Doctor of Occupational Therapy Accreditation and Program Outcomes

Accreditation

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure. 

Program outcomes

OTD program graduation rates

The Department of Occupational Therapy had its first graduates from the doctoral program in May 2021. The following table will be updated as cohorts complete the program and graduate. The table will be maintained for the most recent three years of graduating classes (e.g., 2021-23). 

National certification and licensure

Completion of the OTD Program in its entirety is required for eligibility to sit for the national occupational therapy certification examination offered by NBCOT. Once the first OTD cohort has graduated from UMMC (i.e., May 2021), examination data on pass rates will be publicly available on NBCOT's website. UMMC student performance on the NBCOT exam will be posted here.

After successful completion of the certification examination, the OTD graduate will be an occupational therapist registered (OTR). Individual states also require a license in order to practice. State licensure to practice occupational therapy is usually based on the result of the NBCOT certification examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the exam or to attain state licensure.