Conditionally accepted applicants must complete the following within the communicated timeframe to secure full admittance: 

• Acceptance to the OGPS by completing a Graduate Application ($65 fee) 

• Fulfillment of any requirements as stipulated in your offer of conditional acceptance 

• Submission of a nonrefundable $500 security deposit applied to the first semester’s tuition within 2 weeks of receiving full acceptance 

Before entering the program, you must complete the following semester course requirements: 

• 6 credits of human anatomy and physiology. 

• 3 credits of Research methods. *

• 3 credits of abnormal psychology. 

• 3 credits above the introductory level of human development, which must encompass the entire lifespan from birth to end-of-life. 

• 3 credits above the introductory level of sociology or social justice covering problems, development, structure and/or functions of society of the present day. 

The OTD program requires all prerequisite course work to be completed with a letter (A, B, C, D) or numerical (4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0) grade. Prerequisite courses completed with pass/fail or credit/no credit are not accepted. 

*For the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, we are accepting statistics classes in addition to research methods due to the recent change to the prerequisite coursework. Either a 3 credits of research methods or 3 credits of statistics will be accepted to fulfill this requirement.

Applicants do not need to have all prerequisite courses completed at the time of application. If applicants are on track to have all prerequisite courses completed by June 1 of the year of admission to the program, they will be considered for an interview invitation. 

If you have questions about whether courses fulfill prerequisite course requirements, please complete the self-assessment form. Our admissions committee will review your responses and get back to you via email as soon as possible. 

Academic Experience 

• Transcripts of all college-level coursework. Submit transcripts to OTCAS and the NAU OGPS. 

Observation and Experiential Hours 

• Information indicating completion of a minimum of 80 hours of observation and volunteer hours (more information below) 

Letters of Recommendation for NAU 

• Two letters of recommendation 
  • One letter from a licensed occupational therapist who can attest to applicant’s potential as a graduate student and future practitioner in the following areas: 

• • • Communication skills, interpersonal relationship abilities and emerging leadership skills 

• • • Potential to engage in positive, caring communication interactions with individuals typically served by occupational therapy accumulated during the past two years 

• • • Demonstrated self-motivation and maturity to become a leading occupational therapy practitioner 

• • • Basic understanding and alignment with occupational therapy practice and its contribution to health care and quality of life 

• • • Demonstrated professional, mature presentation and demeanor across all interactions and observations 

• One letter from a person in a position of authority with whom you have worked and who can attest to your ability to: 
  • Complete rigorous long-term endeavors, such as one will find in graduate student studies 
  • Write and communicate in a mature, responsible, inquisitive manner 
  • Demonstrate self-responsibility as a learner 
  • Be motivated as a learner and/or engage in learning processes 
  • Collaborate or partner effectively with peers in course related activities 

Note: successful applications into the program must be timely. Applicants are strongly encouraged to begin entry of data into the OTCAS process when the application process begins in July. 

A minimum of 80 total hours of observation and volunteer hours are required* (40 observation and 40 volunteer). While the program does not require a specific form for documenting hours, we do require evidence of hours.  That documentation needs to be uploaded into OTCAS. 

• Documentation supporting the completion of all hours must be uploaded to OTCAS or submitted to otadmissions@nau.edu by June 1. Hours cannot be double-counted as both experiential hours and as observation hours. 

• Observation Hours: 40 hours observing at least one occupational therapist. The hours may be paid or unpaid hours. Telehealth hours are acceptable. Possible sources of referrals of observation hours include your state occupational therapy associations, your pre-health faculty in your undergraduate degree, medical professionals, and providers of occupational therapy services, e.g., assisted living, schools and medical facilities. You are encouraged to do this no later than two months before the application deadline. 

• Volunteer Hours: 40 hours in at least one different community settings (agencies, programs, camps, etc.) serving vulnerable, disabled or disadvantaged individuals or populations that address health, rehabilitation, disability, quality of life or community issues or sustainability initiatives. 

• Observation hours obtained over 40 can be applied to missing volunteer hours. 

• Caregiving hours may be applied to volunteer hours if they meet approval. Send these requests to otadmissions@nau.edu for review. 

• Alternative hours can be used in place of observation and or volunteer hours (see below for more details). 
  • Many applicants may have trouble finding placement for observation and/or volunteer hours. To accommodate for this, we have created an opportunity to complete these hours from your home using alternative hour products and modules. 
  • Deadline to complete all of your hours is June 1st, 2025. 
  • Please email otadmissions@nau.edu: 
  • Alternative hours products documentation. 
  • Total number of hours that you want to submit towards the observation and volunteer hours prerequisites. 
  • In the email subject line please write “Alternative Hours Submission”. 
  • If you have any questions about any of the information provided please email otadmissions@nau.edu. 

Successful candidates must have and maintain the statutory requirements that will be needed for licensure.  While requirements vary from state to state, NAU OTD requires that students meet background requirements of the State of Arizona.  This is because of the extensive fieldwork experiences in Arizona. 

 Arizona Revised Statutes states that in order to be licensed the individual must: “be of good moral character” and be eligible to legally work in the U.S. ‘Good Moral Character’ means “an applicant has not been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor within 5 years before application and never been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. ” 

 Facilities to which a student may be assigned may require additional background checks. 

Students with a criminal background should check with the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy before applying to the OTD program to see if they are eligible to be certified as an occupational therapist.  It is important to note that individuals with a felony conviction may not be able to sit for the national certification exam and will therefore not be credentialed. 

Students who present transcripts for courses or degrees earned from non-English-speaking universities or whose official native language is not English will need to present their results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). 

The University requires a minimum TOEFL score of 80 on the Internet-based test, 213 on the computer-based test, or 550 on the paper-based test. The TOEFL is waived for applicants who earned a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. university. The minimum International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score is 7.0. 

The program only accepts transfer credits from students who have been enrolled in an accredited program at the master’s or doctoral degree level, have completed the application process to become a transfer student, and have subsequently been accepted into the program. Further, students can only transfer credit for required courses in the first two semesters of the curriculum, up to a maximum of 12 semester hours total, with grades of “C” or better.

There are a number of standards for admission and a limited amount of credits the program can accept in transfer based on NAU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies policy.  Any student interested in transferring into the program can contact the department at OT.OTD@nau.edu to discuss the admissions standards and policies surrounding the acceptance of transfer students.

July 15, 2024 

No later than 2 weeks prior to interview date. 

For more information regarding transcript processing timeframes, visit the OTCAS Applicant Help Center

For more information regarding application processing timeframes, visit the  Submitting and Completing Your OTCAS Application page.

Group Interviews (October, December, February): 

The interview day consists of the following: group interview, individual multiple mini interviews, a student panel with current students, and faculty/staff Q&A. 

In order to help prospective students who are invited to interview prepare,  a video that describes expectations will be provided.

Yes, the final stage of the application process is to submit an application to the NAU OGPS. Because the OGPS’s admission standards are different than the OTD Program, we recommend reviewing the OGPS requirements before applying to the OTD program. However, you do not need to submit a Graduate Application until you have received conditional acceptance to the OTD program. 

Yes, but it’s no longer “accommodations.” It’s an official “alternative option.”