3:2 Fast OT

The program director for the B.S. degree in Health Care Management (HCM) and the Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy developed a Fast-Track program for the professional-level M.S. in Occupational Therapy (OT). Both programs will work together to grant admission to qualified freshmen into this Fast-Track program for students who submit competitive applications according to criteria. According to UAB policy, the successful student would then have to apply upon completion of the undergraduate program in HCM to the Graduate School for admission into the 5^th year of the program, which includes the primary occupational therapy practice courses; and then upon completion of the coursework, the student would be awarded the MS in OT. The assumption and working principle is that these selected students can perform at the graduate level while undergraduate students and may take graduate level courses in their junior and senior years as recommended by the Department of Occupational Therapy.

Both programs are located in the School of Health Professions at UAB. This organizational relationship allows the programs to coordinate courses and align schedules without losing subject matter and depth of content, as well as avoid creation of course scheduling conflicts. 

For the fast track students, the number of credit hours required for the MS degree will be less than for the traditional MSOT students. The required courses will be the same for both groups of students. However, the fast track students will take some of these courses as undergraduate students, with the credit hours counting toward their BS degrees.

It is proposed the program begin accepting 8-10 students per year, to begin in the fall semester of 2011. Students accepted into the Fast-Track program would need to maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA in order to remain in the fast track program. The student would receive advising from both programs while an undergraduate student to ensure successful progress in the graduate program. Students who do not maintain the minimum GPA for the Fast-Track program would be withdrawn from the fast track option. If their GPA is >/= 2.5 they could remain in the HCM Program, but would be required to complete all courses currently required for that major. Upon graduation with a BS degree and completion of the occupational therapy program prerequisites, they could apply to the Master’s Degree Program in Occupational Therapy and apply to the Graduate school as traditional students. Admission to the MSOT would not be guaranteed and would depend upon meeting the criteria for admission into the Master’s Degree Program in Occupational Therapy.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

Freshmen applying to the HCM/MSOT fast track must have a high school GPA of 3.0, and an ACT score of 24. Applicants should qualify for registration in EH 101 and MA 105 (or higher) at the point of freshman admission.

If interested in program or would like to apply please contact:

Susan Packa

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(205) 934-5173 

CURRICULUM FOR FAST TRACK STUDENTS IN Occupational Therapy

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