Advance Your Practice with a Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD)

Be part of an occupational therapy program that makes you a top priority with classes taught by scholars and leaders in the field. With a strong legacy of developing occupational therapists since 1941 and advancing their education with post-professional degrees since 1995, Mount Mary is the university to move your practice forward.

About the Post-Professional OTD Program

The post-professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate is designed for practicing occupational therapists (OT/OTR) who seek to transition from a master's degree to a doctorate and achieve their career goals in their chosen area of practice. What makes our program unique? Every class lets you focus on your preferred area of practice! As a professional in our program, you will:

• enhance your depth of knowledge and reflect upon practice, based on occupation, theory, and evidence
• design an innovative program of your choosing that meets the unique needs of a population and organization
• use leadership and advocacy skills to raise the visibility of the occupational therapy profession in the community

As a graduate you will be able to:

• use leadership skills to design and implement program ideas that meet the needs of an organization and a population
• collaborate using interprofessional strategies to develop and analyze program outcomes
• synthesize in-depth knowledge to design solutions for practice challenges based on professional evidence

Program Format

The Post-Professional OTD is a 30-credit program with 10 credits transferred from a master's degree program (20 credits total). The program is completed in 12 months on a part-time basis with all courses completed 100% online. Our program is designed to be completed by busy professionals who are balancing work and life commitments. By remaining in a work setting while engaging in advanced education, you'll develop reflective practice skills in a manner that has ongoing real-world application. Read more about the technology requirements.

Program of Study:

TERM 1

OCT 800: Professional Doctorate Plan (2 credits) Leadership development for interprofessional collaboration with an organizational partner and population including networking and advocacy. 

OCT 802: Population Services (2 credits) Occupational therapy’s unique contribution to population services. Theoretical foundations for organization and community. 

OCT 810: Advanced Occupational Therapy Practice (2 credits) Directed readings from professional literature in practice area (children and youth, physical rehabilitation and disability, productive aging, and wellness/prevention/mental health).  

TERM 2

OCT 812: Specialty Practice Residency (4 credits) Design and implementation of a program to address unmet occupational needs for targeted population within an organizational context. Emphasis on interprofessional collaboration.

OCT 814: Specialty Practice Competency (2 credits) Development of scholarly paper linking professional literature to program for targeted population. Reflection on feasibility, sustainability, and dissemination of program.

OCT 814A: Doctoral Advising (1 credit) Individualized doctoral advising to support program implementation and application of evidence.

TERM 3

OCT 816: Specialty Practice Project (2 credits) Development of scholarly portfolio, including population profile, environmental summary, and organizational narrative. Includes development of a grant proposal to support program and population services. 

OCT 816A: Doctoral Advising (1 credit) Mentored individualized doctoral advising to support completion of portfolio.

OCT 818: Professional Doctorate Portfolio (4 credits) Professional doctorate portfolio integrating professional literature, program intervention and outcomes, feasibility and sustainability. 

TOTAL CREDITS: 20 

Don't have a master's degree? 

Mount Mary also offers a bridge program for practicing occupational therapists with a bachelor's degree who wish to earn a post-professional OTD. Bridging from a bachelor's degree to an occupational therapy doctorate requires completion of the Post-Professional Master of Science degree, a 9 month, 12 credit program. Visit our Post-Professional Master of Science page for more information.

Graduates of our program say...

“This program was well coordinated. Each semester built upon the last, providing a continuum of learning. The population intervention project was a wonderful learning experience that combined the leadership skills with research skills." --May 2024 Graduate

“I appreciated the ability to customize my project work to fit my own interests while being encouraged to stretch beyond my current comfort level. The personalization ignited my passion.” --May 2024 Graduate

Admission

To apply to the OTD program, please submit the following items:

• Graduate Student Application
• Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
• Copy of current OT license
• Copy of government-issued photo ID

Completed applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Upon notification of admission, applicants must submit a tuition deposit to confirm their intent to enroll. A maximum of 20 students are admitted each year.

Have questions about the program?  Reach out to Dr. Kari Inda, Ph.D., OTR/L, Chair of Occupational Therapy and Post-Professional Program Director at indak@mtmary.edu.

Tuition

Tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year is $990/credit. Details of tuition costs can be found on our Graduate Tuition and Fees page. Graduate Assistantships and Scholarships are available. Visit our Adult and Graduate Aid for more details.

Academic Excellence

Mount Mary University encourages academic excellence. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). All institutions accredited by the HLC must meet the criteria set forth by the HLC and be evaluated every 10 years. HLC continued the accreditation of Mount Mary University in January of 2023; the next Reaffirmation of Accreditation will be in 2032-2033. 

Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Verification