Doctor of Occupational Therapy – California

At-A-Glance

  • Full-time program. SCU strongly recommends that students not work while attending the OTD program.
  • Credit hours: 101
  • 7.5 terms, approximately two and a half years.
  • No bachelor’s degree is required. Students with at least 90 credits can be accepted into the program.
  • Students must complete all degree requirements within 15 trimesters (5 years) of matriculation.
  • Students must be able to achieve and maintain certain technical standards of knowledge and skill to become a skilled and effective practitioner.  The technical standards stated in the following document apply to satisfactory performance in all academic and clinical course work, as well as fulfillment of “non-academic” essential functions of the curriculum involving physical, cognitive, and behavioral factors that are essential to a professional healthcare practitioner and are requisite for program completion.  Doctor of Occupational Therapy Technical Standards document

The Mission of the OTD Program

Through an innovative approach to education, we prepare exceptional practitioners who are evidence-based, occupation-centered, and skilled in a lifestyle approach to integrative health. Our graduates are life-long learners who promote transformational occupational justice and health equity for diverse persons, groups and populations.

  • Evidence-Based Knowledge: Critically apply the latest research and knowledge bases that support occupational therapy practice and contribute to the growth and dissemination of research inclusive of in-depth knowledge applied in the doctoral capstone project and experience.
  • Therapeutic Use of Occupations: Articulate and apply therapeutic use of occupations with individuals, groups or populations for the purpose of participation in roles and situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings.
  • Client-Centered Care: Develop and implement client-centered care that is inclusive of cultural values, beliefs and needs and considers occupational justice and health equity.
  • Lifestyle Health + Occupational Performance Outcomes: Articulate and apply occupational therapy theory and evidence-based evaluations and interventions to achieve expected outcomes as related to occupation and lifestyle health.
  • Occupational Therapy Process: Plan and apply evidence-based occupational therapy interventions to address the physical, functional cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support engagement in everyday life activities as related to occupation, well-being, and quality of life, as informed by the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF).
  • Leadership: Demonstrate leadership skills employing therapeutic use of self and science driven evidence in all practice areas and settings inclusive of: a direct care provider, consultant, educator, manager, researcher, and advocate for the profession and the consumer.
  • Ethical Reasoning: Uphold the ethical standards, values, and attitudes of the occupational therapy profession in all.
  • Collaboration and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Collaborate with stakeholders to provide evidence-based care and demonstrate health equity, inclusion and diversity across all practice settings.
  • Lifelong Learning: Demonstrate the ability to participate as an active, self-directed learner applying the skills of a life-long learner.

For full program information, view the catalog.