BS/MS in Occupational Therapy

A Well-Rounded Education to Prepare for Your OT Career

You don’t need a degree to get started. If you have 60 undergraduate credits that meet our requirements, you’re ready to apply! You’ll finish the program with both your MSOT and your bachelor’s, as well as the option to earn a doctorate over the course of your first year practicing as an OT. Learn more about the application process on our Admissions page.

What Do Occupational Therapists Do?

Occupational therapy (OT) helps people of all ages manage everyday activities and better support participation in their roles at home, the workplace, and other settings. Becoming an OT allows you to help others help themselves, and make a real impact on your patients’ daily lives.

Occupational therapists work with people of all ages in many settings, including hospitals, schools, clinics, skilled nursing facilities, community centers, and private homes. An occupational therapist addresses a person’s challenges performing daily activities. An OT will assess how a client's injury, disability, or situation affects their daily life, and provide therapy or recommendations that can make life easier. Their focus is on prevention, long-term health and ensuring the people they work with can function to their highest level.

Examples of Occupational Therapy in Practice

There are many examples of the challenging and extremely rewarding work of an occupational therapist. Here are just a few:

• Suggest modifications to a senior adult’s home to prevent falls, such as rearranging furniture to create easy walking paths, and assess the need for assistive devices like reachers and shower chairs
• Help a child with a disability build the skills they need to succeed at school, such as improving their motor skills so they can take notes during class
• Assist a child with early intervention services to help them build developmental skills, such as using building blocks as a fine motor tool to help with bilateral coordination and grasping skills
• Coach a teenager recovering from a head injury through the transition between school and independent living
• Help a patient with a disability or an elderly patient improve simple motor skills, like holding a fork, buttoning a shirt, or opening a jar

Earn Your BS, MS, and OTD in Just 6 Years

Earn your MSOT at Touro and apply to enter the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program. Our program allows you to apply all of the credits earned in your last semester in the BS/MS program to your OTD degree. Instead of the usual 16 months in the OTD program, you’ll be able to complete it in just one year. Which means if you enter our BS/MS program with 60 credits (two years of undergraduate coursework), you can complete your BS, MS, and OTD in just six years.

If you’re interested in program development in the community, taking on leadership roles, or teaching and conducting research in academia, a doctorate degree in the field is a must. An OTD will also better inform your clinical practice and help you understand how the OT profession is evolving within our healthcare system. If you want to prepare for your future academic journey, learn more by visiting our OTD program page.

FAQs on the BS / MS in OT Program

What is the pre-requisite coursework for the BS/MS in Occupational Therapy?

We require a minimum of 60 credits of pre-requisite coursework, but you can apply when 45 are completed and 15 credits (4 or less credits in prerequisite laboratory sciences) are in progress. See our admissions information for specific courses required.

What do I need to practice as an OT?

You’ll need to earn a master’s degree from an accredited program such as ours and pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam (see our NBCOT pass rates) to receive OTR® certification. The NBCOT exam also serves as the state licensing exam.