Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy Nursing Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

The USC Departments of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Nursing and Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy are administered independently by the Office of the Vice President for Health Affairs. Each of these departments offers outstanding health professional education at either the graduate or undergraduate levels.

The Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy was established in 1944. For those wishing to enter the profession, the department offers the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. For persons who are already practicing physical therapists, the department offers a Master of Science program. In addition, the department 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 Doctoral of Physical Therapy in an Advanced Standing program. The department is headquartered on the Health Sciences Campus; all degree programs are offered through the Graduate School.

The goal of the Department of Nursing is to produce leaders for the nursing community of Southern California. Based on this philosophy, the curriculum is combined with research and leadership skills designed to prepare graduates to work effectively in a complex health care delivery system. The Department of Nursing was established in 1981. However, USC has been preparing leaders in nursing since 1945. In this early combination program with California Hospital, students who graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in nursing were some of the first in the nation to earn that level of degree. Today, the department offers both the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Master of Science in Nursing degrees. Innovative arrangements are available for RNs seeking a bachelor's or master's degree in nursing. Post-master's degree certificates for nurses seeking leadership opportunities in specialty areas are yet other options.

The Department 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 department's highly regarded Bachelor of Science degree program is offered through the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The department offers two 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 and the world's first Ph.D. in Occupational Science

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