USC Independent Health Professions at the Ostrow School of Dentistry
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In 2011, the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy hosted its first White Coat Ceremony, symbolizing the transition into professional health care. During the celebratory occasion, more than 200 graduate students recited the Oath of an Occupational Therapist, a pledge to “model and foster leadership, and facilitate spiritual, personal and professional growth in myself, my profession and in others.”
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The USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy are administered by the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. Both of these divisions offer outstanding education at either the graduate or undergraduate level.
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 practicing physical therapists, the division offers a Master of Science program. In addition, the division offers the nation’s longest-standing 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 Clinical Residency 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 Dornsife 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 in Occupational Therapy as occupational therapists. The division offers three degrees in conjunction with the Graduate School: the Master of Arts for both currently registered occupational therapists or for persons with degrees in related fields, the world’s first Ph.D. in Occupational Science and the professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD). The division also confers an undergraduate minor in occupational science, one of only a few 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.