Admission Requirements

The CSUDH OTD Program is WSCUC and ACOTE Candidacy approved.

Admission to the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) Program

Applications to the OTD program are accepted one time each year. Students planning to seek admission to the program should complete the on-line application and submit a complete application packet, including all supporting materials, by February 28th preceding a summer semester admission to the program.

Applications for admission to CSU Dominguez Hills must be completed on-line at https://www2.calstate.edu/apply .

OTD Application opens: February 1st

Application (ALL documents) deadline: February 28th 

Admission Requirements

1. A completed and awarded Bachelor of Arts or Sciences degree from a regionally accredited college or university.

2. Completion of the following prerequisites (must be within the last ten years, minimum 3 semester units each, a minimum of B average in all prerequisite courses, and a minimum of C for each course).  NOTE:  Up to a maximum of two courses may be in progress but must be completed and transcripts received prior to the start of the Summer Session.  If admitted to the program, it will be done on a "conditional" basis until proof of completion of all prerequisites is received.  AP Courses from High School are NOT accepted.

a) Human Anatomy with laboratory (3 Credits)
b) Human Physiology with laboratory (3 Credits)
c) Developmental Psychology or Human Development (Across the Lifespan) (3 Credits)
d) Abnormal Psychology (3 Credits)
e) Statistics (3 Credits)
f) Medical Terminology (Academic credit or certificate, taken from an accredited institution, is accepted. Although required, the Medical Terminology course is not weighted in the overall B-average.)

NOTES:  

• • Combined Human Anatomy and Human Physiology courses are acceptable as long as each are offered with Lab components, total at least 6 semester units, focus on general gross human structures, and taken from an accredited institution.
  • For applicants who have completed an approved 4-unit combined Anatomy and Physiology course with lab that covers all systems but still need an additional 2 units to meet the prerequisite, the 2-unit OTR 595 Case-Based Analysis of Anatomical Structures and Functions course is offered through CSUDH's College of Continuing and Professional Education to meet both Human Anatomy and Human Physiology prerequisite requirements.  For inquiries, email:  otdadmissions@csudh.edu
  • It is acceptable to combine two or more Development courses that focus on different life stages, e.g., a course on Childhood Development from infancy to adolescence and a course on Adulthood and Aging.
  • The CSUDH OT Department offers a Medical Terminology course that meets the Medical Terminology prerequisite requirement.  For inquiries, email:  otdadmisions@csudh.edu

3. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in bachelor's degree and prerequisite coursework.

4. Completion of 80 hours of documented volunteer experience under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapist (not a physical therapist, nurse, occupational therapy assistant, etc.) and proof of volunteer hours. For multiple observation/volunteer sites, submit proof for each site.  Acceptable proof may be a timecard or a letter outlining all volunteer hours - but the timecard and/or letter must be signed by the supervising OT with the OT's name printed and credentials provided.

or

Successful completion of the department workshop: Foundations of Occupational Therapy Workshop.  For more information and registration information, go to:  https://www.csudh.edu/ot/curriculum/electives/.  If you have additional questions, send an email to the OT Department at otprogram@csudh.edu.

5.  Three letters of recommendation: one letter from the occupational therapist supervising volunteer hours and two from professionals that can attest to student's ability to complete graduate coursework.  NOTE:  If the Foundations of OT Practice Workshop has been taken in lieu of the 80 hours of volunteerism/observation, then only two letters of recommendation are required.

6.  At this time, the GRE is required but no minimum score must be met in order to be accepted into the program. However, due to the competitive applicant pool, the suggested benchmarks for GRE scores are the following:  4.0 Analytic Writing Score and 286 combined Quant and Verbal Scores. The GRE General Exam is accepted (not the GRE Subject Test).

For the GRE:

• • • • CSUDH School Code is 4098
      • OT Department Code is 0618

It is very important that you indicate both school and department codes.

REMINDER: It may take up to two weeks to get Analytic Writing scores -- keep this in mind when scheduling the GRE and our application deadline.  

If you want additional information regarding the GRE, go to their website at:  GRE Information Link

7.  Attendance at an OTD Information Session prior to applying to the program.  NOTE:  Attendance to an MSOT Information Session is not accepted.  Each program is different and attendance to an OTD Information Session is required when applying to the OTD Program.

8.  Download and complete Application Checklist 

9.  Applicants who meet aforementioned qualifications will be invited for a personal interview with members of the Occupational Therapy Program Admissions Committee.

10.  If accepted, completion of the CSUDH medical history questionnaire and physical examination with proof of required immunizations are mandatory.

11.  If accepted, student must sign up for all fieldwork management, background screening and/or compliance tracking systems being utilized by the program prior to admission.

For additional information about the admissions process for the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, please contact the Department of Occupational Therapy at 310-243-2726, otdadmissions@csudh.edu or refer to the website https://www.csudh.edu/ot/.