Pre-Occupational Therapy Track

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Is a career as an occupational therapist in your future? What does an OT do?  An occupational therapist is responsible for helping people of all ages do the things they enjoy doing for themselves.  OTs can help people recover skills following an injury or illness and can help children with disabilities live as normal a life as possible.

If you are interested in meeting the requirements for admission to a program of occupational therapy, you certainly can do so at UNA!

Successful applicants have a baccalaureate degree, often with a biology or exercise science major, although a major in any discipline would suffice. In addition to the required coursework, admission to a program of occupational therapy requires high scholastic achievement and acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  Since each occupational therapy school may require different supporting coursework, students interested in this field should make contact with the Pre-Health Professions advisor for assistance in scheduling the appropriate coursework and for information regarding other application requirements.

Learn about job prospects as an occupational therapist.

List of accredited OT schools in the US: click here. We have four OT schools in the state of Alabama:

Pre-Requisite Coursework

The actual pre-requisite courses vary from school to school, so consult the individual schools' websites.  A typical list of classes (you must earn a B or better) includes:

  • Principles of Biology I with lab (4 hours)
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab (8 hours)
  • General Physics I (4 hours)
  • Statistics (3 hours)
  • General Psychology (3 hours) plus Abnormal Psychology (3 hours) and Developmental Psychology (3 hours)
  • Introductory Sociology (3 hours) or Anthropology
  • Kinesiology (required by some schools, but certainly recommended)