Accelerated BSHS/MOT

Admission Requirements

Undergraduate students at ISU may also have the option of early pre-professional entry into the program through the established guidelines of the Bachelor of Science in Health Science, Pre-Occupational Therapy Accelerated Concentration.

During the first three years, these undergraduate students develop a course of study that will meet the student's interests, university degree requirements, and Occupational Therapy Program prerequisites admission requirements. The student can then apply to the BSHS program during his/her junior year. With the completion of the first professional year in the OT program, the student will receive a Bachelor of Science in Health Science and will continue directly into the MOT program over the next two years. The combination of the BSHS degree with the MOT degree program creates a seamless entry into the occupational therapy profession, ensuring that all prerequisites in social, physical, and biological sciences are completed in a timely manner. For further information on the BSHS and Occupational Therapy program, contact the Department of Occupational Therapy at ot@isu.edu.

1.    Applicants must complete a bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited in the U.S. or its equivalent from a school in another country. This degree may be in progress during the application process but must be completed prior to beginning OT courses in the Fall semester.

2.    All applicants applying to the OT Program must also apply for admission to ISU through the Graduate School. General admissions requirements are explained in the Admissions section of the Graduate Catalog. Note: Some of the requirements for admission into the OT Program are higher than the general requirements for admission to Graduate School.

3.    Applicants must have an earned grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 overall upper-division coursework to apply to the OT Program. A minimum of 25 upper-division credits must be completed, or in progress, by January of the year of admission for applications to be considered. Applicants with advanced degrees may use the most recent upper-division or graduate credits completed.

4.    Applicants must take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT).

a.    GRE must meet the following requirements to be competitive: A total combined score of at least 295 in the verbal and quantitative portions. Verbal must be at least 146. Minimum of 4.0 on the analytical portion.

b.    MAT must meet the following requirements to be competitive: A total score of 390.

c.     Applicants whose first language is not English need to meet the following TOEFL requirements for Classified admission (We do not accept the IEI or ELS in lieu of the TOEFL):

           i.         Internet-based test (iBT): a total score of 80 with a score of at least 20 on each Section (graduate assistants who teach courses must score 23 or above on the Speaking Section) on the iBT; or

         ii.         Computer-based test: a total score of 213 with a score of at least 21 on Section 1 (Listening Comprehension) on the computer test; or

        iii.         Paper-based test: a total score of 550 with a score of at least 55 on Section l (Listening Comprehension) on the paper test, or a score of 84 on the MTELP, or a score of 6 on the IELTS.

d.    Applicants with scores lower than the requirements will not be considered.

e.    The scores of the GRE/MAT/TOEFL must be received by the Graduate School by the application deadline (January 15) for an application to be considered. The Idaho State University code for these three tests is: 4355.

5.    Applicants must complete specific prerequisites courses with a GPA of 3.0 in each of the specified categories. Prerequisite coursework in anatomy and physiology must be completed within the last five (5) years. Prerequisite coursework that is ten (10) years or older may not be acceptable for admission unless approved by the Department Admissions Committee prior to application. An applicant with more than four (4) prerequisite courses in progress or planned for the spring/summer semesters may not be considered for admission. Please contact the Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy for specific information on the prerequisite coursework.

6.    Applicants must demonstrate knowledge and exposure to the occupational therapy profession. All of the required experience must be completed prior to admission to the Idaho State University OT Program. All of the experience must be completed under the direct supervision of a practicing occupational therapist and must have occurred within the last FIVE years. A total of 40 hours of experience is required and must be completed in a minimum of two different occupational therapy practices.

7.    Each applicant must submit three letters of reference with the application. One of the letters must be from the Occupational Therapist who directly supervised the volunteer or aide experience(s). Please contact the Idaho State University OT Program for additional information.

Applicants meeting all of the above requirements will be given preference for admission into the program and have been more successful in gaining entry. The admissions committee reviews all applicants on a competitive case-by-case basis during any admissions cycle.

Students who were awarded the Bachelor of Science in Health Science with the Pre-Occupational Therapy Accelerated Concentration will have 28 of the usual 90 credits waived (for more information on the BSHS with Pre-Occupational Therapy Accelerated Concentration please see the undergraduate catalog here).

Curriculum

The below two curriculum tables demonstrate how students use the coursework taken in their senior undergraduate year, referred to here as the "Pre-Professional Year," as a bridge from the Bachelor of Science in Health Science Pre-Occupational Therapy Concentration program into the Master of Occupational Therapy program.  This option is only available to admitted MOT graduate students who were previously accepted into and successfully completed the BSHS with Pre-Occupational Therapy Concentration program.  Students begin the Master of Occupational Therapy curriculum in the summer following the completion of the Pre-Professional Year.  Contact the department for more details related to admission into and completion of this unique accelerated program.

Pre-Professional Year 

(These courses are taken in the student's senior undergraduate year and should be completed by the end of the spring semester of that year)

OT 4402Clinical Neuroscience5
OT 4481Fieldwork Seminar 1: Intro to Fieldwork1
OT 4406Analysis of Human Movement Through Activity4
OT 4407Professional Behaviors Seminar1
OT 4412Professional Communication2
OT 4413Occupational Therapy Profession3
OT 4421Self-Exploration in Occupation3
OT 4422Occupational Performance3
OT 4442Occupational Performance Laboratory1
BIOL 4474Human Anatomy Occupational and Physical Therapy5

Master of Occupational Therapy Curriculum for BSHS Students Admitted to and Successfully Completing the BSHS with Pre-Occupational Therapy Concentration

(Upon successful completion of the BSHS with Pre-Occupational Therapy Concentration curriculum in the spring semester of their senior year, students should enroll in the following course sequence.)

First Year
  SummerCredits
  OT 55052
  OT 55143
 5
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
OT 55821OT 55153OT 66337
OT 55244OT 55232OT 66191
OT 55254OT 55265 
OT 55321OT 55461 
OT 55441OT 55831 
OT 55451OT 66921 
OT 66911  
 13 13 8
Third Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits 
OT 66932OT 66347 
OT 55841OT 66941 
OT 55273OT 55711 
OT 55284  
OT 55471  
OT 55481  
OT 55931  
 13 9
Total Credits: 61