About, Accreditation & Outcomes

Our program mission statement aligns with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Vision 2025: “As an inclusive profession, occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being and quality of life for all people, populations and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living” (AOTA, n.d.). The mission of the YU Occupational Therapy Doctorate program is to educate and train students to become scholar-practitioners who are caring and competent in developing and delivering inclusive, equitable, evidence-driven services through the integration of theory, research and practice-based knowledge, as well as clinical skills.

Our student-centric pedagogy, programmatic themes and curricular threads (i.e., critical thinking, analysis and synthesis, clinical reasoning, self- and professional identity, civic and cultural awareness) will prepare students to be reflective and effective scholar-practitioners. These scholar-practitioners will be lifelong learners and advocates and leaders for the profession, as well as for diverse local and global communities. In state-of-the-art laboratories, alongside faculty, our students apply didactic content and build skills on how to promote health, well-being and resilience through occupational engagement.

The philosophy of the Katz School’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, which is located in New York City, is reflective and responsive to the mission statement and values of Yeshiva University, the values of the occupational therapy profession and the professional values of the faculty of the Occupational Therapy Doctoral program. The program incorporates beliefs about health and well-being, as well as occupation and community, and its faculty, students and community work together to incorporate science, health and technology in their practice to realize a better future for patients and for society.

Yeshiva University's Occupational Therapy Doctorate program has been granted full accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD, 20852-4929. The program's graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination to qualify as an occupational therapist by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). An individual will be considered an occupational therapist, registered (OTR), following successful completion of the exam. Though most states require licensure in order to practice, the state licenses are usually contingent on successful passage of the NBCOT certification examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination, as well as eligibility to obtain state licensure. For further questions, one may reach ACOTE online at www.acoteonline.org or AOTA at 301-652-6611. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can be reached at www.nbcot.org.

Upon successful completion of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, students will be able to:

• Develop and implement client-centered care that is inclusive of cultural values, beliefs and needs.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills to function successfully as a member of an interprofessional health care team.
• Apply critical analysis of evidence during the occupational therapy process and participate to increase the body of knowledge of the profession through the preparation and dissemination of scholarship.
• Design interventions with a central focus on occupation as the means and end of the therapeutic process that are in line with the profession’s philosophy.
• Implement interventions with a central focus on occupation as the means and end of the therapeutic process that are in line with the profession’s philosophy.
• Integrate health promotion and wellness in interventions with individuals, communities and populations.
• Model and demonstrate leadership and advocacy for occupational therapy in the full range of service areas.

Graduates from the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program are eligible to sit for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) to qualify as an occupational therapist. After successful completion of this examination, the individual will be an occupational therapist, registered (OTR). Most states require licensure to practice, and state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT certification examination. Please note that a felony conviction or previous criminal record could affect eligibility to sit for the NBCOT examination, for a state license and, as a result, eligibility to practice. As part of your application to take the exam, you will be asked to answer questions related to the topic of felonies and or convictions. Please contact NBCOT for additional information prior to starting your Occupational Therapy Doctorate studies. Data for NBCOT certification pass rate is available here and on the NBCOT website, along with graduation rates and employment data for the program.

The graduate health science programs at the Katz School of Science and Health prioritize individual dignity and promote a culture of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in a supportive client care, learning, and research environment. We are committed to creating a community that recognizes and embraces diverse backgrounds and identities.

Every student, faculty member, client, and their family will be treated with respect, dignity, and professionalism. We do not tolerate or condone discrimination.

We are committed to delivering health care and education in a manner that respects diversity and inclusivity with the full intent of achieving better health, happiness, quality of life, and functional outcomes for all.