What to Expect
Thinking about joining our program? Find out what you can expect as a student at UIC
Our MS in occupational therapy program doesn’t require a thesis or project—just 72 credit hours of coursework. That includes four fieldwork placements, and the opportunity to take elective courses in and outside of our department. Our program is 23 months long. You must complete the program within five years of enrollment.
Our curriculum is designed to give you a strong theoretical base and advanced clinical reasoning abilities, as well as hands-on skills. You’ll become an excellent therapist and leader in any setting, whether community‐based, school‐based or medically‐based.
Here’s where it all starts.
Courses
| OT 500 | Theories of Occupational Therapy | 4 hours |
| OT 501 | Occupational Performance in Adults and Adolescents | 3 hours |
| OT 502 | Medical Conditions: A Self-Paced Self-Study Course | 1 hour |
| OT 506 | Development of a Therapeutic Self | 3 hours |
| OT 507 | Introduction to Occupational Therapy Practice | 2 hours |
| OT 510 | Research in Occupational Therapy | 4 hours |
Cadaver lab
If you need to take a cadaver lab, you’ll take KN 496 as well. KN 496 begins in the fall semester and concludes in the spring.
Courses
| OT 502 | Medical Conditions (continued from Fall) | |
| OT 511 | Occupational Performance in Children | 4 hours |
| OT 512 | Human Structure and Function | 5 hours |
| OT 515 | OT Practice: Psychosocial Aspects of Occupational Performance | 3 hours |
| OT 516 | Synthesis I: Case Discussions | 1 hour |
| OT 519 | Fieldwork Level IA | 1 hour |
| Optional Elective (in OT or other department) | 2-4 hours | |
Example electives
| OT 528 | Race, Culture, and Health Disparities | 2-3 hours |
| OT 563 | Disability and Global Health | 3 hours |
| OT 571 | Knowledge Translation for Disability and Rehabilitation | 3 hours |
| OT 594 | Special Topics in Occupational Therapy: Pediatric Processes of Care | 2 hours |
Starting fieldwork
To begin clinical experiences and fieldwork, you must satisfy requirements including but not limited to drug screening and background checks for history of criminal offenses. Those results may affect your ability to participate in clinical and fieldwork experiences.
Courses
OT 524 and 526 are taught in a 5 week block before you start fieldwork. OT 529 and OT 539 are 2 – 2 week full time fieldwork experiences.
| OT 502 | Medical Conditions (continued from Fall) | |
| OT 524 | Contexts of Occupational Therapy Practice | 2 hours |
| OT 526 | Assistive Technology and the Environment | 3 hours |
| OT 529 | Fieldwork Level IB | 1 hour |
| OT 539 | Fieldwork Level IC | 1 hour |
Courses
| OT 522 | OT Practice: Functional Movement and Mobility | 5 hours |
| OT 523 | OT Practice: Cognition and Perception in Action | 4 hours |
| OT 535 | Synthesis II: Case Studies Across Practice Context | 2 hours |
| OT 538 | Intro to Advanced OT Practice | 1 hour |
| OT 564 | Leadership and Management in OT | 3 hours |
| OT 595 | Seminar in Occupational Therapy Credit awarded for attendance at colloquia and seminars across 3 semesters |
1 hour |
Example electives
| OT 553 | Program Evaluation: Documenting the Impact of Human Services (alternates every other fall) | 3 hours |
| OT 561 | Disability and Community Participation: Policy, Systems Change, and Action Research (offered in the fall in odd numbered years) | 4 hours |
| OT 568 | Learning, Teaching, Curriculum Design, Delivery and Evaluation (offered in the fall in even numbered years) | 4 hours |
Courses
Each Level II fieldwork is 12 weeks long, 40 hours per week, and 8 credits.
OT 549 is 4 credits and must be repeated in the summer. It’s one 12 week fieldwork rotation with the registration spread across spring and summer semesters (4 credits each).
| OT 548 | Fieldwork Level II-A (Jan – Mar) | 8 hours |
| OT 549 | Fieldwork Level II-B (April – June) | 4 hours |