California State University Dominguez Hills offers comprehensive clinical and didactic post graduate Certificate Programs in Orthotics and Prosthetics which were granted full CAAHEP accreditation in 1999.  Each program will fulfill the need for practitioners who provide orthotic and prosthetic rehabilitation of individuals requiring custom made orthopedic braces and artificial limbs. The Certificate Programs at California State University utilize experience, faculty, curriculum and teaching materials refined over a seventeen year period of successful undergraduate training in the Baccalaureate Level Program in Orthotics and Prosthetics. 

New clinical laboratory in Aliso Viejo

The CSUDH Certificate Program is now located in Aliso Viejo, California, forty miles south of Los Angeles.  Thanks to a generous donation by Ossur, the program has a state-of-the-art clinical laboratory  as well as brand new classrooms and offices.  The Prothetics Certificate will now be offered twice a year starting every August and January.

Up to sixteen students will be admitted to each Certificate class. Prerequisites and course content for the Certificate Programs in Orthotics and Prosthetics will adhere to the Standards for an Accredited Educational Program for the Orthotist and Prosthetist approved by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE) in 1993. After completion of a Certificate Program, one year of supervised clinical experience in a NCOPE accredited residency will follow. Residency sites are available throughout the United States. The practitioner will then be eligible to stand for American Board for Certification (ABC) certification in their chosen discipline.   

The Orthotics and Prosthetics Program at California State University Dominguez Hills offers the highest quality certificate level education available in orthotics and prosthetics. The program has developed and refined its teaching materials, attracted a highly respected director and clinical faculty, developed strong program, student and faculty evaluation procedures, and actively engaged in minority, disabled and female recruitment. The Program has continued in a close clinical affiliation with both Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center and the Long Beach Veterans Medical Center. We are particularly proud of our mix of didactic and laboratory experiences in the curriculum, which affords the student an excellent preparation for the supervised post graduate residency phase of their education. All of the teachers at CSUDH are actively engaged in practice, and continuously bring up to date techniques to the classroom. 

Each Certificate discipline will consist of a minimum of 30 Carnegie units (equal to one academic year credit). A successful applicant may pursue both Certificate sequentially, but applications are only accepted for one Certificate class at a time. Successful continuation applicants may waive repeat class materials, with the exception of Preceptorship and Research, if a grade of “B” or better is achieved.