PRE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY CURRICULUM 7/2015

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1 COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE PREPROFESSIONAL OFFICE 118 College Drive #5165 Hattiesburg, MS Phone: Fax: PRE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY CURRICULUM 7/2015 THE MAJOR The preoccupational therapy curriculum is just a list of courses that are required for admission to an occupational therapy program. It is NOT an academic major, a minor, or an emphasis area. Even if you plan to apply to Occupational Therapy (OT) school after taking only the courses required for admission (minimum of 72 hours for the program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center), you need to declare an academic major at USM. OT schools do not require a particular major. Although many pre-ot students at Southern Miss choose a major in the College of Health s School of Kinesiology (such as Therapeutic Recreation), other majors are acceptable including those in the sciences, humanities, social sciences, or business. Students should select the major in which they feel the most comfortable and in which they would like to work if they are not accepted into OT school. Students wishing to pursue Occupational Therapy (OT) in Mississippi apply to the three year Master s program at University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, typically after taking two or more years to complete an OT preprofessional curriculum, for example at Southern Miss. Preference is given to Mississippi residents at UMMC; out of state residents will be considered. Students who obtain a Master s of Occupational Therapy at UMMC are eligible to sit for the licensure exam as part of the requirements of becoming a licensed Occupational Therapist. Visit the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA) web pages for more information about OT schools: Link to main page: Link to student resources: To find Occupational Therapy programs around the country go to the AOTA Find a School site at: There are Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Programs at some community colleges. Students in those programs receive an Associate s Degree and can sit for the OT Assistant licensure exam. If you do not want an advanced degree, such as a Master s degree, please consult the AOTA Find a School resource for those Assistant s programs. An OTA is more limited in practice than the licensed Occupational Therapist with a Master s degree. The University of Southern Mississippi 1

2 REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS Each Occupational Therapy program has their own set of requirements. These vary considerably from one school to another. Please consult the requirements and deadlines of the specific school(s) to which you plan to apply. The following list of Required Courses meets only the minimal requirements for admission to the threeyear professional program within the School of Health Related Professions at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Link to UMMC SHRP: Link to Occupational Therapy: Master_of_Occupational_Therapy_Home.aspx Preference is given to Mississippi residents; out-of-state applicants will be considered only if there are positions available after all qualified Mississippi applicants are accepted. Following satisfactory completion of all requirements for this professional program, students will be awarded the Master of Occupational Therapy degree from the University of Mississippi. Course prerequisites for application to UMMC s Occupational Therapy Program. These courses are all offered at USM. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0. For prerequisite courses below no grade lower than a C will be accepted by UMMC s program. English composition (2 courses; 6 hours) speech (1 course; 3 hours) college algebra, quantitative reasoning, or higher mathematics (1 course; 3 hours) NOTE: Students must take MAT 101 (College Algebra) because it is a prerequisite for MAT 103 (Trigonometry); MAT 103 is a prerequisite for PHY 111/L statistics (elementary, behavioral, or introductory) (1 course; 3 hours) social or behavioral science (2 courses; 6 hours) general psychology (1 course; 3 hours) child psychology or adolescent psychology (1 course; 3 hours) human growth and developmental (1 course; 3 hours) humanities and fine arts (3 courses; 9 hours) general biological sciences with laboratories (2 courses; 8 hours) anatomy and physiology with laboratories (2 courses; 8 hours) general chemistry with lab (1 course; 4 hours) physics with lab (1 course; 4 hours) electives (3 courses; 9 hours) to reach a minimum of 72 credit hours Students must provide evidence of 24 hours observation in at least two occupational therapy clinical departments at the time of application to UMMC. Observation must be done with either an occupational therapist or a certified occupational therapy assistant. It is up to the individual student to set up his or her own observation hours. There is a Verification of Observation Form on the UMMC Master of Occupational Therapy website that applicants will have to use in order to certify the number of observation hours. cupational_therapy/admissions/otobservationform_001.pdf USM students can also apply to Master of Occupational Therapy programs at other universities. Please consult their resident status requirements though. Two close-by programs are in Louisiana at the LSU The University of Southern Mississippi 2

3 Health Science Center in New Orleans and in Alabama at the University of South Alabama. Both of these schools have more prerequisite credit hours than the UMMC program and both require the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) be taken and scores sent to them. LSU requires a Bachelor s degree while U. South Alabama requires either a Bachelor s degree or 90 credit hours of prerequisites. Details about these programs can be found at: 1. LSU at 2. Univ. South Alabama at SUGGESTED COURSE SEQUENCE & STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS The suggested course sequence below is merely a guideline to complete the courses required for the UMMC Occupational Therapy program in a timely manner. Courses to fulfill the major must be worked into the student s schedule. Students must consult the USM Undergraduate Bulletin, the USM Class Schedule Guide for each semester, and their academic advisor. Some courses may be offered in specific semesters (Fall or Spring only) or on a rotating cycle. YEAR 1 Fall Spring BSC 110&L a 4 h BSC 111&L a 4 h CHE 106&L b 4 h MAT 103 d 3 h MAT 101 c 3 h PSY 110 g 3 h ENG 101 e 3 h ENG h One required course f 3 h One required course f 3 h a, The order in which students take the introductory Biological Sciences (BSC) courses does not matter; BSC 110/L covers molecular and cellular topics whereas BSC 111/L covers ecology and organisms. b, Students enrolling in CHE 106&L must have passed high school chemistry or passed CHE 100 at USM. CHE 100 is required when the chemistry background is not adequate. Students may enter CHE 100 directly, if they choose. Students enrolled in CHE 106/L will take a test soon after the semester begins to determine if they should remain in CHE 106/L. If they do not meet the minimum score, these students are strongly recommended to move to a CHE 100 class, typically offered at the same time as CHE 106. c, Placement in mathematics (MAT) courses depends on the student s ACT Math subtest score. Calculus is required for most majors in the College of Science and Technology (CoST), but is not required for OT school or for majors outside of CoST. ACT mathematics subtest score 19 or below: must take MAT 99 (Intermediate Algebra) ACT mathematics subtest score 20 or above: MAT 101 (College Algebra) ACT mathematics subtest score 24 or above (or grade of C or better in College Algebra): MAT 103 (Trigonometry). NOTE: Trigonometry is a prerequisite for Physics I and pre-ot students are advised to take MAT 103. ACT mathematics subtest score 24 or above (or grade of C or better in Trigonometry): MAT 114 (Calculus for the Arts and Sciences) ACT mathematics subtest score 26 or above: MAT 167 (Calculus I) Students directly entering Calculus (MAT 114 or MAT 167) can use this course to satisfy the UMMC math requirement. d, MAT 103 is a pre-requisite for PHY 111/L e, Placement in English Composition courses depends on the student s ACT English subtest score. The University of Southern Mississippi 3

4 ACT English subtest score 16 or below: ENG 99E (Expanded Composition Studio) and ENG 100E (Composition I expanded) ACT English subtest score 17-19: ENG 100E (Composition I expanded) ACT English subtest score 20 or above: ENG 101 (Composition 1) f, Required courses: one (1) Fine Arts course (select from ART 130, DAN 130, MUS 165, THE 100) two (2) Humanities courses (select from HIS 101, HIS 102, PHI 151, REL 131); if a student is pursuing a baccalaureate degree from Southern Miss, one Humanities must be a HIS course. two social sciences courses one speech course, CMS 111 one statistics course, recommend PSY 360 or CSS 211, it can not be a survey course sufficient elective hours to achieve a total of 72 credit hours of acceptable transfer credit (exclusive of physical education, military science, dogmatic religion and vocation courses). g, PSY 110 is a required prerequisite and is recommended before taking the two upper level PSY courses taken in the second year. Strategy for Success Students should focus on doing well in their academic studies, particularly the required science and math courses. Students could start getting some hands-on exposure to occupational therapy. Students must provide evidence of 24 hours observation in at least two occupational therapy clinical departments at the time of application. Students may join AED (Alpha Epsilon Delta), the national Health Preprofessional Honor Society, as associate members at any time even if they do not fulfill the requirements for full membership (must be enrolled at Southern Miss for a minimum of three semesters and meet specific course and GPA requirements). Full members are inducted during the Spring semester. Information and links to AED Full and Associate Member applications are available on the Southern Miss Preprofessional website: YEAR 2 Fall Spring BSC 250/L h 4 h BSC 251/L h 4 h PHY 111/L d 4 h Advanced psychology course i 3 h Advanced psychology course i 3 h 3 required courses f 9 h One required course f 3 h h, Students may take one pure Human Anatomy course with lab and one Human Physiology course; otherwise, students must take a combined Anatomy and Physiology course with lab for a year (twosemester sequence). The order in which students take BSC 250/L and BSC 251/L does not matter. i, Human Growth and Development (=Developmental Psychology PSY 275) is required, but the second PSY course can be Adolescent Psychology (PSY 372) or Child Psychology (PSY 270). Strategy for Success Students should focus on doing well in their studies. Students could start getting the 24 hours observation in at least two occupational therapy clinical departments Students may join AED (Alpha Epsilon Delta), the national Health Preprofessional Honor Society, as associate members at any time even if they do not fulfill the requirements for full membership (must The University of Southern Mississippi 4

5 be enrolled at Southern Miss for a minimum of three semesters and meet specific course and GPA requirements). Full members are inducted during the Spring semester. The Application Process could begin in the second year. (See below for application process) Applicants must have completed a total of 72 semester hours of required pre-ot courses by the time they enter the Master s Program. To do so by end of the second year, students would most likely have to take some courses during the summer semesters before the first year and/or between the first and second year. YEAR 3 Fall Spring Classes to fulfill major h Classes to fulfill major h and complete pre-ot prerequisites and complete pre-ot prerequisites Strategy for Success Students should focus on doing well in their studies. Students must provide evidence of 24 hours observation in at least two occupational therapy clinical departments at the time of application. The Application Process must begin this year if they have not applied in the second year. (See below for application process) Applicants must have completed a total of 72 semester hours of required pre-ot courses by the time they enter the Master of Occupational Therapy program at UMMC. THE APPLICATION PROCESS The application process must begin in the Fall semester of the second or third year. Applications to UMMC program can be accepted starting on July 1 of the year previous to when you plan to attend. The application deadline for the summer entering class is on January 15 th of the year you plan to attend. Applications are considered once a year with one OT class being admitted a year for the program that begins each summer. For other OT programs the deadlines and starting dates can differ so please consult with the specific program(s) to which you plan to apply. Students apply online directly to the UMMC School of Health Related Professions: s/guesthowtoapply Applicants must complete a minimum of 72 hours of academic credit (exclusive of physical education, military science, dogmatic religion and vocation courses) from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning. Applicants must have minimum overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. (Applicants interviewed and accepted typically have a higher GPA.) A minimum grade of C is required on each course accepted for transfer. If a course is repeated, both grades are used in calculating the GPA. Applicants must meet the technical standards of the program py/technical_standards.aspx An interview with the Occupational Therapy Admissions Committee is required. THE INTERVIEW Students are advised to practice their interview skills BEFORE attending their first interview. You may use the online Perfect Interview TM resource: Or, sign up for mock interviews through Career Services by calling : The University of Southern Mississippi 5

6 Dress professionally and act professionally at your interview. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT A CAREER IN HEALTHCARE, CONTACT THE PREPROFESSIONAL OFFICE The Healthcare Preprofessional Office is located in Bobby Chain Technology Building (TEC) Room 103. Website: Phone number: Mailing address: Healthcare Preprofessional Office College of Science and Technology 118 College Dr., #5165 Hattiesburg, MS Preprofessional Assistant: Preprofessional Advisor: Ms. L. Machell Haynes ladonna.haynes@usm.edu Dr. Jeffrey Evans, Preprofessional Advisor jeffrey.evans@usm.edu The University of Southern Mississippi 6