disseminate their results, and promote the profession.
Each student works in collaboration with the Doctoral Capstone Coordinator (DCC) and an assigned Faculty Capstone Advisor (FCA) to plan and implement their experience and project. The capstone project is an independently mentored project that partially fulfills the requirements for a clinical doctoral education and is completed within the capstone experience.
Capstone experiences require 560 hours (14 week full-time equivalent) within a setting that aligns with a selected focused area. Capstone experiences begin after the completion of all coursework as well as Level I and Level II fieldwork. The Capstone experience occurs in Semester 9.
Visit the Capstone page for more details.
Course Sequence
Year 1 | Fall - Semester 1
- OT 7111 Professional Development in Occupational Therapy I (2 credits)
- OT 7121 Foundations of Occupational Therapy (5 credits)
- OT 7123 Occupational Engagement and Promotion (3 credits)
- OT 7122 Mind & Body: Aspects of Occupational Therapy Practice (2 credits)
- OT 7141 Body Structure & Function I (3 Credits)
- Level I Fieldwork (OT 7175 Child & Youth; OT 7176 Adult; OT 7177 Older Adult; OT 7271 Mental Health) (1 credit)
Total Credits: 16 Credits
Year 1 | Spring - Semester 2
- OT 7211 Professional Development in OT II (2 credits)
- OT 7221 OT Process: Child & Youth (3 credits)
- OT 7222 OT Process: Adults I (3 credits)
- OT 7223 OT Process: Older Adults I (3 credits)
- OT 7231 Critical Inquiry in OT (2 credits)
- OT 7242 Body Structure & Function II (2 credits)
- Level I Fieldwork (OT 7175 Child & Youth; OT 7176 Adult; OT 7177 Older Adult; OT 7271 Mental Health) (1 credit)
Total Credits: 16 Credits
Year 1 | Summer - Semester 3
- OT 7332 Quantitative Research in OT (2 credits)
- OT 7343 Body Structure & Function III (4 credits)
- Elective Course(s) (0-3 credits)
Total Credits: 6 Credits
Year 2 | Fall - Semester 4
- OT 7411 Professional Development in OT III (2 credits)
- OT 7421 OT Process: Child & Youth II (3 credits)
- OT 7422 OT Process: Adults II (3 credits)
- OT 7423 OT Process: Older Adults II (3 credits)
- OT 7431 Qualitative Inquiry in OT (2 credits)
- OT 7451 OT Capstone Preparation I (1 credit)
- Level I Fieldwork (OT 7175 Child & Youth; OT 7176 Adult; OT 7177 Older Adult; OT 7271 Mental Health) (1 credit)
- Elective Course(s) (0-3 credits)
Total Credits: 15 Credits
Year 2 | Spring- Semester 5
- OT 7511 Professional Development in OT IV (2 credits)
- OT 7521 OT Process: Child & Youth III (3 credits)
- OT 7522 OT Process: Adults III (3 credits)
- OT 7523 OT Process: Older Adults III (3 credits)
- OT 7541 Assistive Technology in Occupational Therapy (2 credits)
- OT 7542 Orthotics and Prosthetics (2 credits)
- OT 7552 OT Capstone Preparation II (1 credit)
- Level I Fieldwork (OT 7175 Child & Youth; OT 7176 Adult; OT 7177 Older Adult; OT 7271 Mental Health) (1 credit)
- Elective Course(s) (0-3 credits)
Total Credits: 17 Credits
Year 2 | Summer - Semester 6
- OT 7653 OT Capstone Preparation III (2 credits)
- OT 7821 Systems of Occupational Therapy Practice (2 credits)
- OT 7841 Program Development in Occupational Therapy (3 credits)
- OT 7842 Teaching and Learning in Occupational Therapy (2 credits)
- Elective Course(s) (0-3 credits)
Total Credits: 9 Credits
Year 3 | Fall - Semester 7
- OT 7691 Level II Fieldwork in Occupational Therapy (A) (9 credits)
- OT 7641 Management of Occupational Therapy Practice (2 credits)
Total Credits: 11 Credits
Year 3 | Spring - Semester 8
- OT 7696 Level II Fieldwork in OT (B) (9 credits)
- OT 7754 OT Capstone Preparation IV (1 credit)
Total Credits: 10 Credits
Year 3 | Summer - Semester 9
- OT 8995 OT Capstone Experience and Project (10 credits)
Total Credits: 10 Credits