Entry Requirements

MOT program admission requirements are listed below. General admissions requirements may be obtained from the Graduate School. Some of these requirements for admission into the MOT program are higher than the general requirements for admission into the ISU Graduate School.

Applicants are selected on a competitive basis. Applicants should be aware that meeting minimum entry-level requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program.

Masters of OT Admissions Requirements

Bachelors Degree Requirements

Applicants must complete a bachelor’s degree from any regionally accredited college or university in the United States or with equivalent preparation acquired in another country. This degree may be in progress during the application process but must be completed by August of the year an applicant plans to matriculate into our program. Successful applicants must provide official transcripts to the ISU Graduate School to verify their degree.

GPA Requirements

Applicants must have:

A minimum earned grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 over the last 60 credits.
A minimum of 25 upper-division credits must be completed, or in progress, by January of the year of admission for applications to be considered.
Applicants with advanced degrees may use the most recent upper-division or graduate credits completed.
Courses graded on a pass-fail basis will be excluded from the grade-point calculation if they have a passing grade, but will be included if they have a failing grade.

Exams

Applicants must take either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) and the scores must be received by the ISU Graduate School by the application deadline (January 15) for an application to be considered as meeting the deadline. The scores on these tests must meet the following requirements to be considered for admission:

GRE

A total combined score of at least 295 in the verbal and quantitative portions.
Verbal must be at least 146.
A minimum of 4.0 on the analytical portion.
All requirements must be met from a single GRE occurrence.
The ISU code for the GRE is: 4355

MAT

A total score of 390.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

International students must complete the TOEFL Examination with a score of 550 (paper based) and 213 (computer based).
In addition, the score of Section I of the exam must be 55 (paper based) and 21 (computer based).

Official exam results must be provided to the ISU Graduate School. The ISU code for all three exams listed above is 4355. Applicants with scores lower than the requirements will not be competitive in the application process.

General Provisions

Applicants must complete specific prerequisite courses with a GPA of 3.0 in each of the specified categories.
Prerequisite coursework in anatomy and physiology must be completed within the last five (5) years.
An applicant with more than four (4) prerequisite courses in progress or planned for the spring/summer semesters may not be considered for admission (the program may not consider applications when there are more than 4 prerequisites planned/in progress).
Courses graded on a pass-fail basis are acceptable for meeting minimum criteria in fulfilling prerequisite requirements; however, such grades may be evaluated less favorably by the admissions committee in ranking applicants. Thus, the use of such courses as prerequisites is discouraged.

Prerequisite Courses

Category:	Course:	Credits:
1)- Biology (2 courses)	1 course in Human Anatomy AND 1 course in Human Physiology with labs. Must have been taken in the last 5 years. Courses MUST be listed in the Biology, Zoology, Anatomy, or Physiology categories for fulfillment of this requirement.	2 semesters or 2 or 3 quarters
2)- Chemistry (1 course)	1 College-Level Chemistry Course (General Chemistry with lab preferred). The course must include atomic structure, chemical calculations, solutions, acid-base reactions, and equilibrium.	1 semester or 1-2 quarters.
3)- Math (1 course) Statistics.	A Standard Statistics course from any department. Research Methods, Marketing Statistics, or Tests & Measurements courses will not meet this requirement.	1 semester or 1-2 quarters.
4)- Social Behavioral Sciences (4 courses)	1 course in Human Development (Lifespan preferred) AND 1 course in Sociology AND 1 course in Abnormal Psychology AND 1 course in Cultural Anthropology (ANTH class type)	4 semesters or 4-8 quarters.
5)- English/Speech (2 courses)	A course in Composition AND 1 course in Speech OR Public Speaking.	1 semester for each course, or 2-4 quarters
6)- Liberal Arts (15 additional credits)	Five or more courses in a variety of the following areas: Fine Arts (music, art, theatre, dance), Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Political Science, Economics, Language, Humanities, Ethics, History, etc. You can include up to 8 credits from any department. We do not accept coursework in Education, Religion, Health, or Natural Sciences in this category.
7)- Medical Terminology	May be an academic, for-credit course or a course taken through an extension service or online. If not an academic course (appearing on your transcript), the course must have included a post-test to show competency and a certificate of completion must be included with the application.
8)- Physics- OPTIONAL	Physics with a lab is not required, but highly recommended.
9)- Technical Writing- OPTIONAL	Technical Writing is not required, but highly recommended.

Occupations

Occupations are the heart of occupational therapy. Occupations are the everyday activities people want, need, and are expected to do. Occupational therapists believe that by engaging in occupations, people are improving and/or maintaining their health, well-being, and quality of life.

Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate knowledge and exposure to the occupational therapy profession. They are required to complete:

A minimum of 40 hours of volunteer or work-related experience.
Hours must be completed in at least two different occupational therapy practice settings.
Hours must be completed under the supervision of an occupational therapist or certified occupational therapy assistant
Examples of practice settings include, but are not limited to acute care or rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient clinics, school-based or pediatric practice, mental health practice, and nursing homes.
All of the required experience must be completed PRIOR to application to the ISU MOT Program.
Observation hours can not include therapy administered to the applicant or to relatives of the applicant.
Observation hours must have been completed within 5 years of application.

Letters of Reference

Each applicant is required to submit three letters of reference to complete the application. The letters of reference should come from the following individuals:

One letter from an occupational therapist (OT) or occupational therapy assistant (OTA) - who directly supervised your volunteer or aide experience.
One letter from an academic reference - a professor or advisor who is familiar with your academic performance.
One letter from a personal reference - an individual with knowledge of your personal characteristics or attributes that would enhance your ability to be an occupational therapist.

We will not accept letters of reference from relatives of the applicant or from doctors, nurses, physical therapists or other health care professionals in place of letters from an OT or OTA.

Letters of reference must be submitted according to OTCAS requirements:

OTCAS- recommenders must submit letters directly into the OTCAS system

Personal Statement/Essay

Each applicant must submit a personal statement/essay via the OTCAS system. This statement may include any additional information that an applicant wishes to provide the admissions committee.