B.S. in Occupational Therapy Assistant

Applicants must provide documentation of enrollment in all remaining courses to ensure this coursework is complete prior to the start of fall classes at Rutgers.

Applicant transcript must document that courses in Developmental Psychology/Lifespan and Human Anatomy and Physiology have been completed within the past five years. Anatomy and Physiology I and II must be completed at the same college or university to ensure all material is covered in a comprehensive and sequential manner.

Alternatively, applicants may submit a request to waive the five-year requirement by providing documentation that knowledge from Human Anatomy and Physiology and/or Developmental Psychology/Lifespan has been used in an employment situation during the past five years. This documentation will be reviewed and considered by the Admissions Committee for the OTA Program. This documentation must include: Job description with narrative statement describing how knowledge from coursework was used in employment setting and letter of recommendation from a person of authority at the work agency which includes reference to job functions where this knowledge was applied.

1. Applicant must complete and submit documentation of a minimum of 20 hours of observation experience in a setting where occupational therapy services are provided. The documentation of this required observation must be signed by a licensed occupational therapist or licensed occupational therapy assistant preferably on the facility letterhead. Observation hours should be documented using the OTA Applicant Recommendation Form.
2. Applicant must submit two letters of recommendation; one must be from an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant where the observation hours were completed, and the other from the applicant’s choice of individuals who can provide written evidence of professional behaviors and personal attributes.
3. Applicant must write and submit an essay response to the provided questions.
4. All supporting documents must be submitted into the OTACAS portal as part of the admission process.
5. Selected applicants must participate in an on-site meeting with the OTA Program Admission Committee. This includes an individual, and group interview. Applicants will be notified of the interview process after applications have been reviewed.

*Applicants who did not attend secondary school in the US or have not completed a sufficient number of college level English courses are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Acceptable scores for TOEFL are as follows: 550 and above for paper based test and 79 for Internet based test. All results must be forwarded directly to SHPR from the testing agency. Please note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

An individual who is considering entering an OT educational program or who has already entered an OT educational program can have his or her background reviewed by requesting an Early Determination Review. The fee for this review is $100.00. For information on candidate code of conduct, character, and early review contact: Credentialing Services at NBCOT 12 S. Summit Avenue, Suite 100 Gaithersburg, MD 20877 (301) 990-7979 character.review@nbcot.org www.nbcot.org.

For more info, contact Deb McKernan-Ace via phone 908-889-2474 or email dam440@shp.rutgers.edu.