How to Apply

The Program in Occupational Therapy is seeking students with a strong academic background and a commitment to promoting the health, productivity, and quality of life of individuals and society through the therapeutic application of occupation. 

Fall 2024 priority application deadline is November 17, 2023.  Following the priority deadline, we will accept applications on a rolling basis until the program fills or March 1 whichever comes first.

If you would like more information about the program, connect with us.

View the previous OT Student Profile of applicant and admission data.

Admission Steps

Applicants must complete the following:

1. OTCAS Application 
   This centralized application allows prospective students to use one application to apply to multiple participating OT and OTA programs through a single application process.
   
   Complete application including written statements, outlined below:
2. The University of Minnesota Supplemental Application. After submission of your OTCAS application, you will receive a link to the supplemental application.
3. Applicants already holding a degree in Occupational Therapy and who are originally certified by NBCOT should contact the admissions department at [email protected]. Faculty will review applicant transcripts for possible credit toward the OTD degree for previous experiential learning.

Written Statements

OTCAS Personal Statement

• Your OTCAS application requires several written statements.
• Several additional writing samples are required as part of your application to the University of Minnesota. The OTCAS application outlines all required and optional writing samples.

Evaluations (recommendations) are not required for admission to our program; however, OTCAS requires at least 3 evaluations.

Prerequisite Courses

There are nine core prerequisite courses required for admission to the Program in Occupational Therapy. Students must have a prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or above in order to be considered for admission and no core prerequisite course can be successfully completed with a grade lower than a 'C.' Four out of the nine core prerequisites must be completed at the time of application submission, including two of the following three: Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, and Statistics. Complete details regarding prerequisite courses are outlined on our Academic Prerequisite Requirements page.

Advanced Placement (AP) credits are accepted to fulfill prerequisite courses but must appear on an applicant's official transcript as course credit. If the AP credit(s) does not appear as course credit, College Board scores must be sent to [email protected]. Visit OTCAS Applicant Help Center for sending official transcripts and scores. 

If an applicant has completed OT coursework at another institution within the past 10 years, prerequisite coursework and respective syllabi will be reviewed by the faculty admissions committee to determine if the applicant has met all course learning outcomes and the associated ACOTE standards of any course for which the student would receive credit. The OTD program rarely awards credit for previous coursework and does not award credit for previous work experience.

There is one non-core prerequisite, Medical Terminology, which may be taken for college credit or online.

Applicants who have remaining prerequisite courses to fulfill should carefully plan the timeline of completion. All prerequisite courses must be successfully completed before beginning the Occupational Therapy curriculum. The Prerequisite Planning Guides offer detailed information on the courses available at the University of Minnesota and colleges and universities in the region.

Practical Experience

Required

• For the Fall 2024 admission cycle, due to COVID-19, applicants can be in-progress of completing the minimum 20 observation hours requirement OR completing an Introduction to Occupational Therapy course when they apply. We will accept observation hours that were completed virtually and/or through telehealth.

Recommended

• Additional OT observation experience
• Work, volunteer or observation experience in health or education related fields (e.g. physical therapy, special education, speech pathology, long term care, home health, adult/child day care, community health organizations).
• Participate in research