Admissions Requirements:
The Occupational Therapy Program Admission Requirements were developed to be straightforward and attainable for prospective applicants. They are intended to serve as a guide for those interested in applying to program. These are the minimum requirements for an application to be reviewed and evaluated. All admission requirements must be met for an applicant portfolio to be considered and reviewed. Simply meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to the program.
There are two routes of entry to the occupational therapy degree. Student applicants are integrated into one cohort once admitted into the program. Please carefully review the tracks below to identify which option fits you.
- If you are applying to the occupational therapy program as an undergraduate student and will not have completed a degree prior to the start of the program you should apply to the program as a Combined Occupational Therapy (COT) student.
- If you are applying to the occupational therapy program and have already received a bachelor’s degree or will have received a degree prior to the start of the program you should apply as a graduate student to the MOT program.
Option 1 Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT)
The Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT) track is designed for individuals who have already completed an undergraduate degree in a field other than occupational therapy. Applicants to this track must have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university or appropriate international institution. Candidates may apply while their degree is in progress, but degree completion, demonstrated by transcript evaluation, is necessary prior to the start of the Occupational Therapy Program. This track requires students to complete twenty-four months of full-time, year-round graduate course work in occupational therapy followed by 24 weeks of Level II Fieldwork. This track culminates with a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT degree).
Please see Admission Criteria for more information
Option 2 Combined Occupational Therapy (COT)
The Combined Occupational Therapy (COT) track is often referred to as the 3+2 program. The COT track is designed for undergraduate students who do not yet have a bachelor’s degree. This track requires students to complete twenty-four months of full-time, year-round graduate course work in occupational therapy followed by 24 weeks of Level II Fieldwork. This track culminates with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) degree. To be eligible to apply as a COT student:
- At-least 72-78 Undergraduate credits must be completed by the August 1st application deadline.
- 90 Undergraduate credits must be completed by the start of the OT program in the January after the application deadline.
- If submitting a portfolio on August 1st with less than 90 credits a plan for how the full 90 credits will be complete by the January immediately following the application deadline must be included.
- All general education courses have been or will be fully complete by the January immediately following the application deadline. General education courses can be completed in the fall semester as portfolios are being reviewed.
- Transfer students have been accepted to EMU and have met with a general academic advisor to identify how previous coursework will transfer to EMU.
Please see Combined Occupational Therapy BS/MOT (COT) for more information regarding this track.
Admission Criteria
The Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) requires a 2nd admissions process (portfolio due August 1st) and a student cannot apply to EMU as an occupational therapy graduate student until the requirements for the portfolio have been completed, reviewed by the occupational therapy faculty, and a request to join the program has been extended. Carefully review the criteria below to identify how you could apply to EMU to complete pre-admission coursework prior to submitting your portfolio. Please note that the criteria below do not apply to students who are still working towards a bachelors degree.
- If you do not need financial aid to complete pre-admission coursework you should apply to EMU as a non-degree seeking graduate student. If accepted by the occupational therapy program, after the review of your portfolio, you will be provided directions on how to become a fully admitted graduate student.
- If you need financial aid to complete pre-admission coursework you should apply to EMU as a 2nd Bachelors student by contacting the University Advising and Career Development Center (UACDC). If accepted by the occupational therapy program, after the review of your portfolio, you will be provided directions on how to become a fully admitted graduate student.
- If all pre-admission coursework has been completed at another college or university and you do not need to complete coursework at EMU you are able to submit a portfolio, due August 1st, for consideration as outlined on the website. If accepted by the occupational therapy program, after the review of your portfolio, you will be provided directions on how to become a fully admitted graduate student.
Portfolio Deadline
The competitive admission process consists of a review of portfolios. Portfolios must be received no later than August 1st for students interested in beginning the program in the winter semester of that academic year. No late submissions are accepted. The portfolio must include the following items:
- Official and sealed college transcripts from all schools attended,
- Results of the GRE General Test,
- Three academic references,
- Documentation of 100 hours of completed volunteer service with a minimum of two volunteer reference forms from these experiences,
- A sample of reflective writing.
Detailed information about the portfolio process can be found on the program’s website. We strongly encourage all students interested in applying to the program to attend a group advising session with the OT Intent Advisor and meet with the OT Intent Advisor in order to successfully complete their application. Applicants may only apply to the Occupational Therapy Program two times.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
The GRE revised General Test or GRE General Test is required as part of the application process to EMU Occupational Therapy program for both the MOT and COT tracks.. There is no test that is acceptable as a substitute for the GRE. Results of the GRE General Test must be included in the portfolio. GRE test results are accepted if taken within 3 years of an applicant’s date of application. If taking the GRE in the months leading up to application it should be taken no later than June 30th in order to ensure scores are available by the August 1st application deadline. Results should be sent to Eastern Michigan University and a copy of the results placed in the portfolio. To register for this examination please visit the website www.ETS.org. There is no minimum GRE score necessary to be considered for admission however average scores admitted to the program include a combined score of over 300 on the quantitative/verbal and 4.0 on the writing.
- If testing accommodations are needed please visit www.ets.org/disabilities. Accommodation requests should be submitted to ETS as early as possible.
GRE score reports must be received following the guidelines as delineated above. In the event that appropriate score reports are not provided to EMU and found within the portfolio, the candidate will be removed from consideration for admission.
GPA
Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 at the time of application. This GPA will be calculated from the last 60 semester/90 quarter units of course work. It is the expectation that the average successful applicant has a GPA much higher than 3.0.
Pre-Admission Coursework
In order to be considered for admission to the occupational therapy program, applicant’s must complete the following pre-admission courses with a grade of B- or better. All courses must be completed within 10 years of the application deadline with the exception of Statistics, Anatomy and Physiology, and Neuroanatomy, which must be 5 years of age or younger on the application deadline. Visit pre-admission courses for more information. If you have previously taken these courses at another university please note that all pre-admission substitutions must be pre-approved before the submission of your portfolio. All pre-admission coursework must be completed by the August 1st application deadline. Submission of your portfolio without course completion or pre-approval will result in your application being denied.
Anatomy and Physiology
Neuroanatomy
Statistics – (choose 1)
Medical Terminology
Human Growth and Development – (choose 1)
Introductory Psychology
Please be aware that PSY 103 must be completed in addition to PSY 101 to satisfy four credits of the Knowledge of the Disciplines-Natural Science portion of the General Education program. PSY 103 is not a requirement for application to the occupational therapy program.
Abnormal Psychology
Introductory Sociology OR Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - (choose 1)
All pre-admission courses must be taken at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Pre-admission courses may be taken at traditional four year universities or community colleges. Both traditional classroom settings and online courses from these institutions are acceptable. Advanced placement credit consideration will be provided for Introductory Psychology and Statistics only. There are no exceptions to this requirement.
All pre-admission courses (including associated labs) must be completed with a minimum grade of “B-“. For pre-admission courses with separate final grades assigned for Lecture and Lab sections on a transcript, a minimum grade of “B-” is required in both sections. There is no averaging of these grades together. Applicants enrolled at institutions that use a combined letter grading scale (such as “AB” or “BC”), all pre-admission courses must be “A”, “AB”, or “B”. Receiving a grade of “BC” or lower does not meet the minimum grade requirement.
For applicants enrolled at institutions that use a numerical system for grading, all pre-admission courses must have a grade of at least “2.7”. Receiving a grade of “2.5” or lower does not meet the minimum grade requirement. No pre-admission course may be taken as “credit/no credit”, “pass/fail” or “advanced credit”, as a grade must be assigned.
Coursework Outside the US - International Applicants
An international applicant is defined as a student who is either not a United States citizen or a student who has educational credentials (taken any college/university courses) from outside the United States. All applicants to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program with non-U.S. post secondary educational credentials (taken any college/university courses) must submit an evaluation of all non-U.S. post-secondary education using Educational Perspectives (EP). EP is the only educational credential evaluation service that is accepted by EMU. A “Detailed” Report (course by course evaluation) and US –equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA) is required. Please visit the EP web-page: www.edperspective.org/emich for details on how to submit the evaluation request and obtain an EP application form.
Applicants who do not possess a Bachelor’s degree from a post-secondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction must take and pass the TOEFL with a score of 84 or better. No tests other than TOEFL will be accepted. Applicants must report their TOEFL scores in their portfolio application by August 1 and an official TOEFL score report must be sent to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program. Students who are applying to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program are encouraged to take ESLN 565 prior to the start of classes.
All international applicants are expected to understand and meet all other eligibility requirements for admission to the EMU Occupational Therapy Program and the Graduate School. For more information about the Graduate School requirements, please visit the International Student web-page. For questions about residency/visa or financial requirements, please contact the Office of International Admissions at international.admissions@emich.edu.
Academic Reference
Students must submit three academic reference forms. No personal or professional references will be accepted. Criteria for the academic reference forms can be found here. Each reference must include the credentials and contact information of the individual completing the reference. All letters of academic reference must be written within the three years prior to application.
Volunteer Experience
A minimum of 100 hours volunteer, work or service learning experience must be completed prior to the application deadline. All volunteer hours must be completed within the three years prior the applicant’s date of application.
Volunteer work must consist of:
- A minimum of 20 hours with an Occupational Therapist in any setting
- A minimum of 20 hours in an agency that is committed to social justice, community welfare, community building, health and wellness, for example.
- Examples of agencies committed to social justice: soup kitchens, homeless shelters, habitat for humanity, food banks, boys and girls clubs.
- The remaining 60 hours can include:
- Additional hours with an Occupational Therapist in any setting
- Additional hours in an agency that is committed to social justice, community welfare, community building, health and wellness, for example.
- Examples of agencies committed to social justice: soup kitchens, homeless shelters, habitat for humanity, food banks, boys and girls clubs.
- Hours where the focus is on individuals with occupational performance issues (physical, mental, developmental, etc) or on issues that are created due to environmental factors including social, cultural, economic, political, etc.
NOTE:
- Students who have taken the undergraduate elective of OCTH 201 will have fulfilled 80 hours of the volunteer requirements. The applicant will still need to complete an additional 20 hours with an Occupational Therapist in any setting.
- Applicants should document their volunteer experiences on the form provided here.
Reflective Writing
Applicants must complete a four page reflective writing component. This paper is a reflection on work with individuals observed in OT while completing the required volunteer hours. We would like applicants to examine the meaning of occupation in people’s lives. Reflective writing criteria can be found here.
Portfolio
The portfolio should be in a 1-inch binder, well organized, professional and include:
- An identification page
- Official and sealed transcripts from all colleges attended. We will accept unofficial transcripts from Eastern Michigan University only
- A table or list of preadmission courses (include name of course, number of course, grade received, institution where completed). Course pre-approval documentation must accompany the table of courses.
- Results of the GRE.
- Academic and volunteer experience references on required forms
- Reflective writing component
Submit the completed application portfolio by August 1st to:
The Occupational Therapy Program
Eastern Michigan University
313 Marshall Building
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
- Applications can be submitted as early as May of the application year and will not be accepted after August 1st. If mailing a portfolio, allow sufficient time for the receipt of this packet by August 1st. Write “OT Application Portfolio” to the left of the address on the front of the envelope. Incomplete portfolios will not be reviewed.
Scoring Criteria
Acceptance into the Occupational Therapy program is based on a comprehensive assessment. For detailed scoring information click here.
Still have questions about applying to the Occupational Therapy Program?
Group sessions are strongly encouraged prior to contacting the OT Intent Advisor. Upcoming sessions can be located at http://www.emich.edu/chhs/hs/ot/admissions/. Still have questions? Contact us via email at ot_intent_advising@emich.edu
Rules and Regulations
In addition to the above requirements, all EMU Occupational Therapy Program students must agree to abide by the Rules and Regulations of the program. These can be found in the EMU OT Program Student Handbook.
Click here to apply!
