Occupational Therapy (MA)

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The one-year Master of Arts (MA) program is designed for the individual who is already a certified or board-eligible occupational therapist, or an international therapist who has completed a baccalaureate degree in occupational therapy from an accredited college or university, or a program approved by the World Federation of Occupational Therapy® (WFOT). The MA program in occupational therapy requires 32 units: 18 units of core courses and 14 units of elective courses. All students must complete OT 500b Clinical Problems in Occupational Therapy, which includes the completion of a Summative Experience that integrates theory and clinical reasoning with application of intervention principles.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, three letters of recommendation, a personal statement, and essay responses to supplemental application questions. International students must have a satisfactory English proficiency exam score within two years of enrollment. There is no minimum GPA required; however, students entering with a GPA less than 3.0 will have a registration hold based upon Graduate School requirements (see Chan Division Student Handbook for details regarding academic standing).

Application Procedures

Applications are accepted at any time, preferably by February 15 for fall admission.

Application materials include:

USC Online Graduate Application with Chan Division supplemental application materials
three letters of recommendation
transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
personal statement
essay responses to supplemental application questions, if requested
English proficiency exam scores if required

Please see the Chan Division website for the most up-to-date application procedures: chan.usc.edu/.

International Students

Students educated outside the United States must have their credentials evaluated by the Office of Graduate Admission before their application to the Chan Division can be reviewed. International students must demonstrate competency in English, as measured by a proficiency examination. See the Admission section of this catalogue.

Degree Requirements

The MA degree is under the jurisdiction of the USC Graduate School. Students should also refer to the Graduate School section of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degree must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

Requirements include: GPA of 3.0 in all course work attempted and all course work applied to the degree. All students must complete a Summative Experience as a part of OT 500b.

Required Core Courses

OT 500a Clinical Problems in Occupational Therapy Units: 2, 3, 4 (2 units required)
OT 500b Clinical Problems in Occupational Therapy Units: 2, 3, 4 (3 units required)
OT 512 Survey of U.S. Health Systems Units: 2
OT 519 Theoretical Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Units: 3
OT 526 Practice Scholar: Applying Quantitative Evidence Units: 3
OT 536 Practice Scholar: Applying Qualitative Evidence Units: 3
OT 540 Leadership Capstone Units: 2

Elective Courses (14 units required)

In addition to the required core courses, a minimum of 14 units of electives coursework are required; 4 units of electives may be taken from outside the Chan Division. All electives must be 500 level or above.

Summative Experience Requirement

In the final semester of the program, students will complete OT 500b (3 units), which includes the completion of a Summative Experience. The Summative Experience integrates theory and clinical reasoning with application to clinical practice. The Summative Experience will include an evidence-based deliverable. Examples of evidence-based deliverables may include an evidence synthesis, a case-study review, or an occupation-based program development.