What to Expect
Thinking about joining our program? Find out what you can expect as a student at UIC Heading link
The length of the post-professional OTD (P-OTD) program depends on:
- If you attend full-time or part-time
- If you’ve already earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree
- If you transfer credits
Assuming you enroll full-time (12-16 credits per fall and spring semesters and 6-8 credits in the summer), an OT with a master’s degree can complete the OTD in 1.5 to 2 years. An OT with a bachelor’s degree will take 2 to 3 years.
The length of the program would be extended for part-time students and is subject to the amount of credits you complete per semester.
The P-OTD program includes the following major components:
Coursework Heading link
Explore the each semester schedule — including courses, activities, and opportunities — by clicking through the tabs below.
Core courses
| Required courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| OT 500 | Theories of Occupational Therapy | 4 hours |
| OT 510 | Research in Occupational Therapy | 4 hours |
| OT 530, OT 531, OT 532, or OT 533 | Advanced Field Practicum in Clinical Specialization, Education, Leadership/Management or Scholarship of Practice | 4-12 hours (4 minimum) |
| OT 590 | Doctoral Pro-Seminar in Occupational Therapy Taken twice for a total of 2 credits | 1 hour |
| OT 592 | Doctoral Project | 12 hours |
| OT 595 | Seminar in Occupational Therapy | 1 hour |
Electives
| OT electives | ||
|---|---|---|
| OT 528 | Race, Culture, and Health Disparities | 3 hours |
| OT 553 | Program Evaluation: Documenting the Impact of Human Services | 3 hours |
| OT 558 | Writing for Professional Publication | 3 hours |
| OT 561 | Disability and Community Participation: Policy, Systems Change, and Action Research | 4 hours |
| OT 563 | Disability and Global Health | 3 hours |
| OT 571 | Knowledge Translation in Disability and Rehabilitation Research | 3 hours |
| OT 568 | Learning, Teaching, Curriculum Design, Delivery and Evaluation | 4 hours |
| OT 594 | Special Topics in Occupational Therapy | 1-4 hours |
| OT 596 | Independent Study | 1-4 hours |
Electives
Additional electives
In addition to electives in OT, many of our students take courses in other departments like:
- Education or special education
- Disability and human development
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Community health sciences
- Health policy
- Urban planning
- Sociology
Fieldwork Heading link
Explore the each semester schedule — including courses, activities, and opportunities — by clicking through the tabs below.
Adv. practica
| Types of practica | |
|---|---|
| OT 530 | Advanced Field Experience: Clinical Specialization in Occupational Therapy |
| OT 531 | Advanced Field Experience in Occupational Therapy Administration/Management |
| OT 532 | Advanced Field Experience: Occupational Therapy Education |
| OT 533 | Advanced Field Experience: Occupational Therapy Scholarship of Practice Leadership |
Field exams
Field exams are designed to assess your mastery of content related to your advanced areas of practice, education, leadership and applied theory/research.
The exam is conducted by a three-person committee, one of whom is the your major advisor or mentor. The other two committee members are determined by you and your advisor based on your program of study. At least one of the two committee members must be faculty members of the OT department.
The content covered by the field exam will reflect your approved study plan or defined areas of concentration. The content of the questions and administration format will be at the discretion of the committee.
This exam counts for up to 3 credits, if you’re taking independent studies with three UIC committee members.
OTD project Heading link
Explore the each semester schedule — including courses, activities, and opportunities — by clicking through the tabs below.
OTD project
You’ll complete an OTD project representing major applied work done with your faculty mentor and community of learning, involving planning, implementation, evaluation and dissemination. This gives you the opportunity to experience how a program of scholarship is developed, advances over time, and fits different components together. This project can be an evidence-based practice review, educational case study, or creation and evaluation of training, assessment or intervention program.
The project requires you to develop a proposal, submit it to the committee in writing, and defend it orally prior to initiating the project work. Upon approval by the committee, the project will be implemented under the supervision of your major advisor or mentor and collaborating committee members.
The final OTD project and report is submitted to the committee and orally defended.
Your OTD project accounts for 12 total credit hours.