Doctorate Degree (OTD) (Starting Fall 2027)

Course Sequence

The University of Minnesota’s Occupational Therapy entry-level doctorate (OTD) degree courses prepare students to understand, analyze, synthesize and apply content about occupational therapy within a variety of practice contexts including hospital, school districts, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health, outpatient, and community emerging setting.  Courses align to the program's curricular threads that emphasize active and lifelong learning, innovation and collaboration, professional and ethical presentation, evidence based critical thinking when serving persons, communities, and populations.

This OTD program is a full-time, year-round program that is 108 credits and completed in 28 months (7 semesters). Throughout each semester, students participate in experiential learning opportunities, which includes Level I fieldwork (Semester 1, 2, 3) and then Level II fieldwork (Semester 4 and 6) that allow for hands-on, active application of the OT process. Level II fieldwork will be full-time experiences for a total of 24 weeks. Finally, OTD students participate in an individualized, in-depth capstone project and experience that promotes advancement in the profession as well as individualized professional goals of the student. Throughout the program students are provided with individualized faculty and student service advisement to support professional and academic goals as they progress through the program course work and experiences. 

Semester 1: 

Students begin the program learning foundational concepts about how occupations impact the health and wellbeing of persons, communities and populations as well as building their professional identity and therapeutic relationships. Students also start building their evidence-based practice skills learning how to search, analyze, and synthesize existing evidence related to occupational therapy practice. 

Semester 2 and 3: 

Students progress into the practice related classes building upon their foundational coursework and experiences in from Semester 1. Practice courses focus on the OT process and occupations spanning child, youth, adult, and older adult populations. Students also build upon their evidence based practice skills to progress to building and supporting implementation of new knowledge related to occupational therapy practice. Students in the OTD track begin preparing for capstone with their first of two capstone preparation courses.  

Semester 4:  

Once students have successfully completed all didactic courses from Semester 1-3 as well as Level I fieldwork experiences, students progress to the first of two Level II fieldwork experiences. Each fieldwork experience is 12 weeks in duration and full-time and designed to help students bridge their knowledge and skills from the classroom into practice. During this time students are supervised and mentored by experienced, licensed occupational therapists in traditional or emerging practice settings.

Semester 5: 

Students return to the didactic coursework reflective of their preparation as entry level professional doctoral students. During this semester, they enhance their skills in leadership, advocacy, and professional writing, and take the second of their two capstone preparation courses. Students also select 6 credits of elective courses that support their capstone project as well as professional goals. 

Semester 6: 

Students participate in their second Level II (12 week, full time) experience. During this time students are supervised and mentored by experienced licensed occupational therapists in traditional or emerging practice settings.

Semester 7: 

In the final semester, students complete their capstone project, which is 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. Capstone experiences are a full-time 14 week within a setting that aligns with a selected project focus area. Capstone experiences begin after the completion of all coursework as well as Level I and Level II fieldwork.

In Semesters 1-3, students participate in a series of professional development courses that prepare them for navigating various systems and roles within occupational therapy. In this course series, students will develop and implement a professional development plan that supports individualized profession and wellbeing goals development and attainment.