Entry-level OTD
Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Program Overview

Occupational therapy is in high demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 18% job growth through 2028.

Be at the forefront of this rewarding and rapidly evolving field through JWU’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD), a pathway for bachelor’s degree recipients.

Learn how to assist and inspire people to maximize their health, well-being and quality of life while increasing their independence, self-confidence and self-worth. Devise adaptive ways for clients to connect with their environment and complete the work, recreational and self-care tasks they need to succeed through our custom-built OTD facilities.

Our program’s holistic approach addresses the vital importance of acknowledging people’s physical, psychological and emotional needs.

How Is the Program Delivered?

FULL TIME FOR 36 MONTHS • COHORT MODEL • JUNE START

JWU’s program runs full time for 36 months, with a June start. The “cohort model” means that the small group you start with (your “cohort”) stays together through the duration of the program, forming a familial bond and growing as practitioners together.

What Is Unique about JWU’s Entry-level OTD Program?

• It focuses on examining the needs of individuals and populations within the community and emphasizing the valuable connections across multiple JWU colleges — with particular emphasis on the Physician Assistant, Culinary Nutrition, Dietetics & Applied Nutrition, Physical Therapy and Equine Studies programs, to name a few — to best serve societal needs in an interprofessional manner.
• Experienced and nationally recognized faculty teaching in a state-of-the-art facility that creates a stimulating environment for student learning.
• Fieldwork and capstone work with lab experiences directly in the community and within emerging practice areas.
• Our Combined Degrees: Health Science B.S./OTD allows qualified JWU students to earn, in a continuous plan of study, both a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and an OTD in as little as six years.

Gain Real World Occupational Therapy Experience

You’ll learn to serve individuals, groups, communities and populations, while also developing programs that offer a preventive focus and influence a broader scope of the population. Then apply and practice what you learned in class through fieldwork focused on mental health, pediatric, adult and older adult populations.

Through mentorship with our experienced faculty, you’ll set personal goals that will influence your professional growth. In addition, you will complete a capstone project that will help you gain the practical and research skills needed to become a highly competent occupational therapy practitioner.

Take a Deeper Dive

Take a deep dive into what makes this program special, from our faculty to news (including faculty research and interdisciplinary work with other JWU colleges). Explore our academics, potential career pathways and program outcomes.

And if you’re ready to start your application, familiarize yourself with the process, prerequisites and costs.

Amplifying Voices & Increasing Diversity in OTD

Monique Dawes, OTD, OTR/L, CPAM, has practiced occupational therapy across the country, but her roots remain here in New England. Now, she is leading the charge in training and diversifying the field of occupational therapists here at Johnson & Wales, and she is representing JWU as a local leader in the newest cohort of the Equity Leadership Initiative within the Rhode Island Foundation. Hear her story: