Special Academic Programs
Pre-Professional Programs
Combined Programs
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offers both three and four-year programs leading to the bachelor's degree for students preparing for study in certain professional areas. In the four-year program the degree is granted upon completion of 120 semester hours, which include both the general education requirements and major and elective hours. Under the combined programs a student may receive the bachelor's degree from UTC after completing three years of required course work (or at least 84 hours of undergraduate study) and the first year of professional school. The combined programs available include the bachelor's degree for students preparing for the study of medicine, dentistry, medical technology or physical therapy.
Before entering a professional school, the student in a combined program must have completed all of the course work required for the bachelor's degree except for the first year of the professional program. The requirements in general education and in a major must be completed as a part of this program. While transfer work may be accepted, at least the last 24 semester hours of the three-year undergraduate program must be earned at UTC.
The student is responsible for having a transcript of the first year's work at a professional school sent to the University and for filing application for the bachelor's degree.
Occupational Therapy
Students who wish to receive the B.S. degree in Rehabilitation Science with a concentration OT will complete the elective hours for a total of 102 hours at UTC. Admission to UTC does not assure acceptance into the program. The student 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. For the second semester of the senior year, students are officially enrolled at UTHSC but continue to attend classes on the UTC campus.
The pre-occupational therapy students apply for admission into the UTHSC Occupational Therapy program by February of the junior year (see UTHSC’s website at www.utmem.edu for admission requirements into the Masters of Occupational Therapy program). The admission requirements for the B.S. in Rehabilitation Science: Occupational Therapy is to be accepted into UTHSC’s OT program. Students will them move from pre-OT status to the B.S. in Rehabilitation Science concentration in OT status. The student 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 to complete prerequisites for the professional program in occupational therapy. The last 24 of the 92 hours of prerequisite course work 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 prerequisites (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 prerequisites and one semester of required PHYT 410 at UTC, followed by one semester of 18 hours in 400-level course work in the occupational therapy program at UTHSC. The 18 hours of course work taken through UTHsc’s OT program are then transferred back to UTC to complete the degree requirements. The student is awarded the B.S. 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 course work. 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 course work and 480 hours of clinical experiences or 15 semester credit hours.
