Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Empower your clients to break through the barriers keeping them from living their everyday lives. At Whitworth, you can start earning the highest entry-level doctoral degree attainable, so you’ll be prepared to teach, practice or lead – whatever your future holds. Earn your Doctor of Occupational Therapy in just three years at Whitworth in a close cohort of students who aim to pursue academic and clinical excellence.
Our OT program prepares you to:
Are you passionate about helping others live their best lives? Do you have a strong work ethic and a desire to make a difference? The Whitworth University OTD program is designed specifically to give you valuable, experiential learning opportunities that help you become a leader prepared to change lives.
Here, you’ll experience unmatched clinical placement partnerships and hands-on experiences as early as your first semester. You’ll study with a small cohort of 30 students, ensuring you make lifelong connections with change-oriented peers.
Earning your OTD prepares you for limitless potential – more than what a master’s in occupational therapy can offer. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 12 percent growth for occupational therapists by 2032. With your OTD from Whitworth, you’ll develop sought-after expertise to empower and improve lives.
Our program prepares you to succeed in any career path you pursue, including:
Occupational Therapist
Professor of Occupational Therapy
Clinical Director
Sources: Zippia and Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023
Immerse yourself in valuable clinical experiences and a learner-centered curriculum that is rich in evidence-based practice, interprofessional learning opportunities and community partnerships that help you learn how to better promote the health and well-being of others.
The Whitworth University Doctor of Occupational Therapy program is designed as a cohort model, enabling you to grow and connect with fellow students during your studies.
Achieve your professional goals starting in a motivated and dedicated community in Spokane, Wash. Learn in innovative, state-of-the-art facilities that include a Bioness Vector Gait and Safety system and an occupational therapy activities of daily living lab. Build community connections with fieldwork in various locations across our flourishing local healthcare industry. Fieldwork choices including Eastern State Hospital, ParaSport Spokane, Shriners Hospital for Children, Summit Rehabilitation Associates of Spokane and many more will provide unique experiences that enable you to thrive on campus and beyond.
At Whitworth University, we understand each career path is unique. That’s why our Doctor of Occupational Therapy goes beyond lectures and textbooks to provide you with unparalleled one-on-one support in a smaller, intimate setting. Imagine working with faculty mentors who are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals. That’s the Whitworth difference.
I chose to pursue an OTD degree because I loved kinesiology as an undergrad and wanted my future scope of practice to include diversified aspects of health. Whitworth’s faculty continue to impress me with their confidence and intentionality. The OTD program’s rigor so far absolutely pays off for the growth I see in my thinking about how God’s intentions for people living in my community can be worked towards in challenging situations.
- Andrea Friesen
The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Preaccreditation 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. Loriann Helgeson OTD, OTR/L, CLA is the department chair.
The program must complete an on-site evaluation and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy(NBCOT). After successful completion of the NBCOT exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure in order 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. This program has been reviewed as a substantive change by our institutional accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and is included in our institutional accreditation status.
Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork as well as an individual 14-week capstone experience within 28 months following the completion of the didactic portion of the program. The doctoral capstone experience must be started after completion of all coursework and Level II fieldwork as well as completion of preparatory activities defined in 2018 ACOTE Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Standard D.1.3.
Click here for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT®) program data results.