USC
University of Southern California
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USC Independent Health Professions at the Ostrow School of Dentistry

Instructor Vibha Pathak works with Cherise Nagami and Erica Nectow in a lab practicum on wheelchair transfers. USC’s Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy has been training future occupational therapists to help others thrive in their day-to-day lives since 1942, and it has been for eight of the past nine years the US News and World Report top-ranked OT program.

The USC Divisions of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy are administered by the School of Dentistry. Both of these divisions offer outstanding education at either the graduate or undergraduate levels.

The Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy was established in 1944. For those wishing to enter the profession of physical therapy, the division offers the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. For persons who are already practicing physical therapists, the division offers a Master of Science program. In addition, the division offers the nation’s oldest Ph.D. degree program in Physical Therapy, now a Ph.D. in Biokinesiology. Experienced clinicians with a master’s degree in physical therapy may be eligible to apply for the Doctor of Physical Therapy in an Advanced Standing program. Clinicians seeking specialization in a specific area of practice may enter the Certificate Clinical Residence Program. The division is headquartered on the Health Sciences campus; all degree programs are offered through the Graduate School.

The Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy opened in 1942 and is headquartered on the Health Sciences campus. More than 50 percent of the recipients of the highest academic awards given by the American Occupational Therapy Association have been USC alumni. The division offers a professional degree program allowing students to earn a B.S. degree from the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and, in one additional year, an M.A. in occupational therapy. These graduates are eligible to sit for The National Board for Certification as occupational therapists. The division offers three degrees in conjunction with the Graduate School: the nation’s oldest degree programs leading to the Master of Arts for registered occupational therapists or for persons with degrees in related fields, the world’s first Ph.D. in Occupational Science and a professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy. The division also confers a minior in occupational science. It is among a handful of similar programs offered worldwide. The Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education, 4720 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20824-1220, (301) 652-2682.