Admissions

Application requirements and steps for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program

The requirements, deadlines, and process for applying for the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) are outlined below. Review the admissions information before applying. Applications open in July.

The admissions committee accepts an undergraduate degree in any major from a regionally accredited institution. The most common undergraduate majors are exercise science, kinesiology, and psychology.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible to apply for the OTD program, you need to meet the following requirements.

  • Completed all prerequisites with a maximum of one outstanding course at the time of application. All prerequisites must be completed before starting the program. If you would like admissions to review your coursework, please email hprofadv@iu.edu to request a meeting.
  • Completed—or will complete—your undergraduate bachelor’s degree before your intended summer start date in the program.
  • Earned a cumulative grade point average and prerequisite grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, which includes all undergraduate and graduate coursework.
  • All applicants are encouraged to observe OT practice and acquire shadowing experience, but there are no active requirements or minimum number of shadowing hours required.

Applicants who previously matriculated into any occupational therapy program in the United States are not eligible for admission into the IU Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.

The OTD admissions committee does not give preference to any applicant type.

Prerequisites listed with comparable IU courses.

  • Introductory psychology (PSY-B 110)

  • Abnormal Psychology/Psychopathology (PSY-B 380)

  •  Life Span/Human Development Psychology (PSY-B 310; must include the study of development from birth to death; more than one course may be required)

  • Introductory Sociology/Introductory Anthropology (SOC-R 100/ANTH-A104)

  • Statistics (STAT 30100; must include descriptive and inferential)*

  • Human anatomy I (BIOL-N 261; with lab OR human anatomy & physiology I with lab)*

  • Human physiology I (BIOL-N 217; lab preferred OR human anatomy & physiology II with lab)*

  • Medical terminology (HIM-M 330)

*Courses must be completed not more than 7 years prior to the application deadline.

For combined Human Anatomy and Physiology classes, a two course sequence is required. For example, applicants must take either A&P I and II, or Anatomy with Lab and Physiology with lab. 200 level or higher is recommended.

Read the prerequisite course descriptions to make sure your prerequisites are a suitable match.

Online courses and labs are being accepted for prerequisite requirements.

Prerequisite coursework must be at a level for science majors and be completed with a grade of ‘C’ or higher, and all courses (except for Medical Terminology) must be at least three credit hours.

Students may retake up to fifteen (15) credit hours of prerequisites—the higher grade will be used to compute prerequisite GPA, but all grades will be used to calculate cumulative GPA.

Dual credit courses are acceptable if recorded on a college transcript with a grade. The OTD admissions committee accepts coursework from any regionally accredited institution.

Courses taken for AP credit will be accepted for prerequisite courses if a score of three or higher is earned (the course must appear on official university transcripts). CLEP tests are not accepted.

Graduate transfer credit is not accepted. As a potential student, be aware that all courses in the program curriculum are required. There is not an option for the curriculum to be accelerated.

No credit is accepted for experiential learning or work experience.

Students can retake up to 15 credit hours of prerequisite coursework. The higher grade will be used to compute the prerequisite GPA, but all grades will be used to calculate the cumulative GPA.

As an applicant, you can only have one outstanding prerequisite at the time you submit your application. A prerequisite course is considered outstanding if it is incomplete and ungraded. The outstanding prerequisite can be completed in either the fall or spring semester. It will need to be completed by the time the program begins in May.

Applicants are not eligible to apply if they do not meet our minimum requirements, which include a 3.2 cumulative GPA and 3.2 prerequisite GPA. We do not give special consideration to the last 60 credit hours. All college coursework is factored into the cumulative GPA.

You can reapply the next cycle. We offer one application cycle per year.

Application deadlines are September 15 for program admission.

Application instructions

  1. Craft a personal statement. Tips for writing are included on the IU CAS graduate application page.
  2. Request official transcripts to submit to OTCAS.
  3. If you have not completed your bachelor’s degree, you will need to complete a Declaration of Intent to Complete form. Enter your information, print the form emailed to you, obtain necessary signatures, and submit as a document upload.
  4. Complete your application via the Occupational Therapist Centralized Application Service (OTCAS). All application materials must be submitted in full, and your application must be in “verified” status by the admission deadline. Additional application fees apply.
  5. Submit your Indiana University graduate program application (IU CAS). The program’s name in IU CAS is “Occupational Therapy OTD.” Applications are not reviewed until the application fee is paid, and must be received by the deadline.
  6. Interviews are held the first Saturday of November. Be sure to save the date.
  7. GRE test scores not required.

Ready to apply?

Start your OTCAS application

Next step

Complete your required Indiana University Graduate CAS application

Information for international students

In addition to the requirements above, international applicants must follow the international application process and admission standards of the Office of International Affairs.

To earn admissions as an international applicant, you must also meet these program requirements:

  • If you are a non-native English speaker, you must meet the minimum requirements for English proficiency.
  • Applicants who complete coursework outside of the United States must have their official foreign transcripts evaluated and translated by an approved independent educational evaluating service based in the United States at their own expense. The evaluation should establish a degree equivalent and course-by-course equivalent for all foreign coursework.

Approved evaluation centers

International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
P.O. Box 3665
Culver City, CA 90231-3665
Phone: 310-258-9451
www.ierf.org

Josef Silny & Associates
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Phone: 305-273-1616
www.jsilny.com

World Education Services, Inc. (WES)
PO Box 745
New York, NY 10113-0745
Phone: 212-966-6311
World Education Services
www.wes.org

Minimum requirement for English proficiency

The test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) test is used and you must meet the following scores for each sub-section and total.

  • Reading: 22
  • Listening: 22
  • Speaking: 26
  • Writing: 24

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