Occupational Therapy Prerequisite Courses

We invite applicants with undergraduate degrees in any discipline to apply to the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, so long as you have taken classes in the following subjects (either as part of your undergraduate degree program or in addition to it):

Anatomy and Physiology

• Minimum of 6 credits total
• Human anatomy and physiology may be taken as separate courses or as a combined anatomy and physiology course. If anatomy and physiology are offered as a two or three-part sequence, all courses in the sequence must be completed. The physiology content must include all human body systems and the anatomy content must include the anatomical structure of the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems (including the spinal cord) and weekly labs on human anatomy.
  • Labs need not use cadavers. If not cadaver dissection or prosections, labs must use either animal dissection, anatomical software or DVDs, 3-D models.
  • Online labs are accepted if they include the above requirements.
  • A physiology lab is not required.
• Please Note: For this requirement, you will be asked to upload a syllabus addressing the following information as part of your application:
  • Course Description
  • Course Objectives
  • And/or Course Weekly Schedule
• CSU Courses Include: BMS 300 and 301, BMS 300 and 310

Lifespan Development

• • Minimum of 3 credits
  • Courses in human development or developmental psychology that cover physical, cognitive, and psychosocial human development across the entire lifespan.
    • One course or a series of courses to cover the entire lifespan is required. (Series should be childhood and adolescence, adulthood, aging, and dying.)
    • A child psychology course or child development course that does not include adolescence and adulthood does not meet this requirement.
    • Motor development courses typically do not meet this requirement.
  • CSU Courses Include: HDFS 101, HDFS 175, or PSY 175

Statistics

• • Minimum of 3 credits
  • Any basic college-level statistics course. AP credits are acceptable.
    • Courses are usually completed in the statistics, math, business, or psychology department.
    • The following course titles meet this requirement: Research Methods, Quantitative Research Methods, Research Design, and Test & Measurements
  • CSU Courses Include: STAT 201, STAT 204, STAT 301, STAT 307, or STAT 311

Abnormal Psychology (Psychopathology)

• • Minimum of 3 credits
  • A broad and introductory course on abnormal psychology to help students become familiar and more comfortable with the phenomena traditionally known as mental illness.
    • Abnormal Psychology (Psychopathology) that covers only children or children/adolescence will meet this requirement.
  • CSU Courses Include: PSY 320

Brain Structure & Function (Neuroscience)

• • Minimum of 3 credits
  • A course that covers, in-depth, the parts of the brain and what they do. Approved courses must cover any of the following topics:
    • • Brain development
      • Organization of the brain
      • Motor control or motor learning including sensory-motor loops and integration
      • Motor control including circuits involving major motor centers leading to the final common pathway (output)
      • Sensory processing, including the connections of separate sensory modalities to their respective areas of the brain
      • Cognitive processing including association areas and signal processing
      • Neurological conditions and the areas of the brain affected in each condition
    • The following course titles meet this requirement: Brain and Behavior, Neuroanatomy, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Neurophysiology, Neuropsychology, Neurobiology, Physiological Psychology, Biological Basis of Behavior and Biological Psychology
    • Courses on the history of neuroscience, or the history of cognitive theory, or cognitive theory itself do not fulfill the brain and behavior requirement.
  • Please Note: For this requirement, you will be asked to upload a syllabus addressing the following information as part of your application:
    • Course Description
    • Course Objectives
    • And/or Course Weekly Schedule
  • CSU Courses Include: PSY 252, PSY 454, PSY 458, BMS 345, or BMS 400

Medical Terminology

• • Minimum of 1 credit
  • A general medical terminology course for the health and human service professions.
    • A certificate of completion from an online continuing education course is accepted.
  • CSU Courses Include: OT 215

Do I have to take my prereqs at Colorado State? Or The course I need is full at CSU.

• Although we list CSU course names/numbers that will meet our requirements above, prerequisite coursework does not need to be taken through Colorado State University. We will accept coursework taken at any accredited institution (including junior or community colleges, or on-demand programs like Portage Learning) either in person or online. Please take your prerequisite coursework at the institution that works best for your timeline, location, preferred mode of instruction, and financial situation.

Do all of my prereqs have to be completed before I can apply?

• No. OTCAS will allow you to enter courses you will take in future semesters. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
  • We do consider the number of prerequisites completed and your GPA in those completed courses when reviewing your application for admission. The more courses you have completed, the stronger your application.
  • If you are admitted, all prerequisite coursework must be completed by the time classes begin in late May 2025. This means you must have a plan to complete the courses in Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 and outline it as part of your OTCAS application. For any coursework taken after the time your application is submitted, you will need to send us an official transcript once the grade for the course is posted.

Will you review my transcript(s) to see what courses I am missing?

• Unfortunately, no. We receive a large number of requests for transcript reviews and do not have the capacity to meet this need for every prospective student. You, the student, know best which classes you have taken – please use the descriptions above to see if you have taken a course in each subject. If you are currently an undergraduate student, your academic adviser can also be a great resource through this process.
• However, if you are unsure about whether or not a specific course will meet our requirements, please send an email to otinfo@colostate.edu and attach the course description/syllabus and we would be happy to review it.

What is the minimum grade required for me to receive credit for a prereq?

• You must receive a C (2.0) or higher to meet the requirement.

Do prereqs expire?

• Yes, you must have taken all prerequisite coursework within 10 years of starting the program. This means that we need to see the courses on an official transcript from no earlier than 2015.

What if my school is on the quarter system?

• For prerequisites completed at institutions that are on the quarter system, these courses must meet the semester equivalency. Quarter credits are converted to semester credits by multiplying the quarter credits by .67 (i.e., 4 quarter credits x .67 = 2.6 semester credits). If you have taken only the equivalent of 2.6 semester credits, you will need to take an additional class to get to the minimum of 3 semester credits (or 6 for Anatomy and Physiology).

I took coursework as pass/fail due to COVID-19.

• Courses marked “Satisfactory” or “Pass” will be accepted for all coursework taken during 2020 and 2021 (spring, summer, and fall semesters), including prerequisites. However, please keep in mind that we consider your GPA and, specifically, your GPA in the prerequisite subjects as part of your application review. Applicants are encouraged to weigh the benefits and risks of taking Satisfactory or Pass marks instead of letter grades, as this does have an impact on your combined prerequisite course GPA.