Admissions Requirements

On this page, you will find the admissions process and requirements for Chatham University's Occupational Therapy Assistant to Occupational Therapy Doctor (OTA-to-OTD) program.

Admission Requirements & Deadlines

  • Active Occupational Therapy Assistant license
  • Minimum of one year of clinical experience
  • Completion of a bachelor’s degree, or in the process of completing a bachelor’s degree, from an accredited college or university prior to the start of the program*
  • Two professional letters of reference
  • Attendance at a virtual interview

Pre-requisite Courses

Students must complete the following required pre-requisite courses:

  • Anatomy with lab (one term)
  • Physiology with lab (one term)–A & P I & II can also fill these first two requirements
  • Abnormal Psychology (one term)
  • Statistics or Research Methods (one term)
  • Developmental Psychology or Lifespan Development (one term)
    • A combination of developmental psychology courses that cover the lifespan—birth to death—are also acceptable

Advanced placement, transfer of credit, or credit for experiential learning is not available to students in the entry-level OT Program for occupational therapy courses due to the integrated and sequential nature of the coursework in this program.

*Bachelor’s degree needs not be in the field of occupational therapy. Students without a bachelor’s degree have the option of pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies at Chatham, which allows students to accelerate earning the bachelor’s degree with significant cost savings.