Fast Facts – School of Occupational Therapy

PNWU’s School of Occupational Therapy matriculated its first cohort of students in 2023. The entry-level occupational therapy master’s degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Preaccreditation Status on December 12, 2024 by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. 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 this 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. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

The mission of the PNWU School of Occupational Therapy is to deliver graduate programs of distinction and prepare occupational therapists as leaders, scholars, and change agents who deliver occupation-based services that promote the health and wellbeing of rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Northwest and beyond.