Occupational Therapy


Occupational Therapy (OT) is a health/rehabilitation profession whose practitioners work in a wide variety of settings including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, community mental health facilities, schools, and nursing homes, to name a few. This profession contributes to the physical and emotional independence; and the well-being of an individual or group of people through the selection of occupations or activities from everyday life that have meaning and purpose to the individual. This enables the individual to gain, regain, enhance, or prevent loss of habits, skills, tasks, routines or roles that the individual has performed in the past, or is learning to perform in order to participate fully as a contributing member of his or her community or personal environment. Occupational therapists provide services and programs for people of all ages who have physical, emotional, social, or developmental problems. Occupational therapy involves finding the right occupations or activities, designing the right environment, or creating the right opportunities for experiences that lead towards health, independence of function and the prevention of dysfunction. 

Occupational Therapy Program 

  1. Accreditation Status: The Occupational Therapy Program is on Probationary Accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA),

    ACOTE's Disclosure Statement regarding Probationary Accreditation Action: The occupational therapy master's program at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama was place on Probationary Accreditation effective December 2, 2022, for failure to document significant progress toward correction of an area of noncompliance related to 2018 Standard A.6.4 (certification exam pass rates). The program has been requested to submit a Progress Report to return the program to full compliance with the Standard within the mandated time period for correction.

    The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education is located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’S telephone number, c/o AOTA, is (301) 652-6611 and its web address is www.acoteonline.org.

  2. Last Onsite Visit: 2015-2016
    Next Onsite Visit: 2025-2026

  3. The program is accredited for 10 years since 2015-2016

  4. Professional Examination Scores: The examination agency for occupational therapy graduates is the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). Their address is One Bank Street, Suite 300, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. NBCOT's phone number is (301) 990-7979. Program examination results can be found at this web address:  https://www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.

  5. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) program data for Tuskegee University's Occupational Therapy Program can be found at the following web address: https://www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance#schoolperformance.

Graduation Year

Graduating/Students Entering

Graduation Rate

2023 10/16 63%
2022 19/24 79%
2021 45/57 79%
Total 74/97 73.6%

The total number of graduates from our program during the three-year period of 2021 to 2023 was 74.

Occupational Therapy Program Requirements

After successful completion of (6) six months of full time fieldwork experience in an occupational therapy program and passing the NBCOT exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). Most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the certification exam or attain state licensure.

Tuskegee University offers a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy.
This program is designed to prepare students in:

  • Occupational Science
  • Biological and Behavioral Sciences
  • Health/Rehabilitation Services
  • Human Developmental Processes
  • Evaluation and Analysis of Specific Life Tasks and Occupations
  • Therapeutic Processes and Procedures
  • Professional Communication and Management
  • Scholarly Activities Related to Research and Evidence Based Practice
       

The Occupational Therapy student must possess the ability to:

  • Travel to community training locations for instruction, observation and/or evaluation
  • Comprehend, analyze, integrate and synthesize general and technical information, ideas and concepts presented in written, audio and visual forms
  • Apply basic principles and concepts in business, bioethics and the social, behavioral, psychological, physical and biological sciences to the logical solution of problems in the field of occupational therapy
  • Function effectively, efficiently and flexibly under stress and changing conditions
  • Objectively observe and evaluate conditions and/or practices related to occupational therapy
  • Display mature, ethical judgment in decision making
  • Set up, adapt, and utilize a variety of media, occupations and equipment for therapeutic intervention among a diverse population
  • Understand and utilize evidence based practice in occupational therapy
  • Design and implement beginning level research studies
  • Understand and utilize evidence based practice in occupational therapy
  • Participate in and understand the value of scholarly activities
  • Understand the process of securing grants

Occupational Therapy Graduate Program

All students must meet certain criteria to gain admission to the Master of Science program in Occupational Therapy. All pre‐professional students must be admitted to the University through the Admissions Office. Admission to the pre‐professional or undergraduate curriculum is designed to develop foundational knowledge necessary for entry to the professional or graduate phase of the program.

View the requirements for the MS degree in Occupational Therapy at the following link:

Helpful Links

Policy and Procedures

Student Complaints:

Tuskegee University provides an open educational environment, rich in values and designed to protect the integrity of teaching and learning. In this spirit, and in light of its adequate procedures for addressing written complaints from students, the university encourages all students to first direct their complaints and concerns to the faculty, staff or administrator specifically involved. The university believes many complaints can be resolved through an open, honest dialogue between the persons involved.

In cases where that may not be possible, Tuskegee’s student complaint procedures can assist in facilitating a resolution. These procedures begin by the student completing and submitting the Student Complaint Form.  --  (ALL COMPLAINTS MUST BE WRITTEN AND INITIATED USING THIS FORM IN ORDER TO BE ADDRESSED).

Once submitted, the Student Complaint Form is reviewed by the Office of Student Affairs and forwarded to the appropriate office based on the subject matter of the complaint. For example:

Example 1:  If the complaint is against a student for violating the Code of Student Conduct, it is forwarded to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

Example 2:  If the complaint alleges discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age or disability, it is forwarded to the Title IX Office.

Example 3:  If the complaint relates to a residential hall matter, it is forwarded to the director of Housing and Residence Life.

Example 4:  If the complaint relates to academic matters, it is forwarded to the Office of the Provost

Please note that complaints take time to investigate, especially when multiple parties are involved. Upon resolution, the Student Complaint Form is returned to the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, which will communicate the decision to the student.

This policy applies to ALL students at Tuskegee University.

FOR ADDITIONAL REFERENCE:

Faculty Grievances:

     See the TU Faculty Handbook

Student Withdrawal and Refunds

Please find information about Student withdrawals and refunds at the following links:

Student Probation, Suspension, and Dismissal

     Information on Student probation, suspension, and dismissal can be found at the links below:

Health and Safety

Appropriate use of equipment and supplies:

Technology infrastructure and the operation of physical facilities are intertwined at Tuskegee University.  The University provides all students, faculty, staff, administrators, and visitors with wireless access to most locations and classrooms on campus.  The University provides open computer labs for students and individual computers for faculty and staff, online services, tablets, and an array of computer software for instructional and student support.  

Computers are located throughout the University in classrooms, labs, kiosks, and staff and faculty desks.  Over seventy percent of computers are accessible to students and thirty percent are accessible to staff and faculty.  Tuskegee University computer labs serve different purposes such as instructional labs for architecture, nursing, math, and online/distance education. 

The Office of Information Technology and The Office of Distance Education provide the infrastructure and technological support for faculty, staff, and students for the development, implementation, and dissemination of instructional courses and resources that enhance student learning.  Technology resources available to faculty, students, and distance education students are as follows:

Computer Labs--The Office of Information Technology oversees Computer Labs and provides students with twenty-four hour access to software.  The University's libraries are available to students and provide online library resources for students.

Blackboard--Tuskegee University Learning Management System, which provides an online secure environment for student learning and faculty instruction.  Blackboard offers secure webmail for faculty and students with secure applications.  All 

Distance Education students have access to Blackboard which provides them with the same student learning services as traditional students.  Blackboard is the primary delivery of distance education programs at Tuskegee University.

Help Desk--The Technology Support Center’s Helpdesk is committed to providing hardware, software, network, telephone, video cable, media, event, and lab support for Tuskegee students, staff and faculty.

The Office of Information Technology provides all students (traditional and online) at Tuskegee University with an email address, which requires the use of a secure login and pass code to verify identity when logging into online or blended courses via Blackboard. A unique login and password are created and assigned to each student when the student enrolls for courses at Tuskegee University. Using a secure login and pass code to verify student identity ensures that the student who registers in a Tuskegee University online or blended course is the same student who participates in and completes the course.  

More information can be found at the following links:

Graduation Requirements

Tuition and Fees

OT Program Cost for 2022-2023

CURRENT COST MSOT PROGRAM
​2022 FALL SEMESTER
MSOT PROGRAM
​2023 SPRING SEMESTER
MSOT PROGRAM
2023 SUMMER SEMESTER
TOTAL COST OF PROGRAM
2022-2023
TOTAL COST OF PROGRAM
(2-YR PRGM) 2022-2024
TUITION 10,189 10,189 5,095 25,473 50,946
STUDENT FEES 1,510 1,510 194 3,214 6,428
BOOKS & SUPPLIES 1,120 350 150 1,620 3,240
DISTANCE
EDUCATION FEE
0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 60,614

All fees are estimated and are subject to change without notice due to market fluctuations and Tuskegee University increases in tuition and fees. According to FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), cost of attendance is defined as total amount of attending the program, which includes tuition and fees, books, supplies, transportation.

Please see the Bursar's website for current tuition, fees, and room and board costs (https://www.tuskegee.edu/programs-courses/bursar).

Fees for occupational therapy courses will vary and are charged per course at registration. The total lab fees for 5 semesters of didactic work are approximately $600. Other professional program fees in addition to tuition and living expenses include books ($900); clinical uniforms with patches and name tags ($115); transportation to off campus Fieldwork I sites ($200); and AOTA and other professional fees ($100). For 6 months full time fieldwork placement (Level II) and some Level I sites, students have costs for round trip transportation to sites ($200-$500); room and board at sites ($3,000); crominal background check ($110); and health and safety requirements at sites [CPR, medical exam, TB sreening ($85-$100)].  All fees are estimated and are subject to change without notice due to market fluctuations in housing, transportation and health care.

Occupational Therapy Curriculum

OT Graduate Retention Policies

Tuskegee University Student Occupational Therapy Association