The IU Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program is designed to help you succeed as an occupational therapist (OT). After graduation, you will be ready to take the national certifying exam necessary to become a certified OT and have the competencies and skills to practice in the field.
Together, we’ve got this: preparing you to be an occupational therapist
Our mission
The mission of the IU Indianapolis occupational therapy entry-level clinical doctorate program is to prepare future occupational therapy leaders to address the occupational needs of a diverse society and to promote health and well-being by facilitating participation in life roles, everyday activities, and community living.
The IU Indianapolis entry-level OTD program strives to reflect current and emergent occupational therapy practice by placing equal value on rehabilitative, community-based, and role emerging areas of practice. Towards that end the curriculum design embodies AOTA Vision 2025 while also addressing healthcare quality core competencies for health professionals set forth by the Institute of Medicine ([IOM] 2003).
AOTA Vision 2025
As an inclusive profession, occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living.
The IOM core competencies for health professionals include client-centered care, work in interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, and data driven decision making (quality improvement and informatics). Finally, providing trauma informed care is now the expectation, not the exception, in behavioral health systems and primary care settings (National Council for Behavioral Health, 2020). For this reason, the entry-level OTD curriculum prepares students to develop the knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills needed for successful practice as competent, contemporary, trauma informed entry-level therapists.