Curriculum & Courses

Courses are offered on a 12-month schedule starting each fall.
Candidates for the 69-credit MOT degree will complete 38 semester hours of credit in their first year and 31 semester hours of credit in their second year.
To earn the MOT degree, candidates must earn a satisfactory grade (“C“ or higher) in each of the required courses and must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in order to be granted the degree.
OTA Pathway: No bachelor's degree required (applicants must have completed 90 semester hours of college credit and hold a valid OTA license) Click here for more information.
Alternative Pathway: Hold a bachelor's degree in a health-related field. Click here for more information.

MOT Course Descriptions

MOTP 601 Foundations of OT Practice
This course focuses on understanding The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework and elements of the OT process including screening, assessment, evaluation, intervention, reevaluation and discharge planning. Review topics include practice settings and areas, documentation, licensure, credentialing, and professional associations. This course is primarily online with occasional face-to-face elements that take place during on campus weekends.

MOTP 602 Transition of the OTA to OT
This course focuses on the crucial differences between the roles of an occupational therapy assistant and an OTR, on the ethics of practice while in the learning process, and on the knowledge base necessary for future practice as an occupational therapist. This course is primarily delivered online and is highly discussion based.

HLSC 608 – Anatomy & Physiology Review for OT Practice
This one-hour course reviews content from previously completed anatomy & physiology courses Content focuses on the structures and functions most often encountered in OT practice such as the central nervous system and musculoskeletal systems. It also prepares students with tools for research and review of topics not specifically covered in this course.

MOTP 604 Health Policy and Informatics for the OT
This course focuses on two topics that, although different, are inextricably linked; health policy and informatics. Students will learn about the diverse health system and the policies that drive decisions within government, institutions and facilities. They will begin to recognize their role within this complex system. Students will also learn about information technology used within healthcare for record-keeping and communication.

NRSC 605 Cognitive Neuroscience
This course focuses on foundational content in neuroscience for future learning about human function, cognition, and neurodevelopmental movement.

HLSC 615 Kinesiology for OT
This course serves as the foundation upon which students will build knowledge of human movement and kinesiology. This course teaches students what is necessary to assess, plan and provide treatment that is movement and positioning based. The course is preparatory to the functional human movement course and lab taken in a future session.

MOTP 610 Occupational Assessment & Planning
This course focuses on assessment and planning from an occupational perspective. By taking a broad look at these processes, without the constraint of a particular population, candidates will be offered a pure view of occupation and an opportunity to think holistically. Examples within the course will come from across practice settings, areas and ages. The course will feature the Model of Human Occupation however other occupation-based theories will also be covered.

MOTP 611/MOTP 612 Sensory Assessment & Planning (lecture and lab)
This course posits that the sensory system is the foundation of the central nervous system and as such influences functioning within all other dimensions of daily living. The course covers the sensory system from a sensory integrative perspective.

MOTP 613 Developmental and Human Behavior Influences on Occupational Performance
This course assesses what candidates know about developmental and human behavior theory and uses that information to afford them an understanding of the influences development and human behavior have on occupational performance. This course adds to foundational content that will allow candidates to apply what they have learned to planning for specific individuals, groups, populations and purposes.

MOTP 620/MOTP 621 Occupational Performance in Mental Health (lecture and lab)
This course focuses on the assessments and interventions necessary for serving the mental health needs of individuals throughout the lifespan. It is sequenced ahead of the Pediatric, Adult, and Elder courses since mental health functioning is seen as a part of all performance. Lab experiences will be used for practice giving assessments and role-playing treatment scenarios across ages and settings.

MOTP 622 Mental Health Level I Fieldwork
In this level I fieldwork, each candidate will be assigned to a fieldwork educator who will provide real-life experiences within mental health that reinforce didactic learning. The format of the experiences will vary depending on candidates’ schedules and preferences. They may work with their fieldwork educator a few hours per week or do concentrated experiences of similar hours and content.

MOTP 625 Evidence-based Practice
This course prepares candidates to be critical thinkers and evaluators of scholarship. Candidates will explore how scholarly activities contribute to knowledge as they locate, review, critique and evaluate information. They will explore statistical data in a variety of research contexts as they begin the design of a scholarly proposal.

MOTP 627/MOTP 628 Functional Human Movement (lecture and lab)
This course allows candidates to apply their knowledge and understanding of the structure and function of the human body and physics to human movement. They will learn observation strategies to detect movement limitations and use assessments designed to determine function and dysfunction. Candidates will create intervention plans for positioning and movement, for modifying muscle tone, for proper body mechanics and for optimal human performance.

MOTP 630/MOTP 631 Occupational Performance in Pediatrics (lecture and lab)
Building on the knowledge of occupational performance acquired from previous coursework, this course reinforces the mastery of this learning within a pediatric population ages birth to 21 years old. Although in the documented course sequence this course is identified first, it does not have to occur in the order of development in order for candidates to be successful.

MOTP 632 Pediatric Level I Fieldwork
In this level I fieldwork, each candidate will complete a pediatric focused fieldwork in conjunction with the Occupational Performance in Pediatrics course. This allows them to visualize course-based learning while developing their implementation skills. This course should be scheduled in the same term as the Occupational Performance in Pediatrics lecture and lab. The format of the experiences will vary depending on candidates’ schedules and preferences. They may work with their fieldwork educator a few hours per week or do concentrated experiences of similar hours and content.

MOTP 633 Assistive Technology for Occupational Performance
This course familiarizes students with equipment and technology that facilitate occupational performance. It covers AT necessary for optimal function throughout the lifespan.

MOTP 635 Leadership & Program Development (3)
Reviews leadership theory and strategies both within and outside of occupational therapy and facilitatesdevelopment of leadership and management skills necessary for practitioners who will be working in avariety of practice settings. This course provides the foundation for the business aspects of practice including business planning, financial management, program evaluation models and strategic planning.Students will demonstrate the ability to determine and develop occupational therapy program needs as well as to design ongoing processes for quality improvement to ensure quality of outcomes and services provided.

MOTP 640/MOTP 641 Occupational Performance – Adults (lecture and lab)
This course builds on the foundations of mental health and movement developed in prior terms and focuses on the occupational performance needs of adults. The course offers more of an emphasis on physical dysfunction rather than psychosocial functioning which has been the primary focus to this point in the program. This course is paired with a physical dysfunction level I fieldwork with a focus on adults.

MOTP 642 Physical Dysfunction Level I Fieldwork
This level I fieldwork offers candidates an opportunity to visualize and use techniques and skills that have been learned in the Occupational Performance – Adults course. Experiences will vary from a few hours per week over the course of a term or concentrated hours assigned to a specialized experience such as a camp or a training program.

MOTP 644 Advocacy & Planning for Alternative & Emerging Practice (3)
As the title implies, this course covers advocacy for occupational therapy practice, practitioners, and clients across many contexts, as well as learning to plan for provision of services across alternative and emerging practice settings. Topics include local, regional, state, and international policy as an influence on OT;articulating the role of OT; promoting and advocating for OT; and exploration of non-traditional, non-clinical, and emerging practice areas of Occupational Therapist (WFOT) and OT associations worldwide. In addition to topics resulting from geographic differences, topics will include gender, sexual orientation ,religion, race, and other topics pertinent to diversity in practice.

MOTP 647 Research Planning (3)
In this course, students will begin to apply the knowledge they gained in MOTP 625 regarding evidence-based practice and how to create and use evidence in practice. Students will develop a PICOT question about a current and relevant practice problem, then find and critically examine current evidence about their topic to better understand how to discern quality evidence. Students will present the results of their findings to peers via poster presentation mid-term. The remainder of the course allows students to begin their group research project for MOTP 656, including selection and refinement of a PICO question and development of their systematic review search strategy.

MOTP 650/MOTP 651 Occupational Performance – Elders (lecture and lab)
This course completes the occupational performance courses with a focus on older adults. Referencing learning from prior coursework in sensory and mental health assessment and planning, and in occupational assessment and planning and applies these concepts to the unique and potentially complex needs of the elder population.

MOTP 652 Elders Level I fieldwork
This level I fieldwork, paired with the Occupational Performance – Elders course, offers candidates an opportunity to observe and to use assessments and treatments with the older adult population as they learn about them in class. The format of the experiences will vary depending on students’ schedules and preferences. They may work with their fieldwork educator a few hours per week or may do concentrated experiences of similar hours and content.

MOTP 656 Research Project
Candidates work with a faculty mentor to complete the research project designed in MOTP 625 Evidence-based Practice. The research projects may be individual or small group depending on practice needs and areas of focus identified during the planning process.

MOTP 660 Level II Fieldwork (12 weeks)
In this course, candidates are assigned full-time to a level II fieldwork facility with an OTR supervisor. Assignments may be university or facility assigned. Level II fieldwork is an integral part of the academic experience. It permits a candidate to test their function as an OTR under the watch of an experienced OT and to build their skill and confidence. Candidates should complete their first level II experience at or near entry-level practice.

MOTP 661 Seminar I
This fully online seminar facilitates ongoing communication and networking between faculty and candidates as they transition to fieldwork and begin to make sense of the full picture of practice. Assignments in the seminar encourage candidates to use critical planning, communication, and treatment skills and to network effectively with their classmates as they do.

MOTP 670 Level II Fieldwork (12 weeks)
In this level II fieldwork, candidates are assigned full-time to a facility under the supervision of an OT in order for them to observe and demonstrate competence in entry-level practice. Assignments may be given by either the MOT faculty or fieldwork educator. By the end of this level II fieldwork experience candidates should be able to function at the entry-level at their assigned facility.

MOTP 671 Seminar II
In this second, fully online seminar, candidates focus on transitioning to graduation and employment as an OTR. Topics include certification exam preparation, resume review and finalization, job search strategies, and transitioning to the professional role.

Master of Occupational Therapy