Occupational Therapy
- 60 Credits
- School of Health and Natural Sciences
- Westchester
Occupational Therapy Overview
Nationally recognized faculty prepare you for a rewarding career in a high-demand field. Help individuals achieve professional and personal growth, and develop skills to lead to more self-sufficient, satisfying lives.
If you want an endlessly rewarding career in Occupational Therapy, Mercy University's Graduate Occupational Therapy (OT) weekend program is for you. We offer a 60 credit, two year, full-time, weekend program with classes scheduled approximately every other weekend. The program incorporates a variety of learning methods including a mixture of lecture, discussion, small group problem solving, hands-on experiences, problem based learning (PBL) and our innovative "learning by doing" philosophy.
Our faculty is comprised of occupational therapy practitioners with various specializations, providing Mercy students with first-rate, well rounded instruction. Most faculty members have published within the field and are nationally recognized for their expertise.
Students with a bachelor's degree and the required prerequisite courses can apply into the M.S. degree program. Students without a bachelor's degree can apply to the B.S. in Health Sciences Program which includes prerequisites or pre-professional occupational therapy courses. Students apply one year in advance of entry into the graduate program.
How to Become a Licensed Occupational Therapist
If you are wondering how to get started on becoming a certified/licensed occupational therapist in New York or any other state in which you may practice in the future, follow these steps at Mercy University.
1. Earn a Bachelor's Degree
The first step in becoming an occupational therapist is to complete a bachelor's degree and the required prerequisites. At Mercy, you have options in bachelor degrees such as the B.S. in Health Science with a concentration in Pre-Occupational Therapy.
If you are interested in becoming an occupational therapy assistant, consider Mercy's Occupational Therapy Assistant associate's degree. This two-year program permits you to practice in the profession as an assistant as you complete a bachelor's degree and then master's occupational therapy program.
2. Complete Prerequisites
Your bachelor's degree may contain many of the pre-requisites to apply to Mercy's graduate OT Program. The BS in Health Science Pre-OT concentration contains them all. Also consider completing volunteer hours or an undergraduate internship that exposes you to occupational therapy or rehabilitation services. While volunteer hours are not required, they may help you confirm your career choice. Complete OT Prerequisites Form.
3. Complete the Required Internships
Students in our master's program are required to complete internships for hands-on experience before graduation. These internships are supervised by a licensed occupational therapist and are a requirement of our program's professional accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. New York State also requires all students to complete these internships to qualify for their professional OT license. The graduate OT program will coordinate these internships with you.
4. Graduate From Our Occupational Therapy Master's Program
Our master's degree in Occupational Therapy takes the health science skills you learned as an undergrad and brings them to the next level. Our OT program provides the experience and knowledge you need to make a positive impact from your first day on the job.
5. Pass the Occupational Therapist Registered Exam
To be nationally certified as an occupational therapist, you pass the national certification exam administered by the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
Our Occupational Therapy master's degree helps you prepare for this exam, as many of the skills you learn in the classroom and during internships appear on the test. With a 95% graduation rate, our program has helped many students turn their dreams of becoming an occupational therapist into reality.
6. Apply for Your License in New York State
After passing the national certification exam and becoming an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR), you're officially ready to apply for your New York State Occupational Therapy license. The program will offer you step by step guidance at that time. Our program also qualifies you to apply for a professional OT license in all 50 US states.
After receiving your license, you're ready to practice as an occupational therapist! Your professional license will need to be renewed every few years and you will be required to demonstrate continuing competency contact hours to qualify for renewal.
How Long Is Occupational Therapy School?
Earning an occupational therapy masters degree at Mercy consists of two stages:
- Acceptance to the graduate program after earning your bachelor's in a related field and completing the required pre-requisites
- Complete seven trimesters of full time coursework over 2 1/2 years earning your master's in our weekend program
By having a clear roadmap to your career, you can accurately prepare for your college journey ahead.
Career Opportunities
Graduates are prepared as generalists, enabling them to work in a variety of practice settings including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and regional schools. The Mercy University Occupational Therapy program prepares graduates to work with people of varying diagnosis including people living with spinal cord injuries, cancer, stroke, autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and many other conditions and illnesses.
Many of our alumni hold leadership roles where they work and have returned to the OT program as PBL facilitators, teaching associates, guest lecturers, and lab assistants.
There are expanding opportunities for occupational therapists in the areas of health promotion and prevention within private practices, industry, social and public or community agencies.
Why you should choose Mercy's OT Program
Learn why you should select Mercy University's Occupational Therapy Program to launch your career.
Clinical Education
Learn more about Mercy's Clinical Simulation Labs, Interprofessional Education and meet our Clinical Educators within our various departments.
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The Mercy Advantage
- Highest level of National Accreditation of ten years from ACOTE. Current accreditation is in effect through the 2030/2031 academic year.
- Relationships with clinics in NYC and Westchester.
- Weekend format.
- State of the art simulation and learning labs.
- Program completion in 7 trimesters inclusive of 24 weeks of full time clinical fieldwork.
- The majority of current employers report Mercy students are above average in their knowledge, skills, and behaviors as compared to students/graduates form other occupational therapy programs.
IHELP at Mercy University
Mercy University is here to help our students and communities succeed. The new Interdisciplinary Health Education Learning Program (IHELP) fellowship aims to expand internship opportunities that provide services for children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth who are at risk for behavioral health disorders in high need and high demand areas for graduate Fellows in Mercy's School Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, or Occupational Therapy programs.
Students participating in the IHELP Fellowship have the opportunity to be awarded up to a $10,000 stipend while they are participating in their Level II Fieldwork Placement.
HIMNY-RTC
The Hispanic Mothers of New York Research Center (HiMNY-RTC) is a federally funded research award with the Human Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) under the Maternal Health Research Network (MH-RN) for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The overarching goal of this grant initiative is to build research capacity at Mercy University, a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) through a joint collaboration between the graduate Occupational Therapy (School of Health and Natural Sciences) and Psychology (School of Social and Behavioral Sciences) programs.
Student Benefits
- Enhanced training in research methodology
- Active engagement in mentored research activities
- Direct collaboration with community agencies and Hispanic mothers in exploratory research
- Have an impact on maternal mental health outcomes among underrepresented groups
- HiMNY-RTC Student scholars will earn up to a $10,000 stipend per year
Interprofessional Education in Simulation Labs
Students from various health professions work with a simulated patient (a student actor from the University) in one of the simulation labs. These interprofessional experiences help students learn about other professions’ roles and responsibilities, values and ethics, and teamwork. These simulated experiences prepare them for their real-world clinical experiences.
Tour the 3rd floor clinical simulation labs
This space includes a Clinical Skills and Assessment Lab, movement lab and home health labs, frequently used by students and faculty in our nursing occupational therapy, occupational therapy assistant, and physical therapy programs.