Occupational therapy (OT) is an allied health profession that involves the therapeutic use of everyday activities, or occupations, to treat the physical, mental, developmental, and enables people of all ages to participate in daily living.

Occupational therapy intervention uses everyday life activities (occupations) to promote health, well-being, and your ability to participate in the important activities in your life. This includes any meaningful activity that a person wants to accomplish, including taking care of yourself and your family, working, volunteering, going to school, among many others.

What are Occupational Therapy programs looking for?

Academic Readiness

Successful applicants generally are great candidates with a grade point average of around 3.0 in the sciences and overall. Along with good grades, letters of recommendation and activities should attest to a passion for working with clients/patients to help them achieve success in their health and daily lives and other activities such as hands on patient care, but that is not always required for each program.

Undergraduate Majors

At URI, you can major in almost anything and be a candidate to apply for Occupational Therapy programs. Most programs are not concerned with the major you choose as much as they are with the reasons for your academic choices and what you learned in college. As long as you complete the admission requirements (listed above), you are encouraged to pursue a major that is interesting to you.

Where do occupational therapy practitioners work?

Occupational therapy services are provided by licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, to people of all ages in homes, communities, schools, and healthcare settings.

Occupational therapy services may be provided in a client’s home, community settings (e.g., community centers, shelters, free clinics), hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, primary care offices, schools, and many other locations.

Occupational therapy practitioners may also work as consultants and experts in health information technology, human centered design, addressing the health of communities, education (e.g. schools, higher education), health promotion programs, driving and community mobility, and many others.

Wherever daily activities occur, occupational therapy services can be provided!

Interested in exploring Occupational Therapy as a career path?

Apply for a mentor from Johnson & Wales University’s (JWU) Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) program. You’ll be matched with a current OTD JWU student that will guide you through the career and invite you to their program (located in Providence) to learn more.