In keeping with the mission of the University, the mission of the PLNU Occupational Therapy program is to produce competent and professional graduates who provide evidence-based and occupation-focused interventions that serve others as an expression of faith.
Pre-requisite Courses
- One semester of each of the following, each course completed with a grade of a “B-” or better:
- Anatomy & Physiology (A & P) I with lab (must be completed within the past 5 years)
- Anatomy & Physiology (A & P) II with lab (must be completed within the past 5 years)
- In lieu of a combined A & P, you may take one semester of anatomy and one semester of physiology. Online and in-person classes accepted.
- One semester of each of the following; each course completed with a grade of a “B-” or better within the past 10 years. Courses can be taken online.
- Abnormal Psychology (3 units)
- Lifespan Development or Developmental Psychology or Human Development (3 units)
- Medical Terminology (at least 1 unit).
- Introductory Statistics (in behavioral or social sciences) (3 units)
- Sociology, Anthropology or Social Psychology (3 units)
- These courses must be taken at any regionally accredited community, public, or private college or university. Online courses at regionally accredited colleges are also acceptable for psychology, sociology, anthropology, or statistics courses.
- Applicants are not given credit for previous coursework towards degree completion in an occupational therapy program. High School AP statistics course credit may be accepted based on the Program Director/Admission Committee review.
- *Students looking to fulfill their anatomy prerequisite have the option to complete it through PLNU's Anatomy Learning Institute.
- **Medical Terminology either must be on your official transcript with the required grade/units or you can connect with our admissions team to discuss alternatives by emailing gradinfo@pointloma.edu.
- You may have up to 8 credit hours of prerequisite courses in progress at the time of application to the program. If you are accepted into the program while currently enrolled in one to eight units, you will be provisionally accepted. The provisional acceptance will be changed to full acceptance once transcripts are received that confirm successful completion of outstanding prerequisite courses that are aligned with the criteria above.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
- Applicants must meet a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their most recent 60 semester units of work, including both graduate and undergraduate coursework.
- Pre-requisite courses may only be repeated once; the second course grade will be used to calculate the average GPA.
Undergraduate Degree
- Completion of an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited university.
Letters of Reference
- Three letters of reference (personal or professional) are required. You will be provided with the link on OTCAS.
Personal Statement
- Please answer the following essay question in no more than 300 words:
- The PLNU's MSOT program mission is to produce competent and professional graduates who provide evidence-based and occupation-focused interventions that serve others as an expression of faith. Describe how your personal, educational, spiritual, and professional life experiences have contributed to your passion for becoming an occupational therapist?
Work/Volunteer Experience
- Preference is given to applicants who have prior work and/or volunteer experience in healthcare or educational settings. You will describe applicable work and volunteer experience on the OTCAS.
National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Early Determination Review
- The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) requires disclosure of all felony convictions. The results of this background check may impact eligibility for certification and licensure. If you are concerned about your eligibility due to past legal or mental health conditions, it is strongly advised to complete the NBCOT® early determination review process. Felony convictions may be resolved by the NBCOT®’s Qualifications Review Committee. For more information, refer to https://nbcot.org.
Observation Hours
- A minimum of 40 observation hours (virtual or in-person) are required. Documentation of hours should be uploaded to the OTCAS. In lieu of observation hours, however, students may watch videos and write a paper about the OT profession from viewing the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) website’s career resources. Refer to below for more details on this second option.
- For students submitting proof of knowledge about the OT profession gained from the AOTA website, address the following points in a well-thought out summary that does not exceed three pages. You will send this documentation to the graduate admissions office.
- What were the OT practice areas discussed in the AOTA career videos?
- How do current OT practice areas support the original tenets of the OT profession?
- What surprised you about the OT profession?
- What practice areas resonated with you and why?
- Additionally, there is a 20-hour video learning platform that can be used to obtain credit for 20 observation hours. The cost of this video learning is $49.99 and can be located on the site ClinEdWeb. Send completed certificate to gradinfo@pointloma.edu.
International Students
- The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), taken within the last 2 years, is required for any applicants for whom English is not their native language. The TOEFL requirement may be waived for applicants with a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited US institution. To review your application, we must receive official scores from ETS for the TOEFL. Only the IBT (Internet Based Test) form of the TOEFL will be accepted. We require a total score of 93 and a speaking score of 26 for entry into our program.
PLNU MSOT Mission
- The mission of the PLNU Occupational Therapy program is to produce competent and professional graduates who provide evidenced-based and occupation focused interventions that serve others as an expression of faith.
OT Centralized Application Service (OTCAS)
- The application cycle for each year opens the preceding June 1st and closes the mid-July before the start of the program. Applicants to the MSOT Program must apply online using the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application Service (OTCAS).
- To learn more about the OTCAS application process and to create your OTCAS account, please visit the OTCAS portal. The deadline for having a complete and verified OTCAS application is indicated on the Occupational Therapy program page.
- All documents related to admission must be uploaded to the OTCAS, except your letters of recommendation, which will be automatically sent to the graduate admissions office.
Notification of Admission
- Applications must be submitted by the deadline indicated on the Occupational Therapy program page. Students who meet the admission criteria who submit their application earlier, will be contacted to set-up an interview with the MSOT Program Director.
- Invited individuals have two weeks to accept their invitation and to pay the PLNU admission deposit ($350.00). All applicants will be notified concerning a waitlist once the cohort is filled.
Preferences
- Point Loma Nazarene University graduates.
Accommodations
Students with a documented disability may request disability accommodations by contacting the Educational Access Center.
Additional Requirements for Admission to PLNU MSOT Program
Upon conditional acceptance to the MSOT Program at PLNU, applicants must complete the following for full acceptance to the program:
- Pay a deposit of $350.00 to PLNU to secure your seat.
- Complete health and immunization requirements listed below:
- Criminal Background Check and Drug Screening: Candidates for the MSOT degree must meet state professional regulation standards to be licensed to practice occupational therapy. To meet this standard, all candidates accepted for seats in the occupational therapy program must undergo a criminal background check (CBC) and a 12-panel drug screen (DS) prior to full acceptance in the program.
- Upon program acceptance, students are given information on how to obtain the criminal background screening and drug panel screening. Students will upload their results into a compliance tracker no later than 2 weeks prior to the start of their first term.
- Failure to comply with these criminal background screenings may result in a delayed start to the following year.
- Any negative findings are referred to the OT Admissions Committee for further review.
- Depending on the nature and severity of the finding, students may be called upon to address these findings via interview or in writing. Based on this review, the Admissions Committee will provide one of the following recommendations: Revocation of acceptance to Point Loma Nazarene University’s Occupational Therapy program or no further action needed.
- In addition, any student convicted of a felony offense while in the program must immediately notify the OT Program PD of the offense. Failure to notify, submission of false information, knowingly making false statements or concealing applicable information will be referred to the Student Progress and Promotions Committee for a recommendation of action to the Chair including Disqualification.
- Immunizations/Vaccinations/Health Records/Trainings
- All students accepted into the PLNU MSOT Program will be provided with information by the OT Program Coordinator about health and immunization requirements.
- Students must provide proof of immunizations, vaccinations, health screenings and health insurance and upload these results into a compliance tracker no later than 2 weeks prior to the start of their first term.
- Required Health Records include the following:
- A copy of the student’s medical health insurance including hospitalization and emergency care (must be kept current while enrolled)
- Proof of a comprehensive health examination signed by a licensed healthcare provider.
- Proof of immunizations.
- Failure to comply with required health documentation by two weeks prior to the start of the first term may result in a lack of full admittance to the Program and a delayed start until the following year.
- Failure to comply with proof of annual required health requirements may result in disqualification/dismissal from the MSOT program.
- Clinical entities may require additional testing/immunizations/training. The cost of additional requirements will be borne by the students and must be completed prior to the start of the clinical experience.
- All health screenings and BLS CPR-AED training costs are borne by the student.
Admissions Assistance
For further guidance on the admissions process, contact the graduate admissions office at gradinfo@pointloma.edu or call (619) 329-6799.
Graduation Requirements
To earn and receive a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree, a student must satisfy all the following:
- Successful completion of all didactic educational requirements.
- Successful completion of two, 12-week Level II Fieldwork experience within 24 months of finishing didactic coursework.
- A completed application for degree candidacy conveyed to the Office of Record.
- Payment in full of all tuition, fees, and other financial obligations owed to the university, including a degree processing fee.
- All requirements completed within five years from the time of initial enrollment.