MOT - Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Accreditation Status

The entry-level Master of Occupational Therapy program at Parker University has applied for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E Bethesda, MD  20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is http://www.acoteonline.org/ . The program must be granted Candidacy Status, have a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

 The Master of Occupational Therapy is pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. 

General Program Information

Parker University’s Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) Bridge Program is a specialized hybrid-distance learning program designed for Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs) who want to become Occupational Therapists (OTR). Students are provided the opportunity to advance their skills in clinical practice, research, administration, and leadership while working in the field and completing the MOT Bridge program. The MOT Bridge Program consists of six consecutive trimesters (including summers). The curriculum is delivered through a variety of on-line or web-based instruction/lecture, lab, seminar formats, and fieldwork experiences. The on-line component of each course is delivered both synchronously and asynchronously. All students are required to attend scheduled on campus practical laboratories approximately one weekend per month. Students earning a Master of Occupational Therapy at Parker University must complete a total of 65 program-specific semester credit hours. The program consists of 23 core courses, which include 6 months of clinical fieldwork experience courses for a total of 6 terms (24 months) to receive a Master of Occupational Therapy degree. Parker University conducts courses on a year-round basis with scheduled vacations each year. The Clinical Fieldwork experiences occur off-campus at various locations and are based on the hours of the Occupational Therapy Practitioners and the Fieldwork sites. The hours can vary anytime between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday – Friday (with a possible Saturday).

All prospective MOT program candidates must be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) with a minimum of one year of experience or 1,700 hours as a practicing COTA, have obtained a bachelor’s degree, and have met the required program prerequisite courses prior to applying to the program. Students accepted into the Master of Occupational Therapy Program are required to successfully complete all program prerequisite courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.0 scale) prior to entering the program.

Clinical Fieldwork Experiences

Clinical Education is an important part of the curriculum of the Master of Occupational Therapy Program. A portion of the student’s fieldwork experiences occur after the didactic portion of the program is completed. Supervised fieldwork experience is essential for professional preparation, as it provides the students with a “hands- on” opportunity to integrate academic knowledge with application skills in a clinical or community work situation. The overall goal of the clinical component of the program is that by the end of the last clinical rotation the students are prepared, competent entry-level generalist Occupational Therapist (OT). Clinical Fieldwork experiences consist of both Level I and Level II rotations. The MOT program is designed to meet the needs of certified occupational therapy assistants. The Level I fieldwork experiences are comprised of completion of (3) simulated-based experiences offered via an online platform that occurs in conjunction with specific practice area coursework during designated trimesters. These experiences reinforce learned concepts in practice areas of Mental Health/Psychiatric, Community based practice, Physical Disabilities, and Pediatrics. Learned concepts include evaluation, assessment techniques, intervention/treatment, and evidence-based practice. Students will be assigned specific simulations and associated tasks to complete throughout the level I fieldwork experience. Level II fieldwork experiences are held during the last two trimesters of the program and take place at a facility in the community. These experiences are completed over a total of 24 weeks at two different service delivery settings (12 weeks each) following the work hours of the supervising Fieldwork Educator. All Level II fieldwork experiences are full-time equivalent (only) approximately 32 - 40 hours per week (ranging from 384 - 480 total hours per rotation). The Level II fieldwork experience MUST be completed within 12 months of completion of didactic coursework. Fieldwork experiences are NOT paid and DO NOT guarantee employment after completion.

* Please note that every effort will be made to provide local clinical fieldwork experiences for Level II placement, however students are not guaranteed local (the students area of residence) fieldwork placements and should expect to complete at least one Level II clinical fieldwork experience outside of their area of residence requiring travel to and from the facility or possible short-term relocation.

*Prior to clinical fieldwork experiences students will be required to provide proof of statement of good health, immunization record, medical/health insurance, Basic Life Support for health care providers, drug screening and level-3 background check. If a student has a felony charge/conviction on their record they may not be placed in a hospital, pediatric or skilled nursing facility for their clinical experience. In addition, this may interfere with their ability to graduate in a timely manner. *