Accreditation
The UTRGV entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE's telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA, and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. The Program must have a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
Once accreditation has been granted, graduates of the Program will be eligible to sit for the National Certification Examination for the Occupational Therapist, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT, One Bank Street, Suite 300, Gaithersburg, MD 20878: phone 301-990-7979). After successfully completing the NBCOT exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.
The UTRGV Occupational Therapy program is transitioning to the entry-level doctoral degree.
UTRGV plans to offer a 3.5-year entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) beginning June 2021. Starting November 2020, applicants who apply to the UTRGV OT program need to be aware of the transition process to the doctoral degree.
Accreditation of the OTD program involves several steps that are presented in the above diagram. These steps with anticipated dates include:
- Approval by THECB to offer the OTD degree
- ACOTE Candidacy status granted (August 2020)
- Pre-accreditation review and approval (August 2023)
- On-site evaluation completed (January -March 2024)
- Accreditation Status granted (April 2024)
- First OTD class graduation (December 2024)
All steps of the accreditation process must be completed before the OTD graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification exam for occupational therapists administrated by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).