Occupational Therapy Program
Admission Requirements

The following are the prerequisite requirements for admission into the School of Health Technology and Management Occupational Therapy Program.

• A minimum of 57 college credits including the courses below:
  • 3 credits of English Composition
  • 6 credits of Arts and Humanities (courses include music, art, literature, language [intermediate level or above], philosophy, ethics, logic, religion, and theater study. Performance courses [chorus, ballet, ceramics, photography, or acting] are not accepted)
  • 9 credits of Social and Behavioral Sciences (must include Introduction to Psychology and Abnormal Psychology and either Introductory Sociology or Introduction to Cultural Anthropology).
  • 4 credits of Biology with laboratories (must be courses designated for science majors)
  • Anatomy & Physiology I and II (SBU students should take ANP 300 and BIO 328)
  • 4 credits of Chemistry with laboratories (must be courses designated for science majors)
  • 4 credits of Physics with laboratories (must be courses designated for science majors)
  • 3 credits of statistics
  • Minimum 15 credits of electives

Other recommended courses include:

• College level Math
• Statistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Anatomy and Physiology

PREFERENCE is given to applicants with an overall GPA of 3.0 in all coursework; a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 is required.

PREFERENCE is given to applicants who have completed 15 of the 24 credits in biology, chemistry, and physics at the time of the application. A minimum GPA of 2.5 in prerequisite science courses and a minimum GPA of 2.0 for natural science and math courses is also required for all applicants

HEALTH RELATED EXPERIENCE

• Current certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Current certification in Standard First Aid
• 40 hours of volunteer or work experience observing an occupational therapist in two different settings
  • Volunteer or work experience may be fulfilled in a combination of out-patient rehabilitation, developmental disabilities, nursing homes, or school-based, psychosocial or acute care settings
  • At least 50 % of the volunteer hours (20 hours) must be at a site other than the applicant’s place of employment
  • To learn more about volunteering at Stony Brook University Hospital, please call the Department of Volunteer Services at (631) 444-2610.
  • To learn more about volunteering at the Long Island State Veterans Home, please call (516) 444-8590

OTHER ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants must have completed the required science course work within the last ten years.
• Students may take their prerequisite courses at Stony Brook University or at other institutions. Transfer credits are granted for relevant college level course work with grades of “C” or higher; course grades of “D” may be accepted from Stony Brook University.
• All international applicants whose native or first language is not English must also score at least 550 paper-based or 213 computer-based on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) within two years prior to admission.
• Three references; at least one of these references must be from an observance of a licensed Occupational Therapist.

NOTE: For July entry, all prerequisites must be completed by the end of the spring term of the year for which applicants are applying.  Students who are accepted for entrance without final grades on transcripts are accepted on a conditional basis and may be placed on probation until official final grades have been submitted for review and filing.

NOTE: Students accepted for the January/spring entry into the occupational therapy program who have outstanding conditions that include prerequisite coursework, will be placed on academic probation upon admission.  This conditional status will continue until the end of their first spring semester as occupational therapy students; failure to complete prerequisite courses and maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 will result a recommendation of termination.

Students entering in the spring may register for one to three professional courses including Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Computer Literacy, and Medical Ethics for a total of 1- 3 credits. Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 in professional courses, a GPA of 2.5 in their prerequisite science courses, and an overall GPA of 2.0 to remain matriculated in the Occupational Therapy program.

Students entering in January/spring who remain in good academic standing at the end of the spring semester can advance to the summer curriculum and will become part of the first year class cohort entering in July.

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Information sessions about the Occupational Therapy program are held monthly. Refer to the information session section for these scheduled dates.

ONLINE APPLICATIONS

Application requests are handled by the Office of Student Services (OSS), Health Sciences Center. Online application are available in early Fall of the year prior to the admission date.

Online (SHTM) applications include:

a. Application and instructions
b. 3 reference forms
c. Summary sheet

All applicants must complete and submit applications online and mail the HSC supplemental information to OSS.

The preferred application deadline for July entry is March 15th; December 1st for January entry. It is recommended that application and supporting documents be postmarked or received in the OSS by the preferred deadline. Applications received after that date will be reviewed and considered until the class is filled.