Occupational Therapy Doctoral Degree Program Accreditation

A group of U T C Occupational Therapy Doctorate students are pictured at the annual American Occupational Therapy Conference. They are gathered around a large block of letters spelling out A O T A.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

The AOTA office is located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD, 20814.

ACOTE’s telephone number is (301) 652-6611 and its Web address is https://acoteonline.org/ .

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 (NBCOT). After successful completion of this 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.

Students must complete 24 weeks of Level II fieldwork as well as an individual 14-week capstone experience within 12 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 OTD Standard D.1.3.