Admission Procedures for the Professional Entry-Level Master of Science in Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy Program

The Occupational Therapy Program is located on the west campus, located near the Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Medical Center.  The Program is in the College of Allied Health Sciences that shares a new state-of-the art building with the College of Nursing and Laupus Health Sciences Library. We encourage all individuals who are considering applying to the program to visit our Occupational Therapy Department. 

Informational sessions including tours of the department are held from October through May on the second Friday of each month at 1:00 PM.  To register, please email Annette Jones, admissions coordinator, at jonesanne@ecu.edu.  If you are unable to attend an informational session, you may schedule an individual appointment. 

We also encourage you to explore our website thoroughly to determine if the program's educational objectives, structured curriculum, and faculty members' research agendas will be a good match for your educational needs and occupational goals.

Directions to Occupational Therapy Department

Application Deadline

Applications are accepted from October 1 to January 10 for the next fall class.  The complete application must be sent electronically or postmarked on or before January 10th.  The application should be complete by this deadline or the applicant will not be considered for admission. 

Application Process

The application for the professional (entry-level) master's degree occupational therapy is submitted online to East Carolina University's Graduate School.  

1. The link for specific instructions on how to complete the general Graduate School Application: http://www.ecu.edu/gradschool/. 
2. Reference letters may be submitted through https://onestop.ecu.edu/gaReferenceManagement
3. The link for the Supplemental Application to submit your Goal Statement and List of Prerequisites/Plan of Action:   https://ecu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_ewDFYzfm5wUdQnW

A completed application includes:

• Online graduate application
• GRE Scores
• Official transcripts from all schools, colleges, or universities attended,
• Two references letters (available on-line through the Graduate School),
• Supplemental Application:
• • Goal statement (see below for instructions on this component)
  • Prerequisite Course Descriptions and Plan of Action

IMPORTANT:  All parts of the application for the Occupational Therapy Program should be attached to the online application or sent directly to East Carolina University, Graduate School Admissions, 131 Ragsdale, Greenville, NC, 27858-4353.  Online reference letters are now available through the Graduate School website.  Please do not send transcripts or other materials to the Department of Occupational Therapy, as this will delay your application process. 

For questions about the online process, please contact the Graduate School at gradschool@ecu.edu.  Specific programmatic questions regarding East Carolina University's Occupational Therapy program should be directed to Annette Jones, the admissions coordinator, at jonesanne@ecu.edu or phone 252-744-6199.

When the application is considered complete by East Carolina's Graduate School, the application is sent to the Department of Occupational Therapy.  All applications will be consideration by the Admission's Committee after the deadline of January 10th.  

Minimum Requirements for Application

• A baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited by a regional association or evidence that a baccalaureate degree will be conferred before the start of the program in the fall.
• Applicants from colleges and universities other than East Carolina must include course descriptions of the required prerequisites.
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale from undergraduate work.
• Satisfactory scores on the verbal and quantitative test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.  Scores should equal or exceed 1000 (verbal and quantitative total) with the former scoring system, and 297 (verbal and quantitative total) with the new scoring system.  Analytical writing scores may be considered.
• Acceptable TOEFL or TSL scores for non-English speaking foreign students.
• Admitted students over the last two years have had an average GPA of 3.57 and GRE of 307.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites may be taken at any university or college.  We encourage all students to take OCCT 3000 Exploring Occupational Therapy in preparation for the program, but it is not required.

The Human Anatomy with lab and Human Physiology with lab prerequisites have a 5 year expiration time frame; these biology classes must be taken within 5 years of beginning the program.  There is no time limit for the other prerequisites.  Applicants may apply before completing all of the required prerequisites.  However, ALL prerequisites must be completed before you begin the program.

Prerequisites	Semester Hours	Equivalent ECU Course Numbers
Human Anatomy with Lab	4	BIOL 2140 and 2141
Human Physiology with Lab	4	BIOL 2150 and 2151
Statistics	3	MATH 2228 or BIOS 1500 or MATH 2283 or PSYC 2101
Developmental Psychology or other course with a focus on human development across the lifespan	3	PSYC 3206
Abnormal Psychology	3	PSYC 4375
Reasoning course as philosophy, logic, ethics method or research inquiry in a social science	3	PHIL 1110 or PHIL 1500 or PHIL 1175 or PHIL 1180 or PHIL 2275
Introduction to Sociology OR Introduction to Anthropology OR Introduction to Cultural Anthropology	3	SOCI 2110 or ANTH 1000 or ANTH 2200
Exploring Occupational Therapy (recommended, not required)	3	OCCT 3000
Medical Terminology or demonstrate proficiency in medical terminology by passing an exam.	3 or 2	HIMA 3000 or ATEP 2800
TOTAL	25

Supplemental Application Components 

In addition to the online Graduate School application, an applicant must submit a Goal Statement and the Prerequisite Course Description and Plan of Action.  Immediately below is a description of both and how to submit these components.

1. Goal Statement
   
   

   As part of the application package, applicants need to complete several essays referred collectively as the Goal Statement.  These questions assist the Admission's Committee in determining if the applicant is a good fit for our program, faculty members, and philosophy of occupational therapy.  The answers should reflect genuine impressions about you as an individual and future professional.  A word limit has been established for each question and spelling and grammar will be considered. Your Goal Statement is to be double spaced using a 12-point font (new times roman preferred).

   1. Express your reason(s) for pursuing a graduate degree in occupational therapy (250 words Maximum)
   2. Explain why you believe East Carolina University's occupational therapy program is the right program for you (150 words Maximum).
   3. Describe your greatest achievement in scholarship, leadership, and/or service (250 words Maximum).
   4. Reflect on your personal strengths and weaknesses (250 words Maximum).
   5. Research is a component of our program.  Describe what you believe can be your contribution in the program (150 words Maximum).
   6. Explain what occupational therapy means to you (150 words Maximum).
   
   
2. Prerequisite Course Descriptions and Plan of Action

The supplemental form provides the admission committee with information on the prerequisite courses that you have taken, are currently taking, and plan to take later but before beginning the program.  We need to know how you plan to complete the prerequisites, which is called your Plan of Action.

Course descriptions of all prerequisites not taken at ECU must be included with the application.  The actual course descriptions will be used to determine if the prerequisite meets the standards for the needed course content.  It is the applicant's responsibility to assure that the content of non-ECU courses is equivalent to those listed below.   The most competitive candidates will have a grade of B or better on each prerequisite.  In order to be successful in the program, it is imperative that the course content from the prerequisite courses be current, understood, and accessible to the applicant.  If you have any questions about prerequisites, contact Ms. Jones, the Admission Coordinator. 

To electronically complete the supplemental application, please click HERE:   

If you are mailing the supplemental application, click HERE to download the list of Prerequisites/Plan of Action and Goal Statement FORM. Mail this along with your Goal Statement to the Graduate School, 131 Ragsdale Dr., Greenville, NC 27858.

References

The Department of Occupational Therapy requires TWO letters of reference.  These should be from someone who knows you as an employee and/or someone who can speak to your accomplishments.  Frequently, one is from an employer and a second one is from an undergraduate advisor or professor.  These are best submitted electronically through the Graduate School online application process. The Graduate School provides you a link for electronic submission of references once you have a paid application submitted.