The Department of Rehabilitation Sciences offers a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) program, which is a professional entry level degree for students who have earned a baccalaureate degree in a related field. It prepares generalists who have a particular expertise in incorporating the life span perspective into occupational therapy practice with an expertise in working with children, adults and older adults. It prepares graduates to work in educational, community and medical settings.

Program Description

Temple University’s OT program is based on the belief that humans are complex, occupational beings able to maximize their health, participation and quality of life through engagement in meaningful activity. The centrality of occupational engagement in context across the life span is the core concept of the curriculum. Throughout the life cycle, there is a dynamic interaction between the personal, cultural, physical, social and temporal contexts that either facilitate or inhibit participation and functioning. Occupational Therapy empowers individuals to optimize health and make choices regarding occupational participation which affects quality of life throughout the life span.

The program is based on a student-centered, culturally-sensitive, developmentally oriented educational philosophy. Theoretical and applied evidence-based learning opportunities are designed to provide the students with experiential learning in the classroom, clinic and community.  The curriculum is composed of foundational, professional skill acquisition and contextual application components. This aligns with the learning process which includes foundational knowledge, analysis, synthesis, and application, from classroom to community context.  The educational foundation of the program is grounded in the philosophies of adult learning experiential learning, situated cognition and reflective practice. The program is focused on the continued development and utilization of scholarship relevant to occupational therapy, which, in-turn, enriches learning experiences that promote research socialization, critical reasoning, interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthens linkages among research, education and practice. 

Program Goals

The Department of Rehabilitation Sciences currently offers a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) program, which is a professional entry level degree for students who have earned a baccalaureate degree in a related field. It prepares generalists who have a particular expertise in incorporating the life span perspective into occupational therapy practice with children, adults and older adults in traditional as well as emerging practice areas such as ergonomics, community accessibility and home modification, low vision services, technology and assistive device development and consultation, and health and wellness consulting.  It prepares graduates to work in educational, community and medical settings.

The overarching curricular threads that are infused throughout the course of study are:

Clinical excellence

Centrality of occupation

Evidence based practice application

Critical thinking, clinical reasoning and reflective practice

Professional identity

Collaboration with the community and with other professionals

Research and scholarship

Cultural competence

The following program goals are based on the curricular threads of the MOT program at Temple University and reflect that the program is designed to prepare students to be holistic practitioners, across the life span in current and emerging practice areas.

At the completion of the program, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate excellence in developing and implementing safe, client-centered, occupation based interventions for individuals, organizations and populations. (clinical excellence)

2. Analyze and synthesize information about the value, meaning, and benefits of engagement in occupation and participation to the individual, organization and population and incorporate that knowledge into occupational therapy practice. (centrality of occupation)

3. Design and implement assessments and interventions based on the best external evidence, clinical expertise, and the individual values and priorities of clients and their families. (evidence based practice application)

4. Consistently employ the clinical reasoning process to develop population based and client centered evidence based interventions that facilitate participation and quality of life across the life span. (critical thinking, clinical reasoning and reflective practice)

5. Use critical thinking and reflection in and on practice to prioritize and implement effective intervention and advocacy for clients their families.(critical thinking, clinical reasoning and reflective practice)

6. Explain the occupational therapist’s role on a multidisciplinary treatment team. (professional identity)

7. Understand intra-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary boundaries (domains of concern). (professional identity)

8. Demonstrate commitment to professional growth and advocacy for the profession. (professional identity)

9. Understand the importance of collaboration with clients, community and professional stakeholders in generating client centered outcomes that facilitate health and participation across the lifespan. (collaboration with the community and with other professionals)

10. Explain the importance of research for utilization in practice and the advancement of the profession. (research and scholarship)

11. Identify and use sound research evidence for answering clinical questions and making clinical decisions. (research and scholarship)

12. Demonstrate the ability to engage in culturally competent, client-centered practice that accommodates ethnic, life style, and generational differences. (cultural competence)