Occupational Therapy is a dynamic profession and an integral part of modern comprehensive
health care. Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activity or interventions designed to
achieve functional outcomes which promote health and prevent injury or disability, and which
develop, improve, sustain, or restore the highest possible level of independence of any
individual who has an injury, illness, cognitive impairment, psychosocial dysfunction, mental
illness, developmental or learning disability, physical disability, or other disorder or condition.
Occupational Therapy services are provided in a variety of settings, ranging from medical
facilities to community health agencies, schools, and private practice.

The UTEP Occupational Therapy Program plans to offer an Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) degree. While enrolled in the program, students complete courses in foundational and clinical sciences and general occupational therapy evaluation, treatment and evidence-based practice as well as research and occupation-based practices that incorporates cultural and contextual relevance. Clinical courses address occupational performance in the areas of mental health, pediatrics, and adult orthopedic and neurologic conditions. Most of the third year consists of fieldwork education. Prior to graduation, students complete two full-time, 12-week clinical rotations, a 14-week doctoral experience, and a Capstone project. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the National Certification Examination for the Occupational Therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an occupational therapist, registered (OTR) and will then become eligible for licensure in any state.

Admission Requirements

1. Completed Bachelor’s degree from an accredited educational institution
2. Completed Occupational Therapy application available at https://otcas.liasoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login by set deadline (Instructions for OCTAS can be found at https://portal.octas.org/otcasHelpPages/instructions/overview/index.html
3. Official transcripts from all universities or colleges attended (must be sent to OTCAS)
4. Minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale – overall and prerequisite GPA
5. GRE Official Scores within 5 years (must be reported to OTCAS and using the DO Code 1218
6. Forty verifiable clock hours of volunteer or paid experience in an occupational therapy setting, supervised by a licensed occupational therapist
7. Three references (letters of recommendations). One must be from a licensed occupational therapist
8. TOEFL is required for all international students when English is not the official or first language. Scores are considered on a case by case basis
9. Prerequisite courses noted below

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
2 semesters of Human Anatomy and Physiology with labs (can be 2 separate semesters of A&P-I and A&P-II); or one semester course of human anatomy and one semester course of human physiology. In either scenario, the courses should have lab portions. The course credits can be two 3-credit course plus 1-credit labs, or two 4-credit courses (lecture and lab combined).		8
Introductory Psychology		3
Human Growth and Development across the Lifespan, Developmental Psychology, or multiple courses that address human growth and development (e.g., Psychology addressing infancy, early childhood, school-age, adolescent, adulthood, ageing, etc.)		3
Abnormal Psychology		3
Statistics (preferably a behavioral sciences statistics course)		3
Behavioral Science elective (suggested course in psychology, sociology, anthropology, or health promotion)		3
Medical Terminology (online course or certificate accepted)		1
Total Hours		24

Degree Plan 

Required Credits: 105

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses:
DRSC 6390	Neuroscience	3
DRSC 6495	Anatomy for Rehab Sciences	4
DRSC 6201	Spanish I for Health Profess	2
DRSC 6202	Spanish II for Health Profess	2
OT 6101	Surface Anatomy	1
OT 6103	Intro to Documentation	1
OT 6202	Assistive Technology in OT	2
OT 6204	Ethical Considerations in OT	2
OT 6220	EBP & Research Methods	2
OT 6221	Research Proposal	2
OT 6222	Research Implementation	2
OT 6223	Research Dissemination	2
OT 6250	Fieldwork I	2
OT 6301	Policy & Global Health in OT	3
OT 6302	Foundations in OT Practice	3
OT 6303	Clinical Reasoning in OT	3
OT 6304	Conditions in Occupation	3
OT 6305	Biomechanics	3
OT 6306	Community Engagement & Occupa	3
OT 6307	Assessment in Occupations	3
OT 6308	Leadership & Management in OT	3
OT 6320	Capstone I	3
OT 6321	Capstone II	3
OT 6331	Pediatric OT I	3
OT 6332	Pediatric OT II	3
OT 6333	Productive Aging	3
OT 6402	Activity Analysis & Advance	4
OT 6430	MH Eval & Interven in OT	4
OT 6431	Gen Med Eval & Interven in OT	4
OT 6432	Ortho Eval & Interven in OT	4
OT 6433	Neuro Eval & Interven in OT	4
OT 6651	Fieldwork II A	6
OT 6652	Fieldwork II B	6
OT 6750	Doctoral Experience	7
Total Hours		105

Director

Dahlia Castillo
Contact: dahlia@utep.edu  915-747-8517
Education: OTD, Mount Mary University

Occupational Therapy

Physical Address: 1101 N Campbell, Office #304, El Paso, TX 79902
Mailing Address: 500 W. University Ave, El Paso, TX 79968
Phone: 915.747.7268
Email: ot@utep.edu