Occupational Therapy (OCCT), M.O.T.

MOT Admission Requirements

Program admission is made through the Graduate School of Tennessee State University. Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission due to the competitive nature of the MOT program. In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, documentation of the following is required:

1. Completion of an undergraduate degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
2. Completion of the following prerequisite courses within the last 10 years with a minimum grade of “C”
   1. General psychology
   2. Abnormal psychology
   3. Developmental psychology (covering the lifespan)
   4. Anatomy and Physiology I with lab (4 credits)
   5. Anatomy and Physiology II with lab (4 credits)
   6. Statistics
   7. Medical Terminology
   8. Physics with a lab (4 credits)
   9. Introduction to Sociology or Anthropology
3. Completion of the GRE within the last 5 years:
   1. 292 or above for verbal and quantitative reasoning combined
   2. 3.5 or above for analytical writing
4. Completion of a minimum of 30 hours of observation,volunteer, or work experience with an occupational therapist (OTR) in at least two different units or programs. Observing a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant is not acceptable in meeting this requirement.
5. Submission of a minimum of 3 professional references and/or letters of recommendation

Please note:

A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT Certification Examination and/or to attain state licensure.

MOT Retention Policy

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of “B” or 3.0 on a 4.0 system in order to graduate. Any course attempts resulting in a grade of less than “C” will be allowed to be repeated once and the second grade will replace the first. A student may repeat a maximum of two (2) courses in a given program for the purposes of improving grades. The MOT program is designed as a lock step program. Therefore, any student who receives a grade of less than “C” in any course will be required to retake that course when it is offered during the next academic year. Other courses in the curriculum cannot be taken out of sequence.

Any student who does not achieve a 3.0 overall GPA for one semester will be placed on academic probation and the student is given the opportunity to raise his or her GPA to a 3.0 the following semester. If the student does not achieve the 3.0 GPA in the identified semester, he or she will be dismissed from the MOT program. Students may file an appeal for readmission, but students are only allowed one appeal for readmission. The appeal needs to follow the established process noted in the Graduate Catalog.

A comprehensive examination, which consists of written and practical components, must be passed with a score of 75% or better before the student can be enrolled in OCCT 6904  or OCCT 6914 . The exam may be attempted twice. If a student is not successful in achieving a minimum score of 75% on the second attempt, he or she will be dismissed from the MOT program. Any need to repeat the exam will require retaking both parts because the comprehensive exam is considered one exam with two parts.

Program of Study