<p>My daughter is planning on majoring in occupational therapy. Wants to attend a school on the east coast with a 5 year program to get her masters. Any suggestions about a good program at a medium sized campus?</p>
<p>Not 100 percent sure about the five-year program, but check out Quinnipiac in CT, Ithaca College in NY, Boston University and Northeastern University. You can do a search for programs in kinesiology to get started.</p>
<p>I can vouch for Ithaca College, considering that I’m an OT student there. I do not know with certainty how we compare to other colleges, but I can say that we do have a 5 year Master’s program and that our passing rate for for the Boards exam is very high, near 100% on the first take. </p>
<p>Ithaca also has an on-campus OT/PT clinic where students can observe and eventually participate in rehab services. I won’t say that the program is terribly challenging (I don’t know that it is anywhere), but Ithaca can provide some advantages such as significant merit money for top students and the Honors program, which I personally really enjoy. Ithaca is also a really fun, quirky, liberal town, so if your daughter is any of those things Ithaca might be the place for her. If she’s very conservative, though, she might find the atmosphere a little annoying. There is definitely no small number of Obama pins and tie-dye t-shirts to be found here. :)</p>
<p>thank you for the response. We are actually going up to visit Ithaca on the weekend of April 18th. A coworkers daughter is a freshman there and absolutely loves it so she is giving us a tour on Sunday. I have a feeling this will be a perfect fit for my daughter, however, she loved JMU when we looked there. I am a speech therapist so I know you picked a great career, lots of jobs for OT’s, PT’s and speech.</p>
<p>Ham4, I’m a PT and absolutely love my job. I feel like I have had at least 4 different careers because I’ve done so many different kinds of things so I really encourage young folks to go into OT,PT, ST. Plus, the job market is great and will get even better as people like me get older! I am encouraging my daughter to look at speech therapy/pathology/audiology. I know it is a masters program but does it matter what the undergrad is in as long as you have some pre-requs? She is considering some study of linguistics but is undecided about school, major and career (and is a senior)!</p>
<p>Springfield College has that program:</p>
<p>[5</a> Great Reasons to Major in Occupational Therapy at Springfield College](<a href=“http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/hsrs.nsf/D02BCFAF6AB5A435852573DE00510111/D4F891B27ACFEDAA852574D4005D6DF8]5”>http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/hsrs.nsf/D02BCFAF6AB5A435852573DE00510111/D4F891B27ACFEDAA852574D4005D6DF8)</p>
<p>My undergrad work was in Speech/audiology. Then I transferred and got my masters in Speech. It is much easier to major in speech at the undergrad level otherwise it will take you many years to get in all of the coursework at the grad level. After graduation you have to do 9 months of a clinical fellowship year which is paid then take the test to get your CCC’s. Not sure what the amount of clinical hours is now, when I went it was 300 hours. I agree with you, it is a great career and there are many job opportunities. I am always getting job offers in the mail and on the phone. Good choice in this job market.</p>
<p>I’m actually considering a career in occupational therapy as well, but the school I am planning to go to doesn’t offer a specific concentration in occupational therapy. It does, however, have a health sciences department. Would it suffice to major in something like ‘Public Health Sciences’ and transition into an occupational therapy graduate program from there?</p>
<p>The courses in the Public Health Sciences department are as follows:</p>
<p>Public Health 1 and 2; Chemistry 1A-B-C and 1LB-LC, 51A-B-C and 51LA-LB; Biological Sciences 93, 94, 97, 98, 99; Mathematics 2A-B plus Mathematics 7 or Statistics 8; three Social and Behavioral Science courses, with at least two in the same area selected from the following:</p>
<p>Psychology: Psychology and Social Behavior 9, 11A, 11B, 11C, or Psychology 7A, 9A, 9B, 9C (these courses are cross-listed)
Sociology 1, 2, 3
Economics 1, 13, 20A, 20B
Anthropology 2A, 2B, 2C
Political Science 6C, 31A, 51A
Environmental Analysis and Design E8</p>
<p>I’ve been worrying over this for a while now… Any input at all would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>The University of Scranton offers the 5 year MS for OT: [The</a> University of Scranton Programs of Study: Occupational Therapy Major](<a href=“http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/ac_pgm_occupational_therapy.shtml]The”>http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/ac_pgm_occupational_therapy.shtml)</p>
<p>It is a Jesuit university with an undergrad enrollment of just over 4100. According to their website, they had a 92% passing rate for first time test takers over a three year period.</p>
<p>lindaa, most OT programs also include Gross Anatomy, Physics, Abnormal Psych, Developmental Psych as pre-reqs. You might want to look at some of the grad programs to determine what courses you should take as an undergrad.</p>
<p>Ham, if you have time you might also check out Utica College or Univ. at Buffalo. They both have a BS/MS. Utica is smaller than Ithaca and seems to have a well respected program. UB is larger than Ithaca, but very easy to navigate once you’re familiar with the layout/shuttle system. They’re both about 2 hours from Ithaca…but in opposite directions.</p>
<p>If the East Coast schools would include UNC-Chapel Hill-check out their O.T. program, which is considered excellent. I have worked with several pediatric O.T.'s in the Atlanta area who are now in private practice and are excellent. They have nothing but great things to say about the school, curriculum, facilities, etc.</p>
<p>**My daughter has wanted to be an occupational therapist for close to 2 years now. She just got accepted into USC on a pre-professional track with the intentions of doing their 5 year Bachelors to Master program. We’re waiting for the FA package to come before she makes a decision. Otherwise, she will be going to Cal Poly SLO with a major in Kinesiology and independent study course with a concentration on OT. The health sciences advisor works with the students making sure they take the pre-reqs. for the grad programs they’re applying to. She also helps them with the application process. Of course, you can major in *anything *as an undergrad–as long as you get the pre-requisites in before going into the OT grad program.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!**</p>
<hr>
<p>I’m actually considering a career in occupational therapy as well, but the school I am planning to go to doesn’t offer a specific concentration in occupational therapy. It does, however, have a health sciences department. Would it suffice to major in something like ‘Public Health Sciences’ and transition into an occupational therapy graduate program from there?</p>
<p>I’ve been worrying over this for a while now… Any input at all would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>I believe Towson in Maryland also has a 5 year OT program. Boston University has a highly ranked program, as well.</p>
<p>Here is a list of programs around the US:</p>
<p>[Occupational</a> Therapy Schools/Programs in the United States of America](<a href=“http://www.univsource.com/ot.htm]Occupational”>Quick facts about OJC (La Junta, CO) - Univsource)</p>
<p>Here are the rankings in 2008:</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. News: Best Graduate Occupational Therapy Programs (2008) : The Consus Group Rankings](<a href=“http://consusrankings.com/2008/05/03/us-news-best-graduate-occupational-therapy-programs-2008/]U.S”>http://consusrankings.com/2008/05/03/us-news-best-graduate-occupational-therapy-programs-2008/)</p>
<p>I am a pediatric OT. When I graduated you only needed a bachelors degree for PT or OT. I’m glad that the requirements have changed. It has been a great career for me. I was always able to work full or part time as I wanted. I went to SUNY Downstate. It was an excellent program but it’s not in a great part of the city. But that, too, may have changed.</p>
<p>We have a neighbor who also has a Bachelor’s degree in OT. It’s been a wonderful career for her. Before she was married and had her daughter she worked in a local hospital rehab for several years. Then she wanted more time off when her daughter became school age. So she’s worked for the school district for the past 12 or 13 years. It’s great. She has holidays and summers off. The job is always interesting because she goes back and forth between three or four schools in close proximity to one another. She loves working with the kids. But, like you, she didn’t need to go to grad school.</p>
<p>I’ve read where some newer OTs have been a bit discouraged about ending up with huge student loans after grad school. Some of them feel like all the schooling doesn’t always seem worth the salary they receive. Any thoughts? Or is this just a fact of life for *any *career when someone is saddled with student loans?</p>
<p>My niece, who was not a top A student completed her 5 year masters in OT this past May at a teeny tiny women’s (non-ranked) college in Long Meadow MA: Bay Path College. It’s a very very small campus and not for everyone, but the college did a fabulous job with support and mentoring my niece. The financial aid was decent and she had opportunities for on-campus involvement and her clinical placements were good. She has passed her boards, had 3 job offers withing 3-4 weeks of graduating, is employed and loves her work. For her some of the larger colleges were out of reach and Bay Path was an excellent fit.</p>
<p>2Leashes, I think if the OT has incurred significant debt for undergrad that would make life with loans more difficult. From the salary surveys I’ve seen, OT salaries are dependent on the region and type of setting - nursing homes, for example, seem to pay more than school districts (though the benefits and time off are a plus!). Like any other major, it’s an investment that one has to make prudently. The BS/MS programs are a good way to cut costs.</p>
<p>Audiologist here…</p>
<p>For those interested in Speech pathology major in Speech/Audiology or Communication Disorders as an undergrad. (Not linguistics- totally different major). Grad school can be competitive to get into so it will help to have this undergrad major. Also, get a teaching certificate so you can work in the public schools (at least in NY). Requires some extra courses, but not a separate degree.</p>
<p>OT- Great field, lots of jobs in many settings. SUNY Buffalo has a 5 year program. SUNY is the NY State public and costs for OOS are relatively low compared to other states. they also have decent OOS merit awards.</p>
<p>My OT friends make very good ($75+/hour) salary, non-private practice.</p>
<p>If you wants to job in Occupational therapy then this forum is most important for you, it provides a great information on it…</p>
<p>[Physical</a> Therapy Jobs](<a href=“http://www.advanced-medical.net/"]Physical”>http://www.advanced-medical.net/)
[Occupational</a> Therapy Jobs](<a href=“http://www.advanced-medical.net/"]Occupational”>http://www.advanced-medical.net/)</p>