The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Occupational Therapy Cohort
at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) have partnered to bring the accredited Occupational Therapy (OT) program to the Chattanooga area.
B.S. in Rehabilitation Science - concentration in Occupational Therapy
Students who want to receive the B.S. degree in Rehabilitation Science with a concentration in Occupational Therapy will complete elective hours for a total of 102 hours at UTC. Admission to UTC DOES NOT assure acceptance into the occupational therapy program. Students must follow the application procedures for admission to the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. After the students are accepted into the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s (UTHSC) Occupational Therapy program, the Chattanooga students continue to be enrolled at UTC for one semester of their senior year. The second semester of their senior year, they are officially enrolled at UTHSC, but still attend classes on the UTC campus. The pre-occupational therapy students apply for admission into the UTHSC Occupational Therapy program by March 1 of their junior year. (See UTHSC’s website at http://www.utmem.edu/ for admission requirements into the Master of Occupational Therapy program.) The admission criteria for the BS in Rehabilitation Science – OT is to be accepted into UTHSC’s OT program. Students will then move from pre-OT status to the BS in Rehabilitation Science concentration in OT status. The students will be informed of their acceptance into the OT program by the end of the Spring semester, which assures a smooth transition to register for fall classes offered at UTC.
The student enters UTC as a freshman or transfer student to complete pre-requisites for the professional program in occupational therapy. The last 24 of the 92 hours of pre-requisite coursework must be completed in resident courses at UTC. If elective hours are transferred in after completing the 92 hours, the student must petition residency requirements. The student applies for acceptance into the OT program after completing the pre-requisites (92 semester hours) and other requirements for admission into the Masters of Occupational Therapy program at UTHSC. The OT student is required to be enrolled at UTC for the fall semester and take Physical Therapy 410, Human Gross Anatomy. The student completes all the required pre-requisites and one semester of required PHYT 410 at UTC, followed by one semester of 18 hours in 400 level coursework in the occupational therapy program at UTHSC. The 18 hours of coursework taken at UTHSC’s OT program are then transferred back to UTC to complete the degree requirements. The student is awarded the BS in Rehabilitation Science with a concentration in Occupational Therapy from UTC, provided all other requirements toward the degree have been successfully completed.
The OT student continues to attend UTHSC to complete the requirements for a Masters of Occupational Therapy. This requires an additional 57 hours of coursework. The student attends UTHSC for an additional two (2) calendar years beyond the first professional year. This includes an additional 42 semester credit hours of coursework and 480 hours of clinical experiences or 15 semester credit hours.
Link to Memphis University of Tennessee:Occupational Therapy
