Regulation of Programs
The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) oversees accreditation and sets the guidelines for all occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs in the United States.
Master's Degree
Beginning with the graduating class of 2007, occupational therapy graduates will have to have a entry-level master's degree (AOTA, 2004; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004). The new guidelines for the program will not be much different in terms of quality and academics as the previous one. Occupational therapy students will still be required to take a rigorous amount of coursework, but the master's timeframe will allow for some specialized classes to be taken. Fieldwork/internships will still be required as well (AOTA, 2005; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004). Programs will vary between a combined bachelor and masters program and one that requires a student to have a bachelors before applying for the masters in OT.
Doctorate Degree
Occupational therapists can pursue a doctorate degree in occupational therapy. It can have a focus towards research or clinical practice. Both doctorates can be entry-level or post-professional. Not as many colleges offer doctorate programs; at this time 15 states have colleges with them. Of these, not every college offers both types of doctorates either. The states that have doctorate programs are California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin (AOTA, 2007).
Colleges in Michigan
Links to colleges in Michigan that have occupational therapy programs:
Saginaw Valley State University
(AOTA, 2007)
