OTD Partner Program with Jefferson
The Bachelor's + MSOT and OTD Guaranteed Admission Interview Programs are a Bachelors' + 2 years (MSOT) or 4 years (OTD) with Jefferson whereby students complete their Bachelor's degree at Messiah University and then proceed to Jefferson to obtain their MOT or OTD degree. This partnership agreement guarantees qualifying Messiah University students an interview with the MOT or OTD programs at Jefferson, thereby significantly increasing the students' chance of being accepted to one of these highly competitive programs. These programs are open to all current Messiah University rising senior/senior year students who will have earned a bachelor's dregree from Messiah University prior to enrollment in the program at Jefferson and have met the qualificaitons described in this accordion. This program is comprised of two phases. Phase I is defined as the years of undergraduate education while at Messiah University. Phase II consists of the MOT or OTD education while at Jefferson and its associated clinical training sites. Phase I is outlined here.
Most pre-OT students major in applied health science, psychology or biopsychology. With early and careful planning, virtually any major will work. See Martha Stigelman for further details.
Required Undergraduate Courses:
- Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab *
- Anatomy & Physiology II w/ lab*
- Physics w/ lab or Biomechanics w/ lab**
- Statistics
- Abnormal Psychology
- Developmental or Lifespan Psychology
- Sociology (ANY Soc) OR Cultural Anthropology ***
- English/Writing****
*8 credits of A&P I and II or 4 credits of Human Anatomy and 4 credits of Human Physiology required. Labs must be included.
**Physics can be Algebra or Calculus based
***Any sociology course will meet this prerequisite or cultural anthropology. If a student's institution does not offer cultural anthropology, a course that covers multiple cultures and/or ethnicities from a broad perspective based in anthropology or the social sciences will be accepted.
****Any English course or officially designated writing intensive course will meet the prerequisite.
The following criteria must be met to earn a guaranteed admission interview:
- Be a full-time student since matriculation at Messiah University
- Be a rising senior/senior year student who will have earned a bachelor's degree from Messiah University prior to enrollment in the program at Jefferson
- Be a first time applicant to this program
- Meet the program's minimum admissions criteria, for the application year the student is applying:
- Degree Requirement: Any bachelor's degree program
- GPA Requirement: Minimum 3.0 overall GPA and 3.0 prerequisite coursework GPA
- Prerequisite Coursework Requirement: 30 semester credits from the academic requirements with a grade of a "B-" or better.
- Shadowing/Professional Hours Requirement: Observe licensed OT's or OTA's for a total of 30 hours in at least two different settings
- Resume/Experiences: Submit documentation of all experiences gained through volunteerism, civic engagement, club/intramural participation, employment, advanced academic experiences (including research), etc
- Candidates can refer to the Occupational Therapy Department website for more details regarding the application requirements here.
- Apply via the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application System (OTCAS) by October 15th
- Seats are still available in the program at time of application submission