Academic Program

The curriculum is delivered through a variety of lecture, lab and seminar formats, fieldwork experiences, and web-based instruction. As a student, you will be required to demonstrate proficiencies in problem solving, psychomotor, behavioral and clinical competencies as you progress through the program.

High-speed internet access is strongly recommended since you must be able to download large files and view videos in this program. Access to a scanner is also strongly recommended as students will need to submit program materials to faculty and staff throughout the program. A distance learning platform, Blackboard, is used for on-line coursework. Since technology is constantly evolving, students should contact the program assistant for technology requirements needed to participate in the program before purchasing new computer software or hardware.

During your first weekend on campus you will receive a comprehensive orientation to the Weekend MSOT Program. The first semester of the program provides course work in kinesiology; neuroscience; and physiology and clinical pathophysiology to ensure that you and your peers, regardless of professional background, have a firm understanding of client factors (body functions and body structures).

During the second semester, the study of occupation is intensified by examining occupational issues that are relevant from birth through adolescence. You will also begin formal preparation for your research project.  In the first summer semester, you will focus on the roles of the occupational therapy practitioner in the assessment and treatment of adults and initiate your research project under the supervision of a faculty member.

In the fall semester of the second year, you will focus on occupational performance issues and use of therapeutic occupation related to older adults. You will also engage in a Level I fieldwork experience, actively participating in a setting under the direct supervision of an occupational therapist or other health care professional, and complete your research project.

Upon successful completion of you academic course work, research project, and Level I fieldwork, you are then prepared to begin the Level II fieldwork to be completed during the final two semesters. The program consists of three (3) Level I field placements and two (2) Level II placements. Our students may choose from over 800 clinical sites, or they can work closely with the fieldwork team to develop sites in their own geographic region.

The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy is offered in an accelerated format combining intensive weekend classes in Nashville, held approximately every 3 weeks, with an online component supplementing classroom activities. This is a demanding full-time program that builds on the education and skills that OTAs and PTAs have already accomplished.

Master of Science of Occupational Therapy
Weekend Course of Study

Fall Semester – Year 1 (15 credits)

Spring Semester – Year 1 (16 credits)

Summer Semester – Year 1 (13 credits)

Fall Semester – Year 2 (14 credits)

Spring Semester – Year 2 (9 credits)

Summer Semester – Year 2 (9 credits)

Total Hours: 76

Click below to go to the Belmont University Graduate Catalog for MSOT program course descriptions.

Fieldwork is viewed as an integral part of the MSOT educational experience. Fieldwork provides opportunities for students to integrate and apply academic learning. It is during the fieldwork experience that the student can learn, practice and refine skills of observation, evaluation, treatment planning, implementation and communication. In the fieldwork setting the student begins to define his or her future roles as a practicing occupational therapist and can develop the necessary self-confidence and affective characteristics essential to meeting the demands for this challenging field. Fieldwork provides many opportunities for feedback which promotes professional behaviors and attitudes and clinical expertise.

Fieldwork is an integral part of the education of an occupational therapist and must occur in an environment that provides those experiences which reinforce previous learning and which challenge and motivate the student to develop professionally and adapt to clinic situations. 

The School of Occupational Therapy coordinates fieldwork opportunities for students at locations in Tennessee and across the United States within regulatory guidelines established by each state. International opportunities may also be available. Belmont University is part of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) which guides placement in most states. 

The curriculum design is based on an adult learning model. Thus, each student must be able to determine what constitutes "current” and “emerging” practice in his/her geographic region. While the MSOT program supports the definition and examples of emerging practice provide by AOTA, the geographic diversity of MSOT students requires that the program's definition of emerging practice is flexible based on a student's geographic location. Thus, community-based practice, rural practice, and school-based practice are “emerging” practice in some geographic areas and a student must be able to provide support for what he/she identifies as “emerging” in his/her geographic region.

The academic fieldwork coordinator is responsible for the planning and implementation of integrated and sustained fieldwork experiences. The experiences occur under the supervision of and with the support of occupational therapists or other qualified individuals. To ensure that the fieldwork activities support and enhance the goals of the program there is continual collaboration by clinical educators, academic faculty, and the academic fieldwork coordinator.

Level I Fieldwork

Level I fieldwork is highly integrated with the curricular framework and supports the two curricular themes of critical thinking and clinical reasoning and professional development through engagement. The three level I fieldwork experiences progress developmentally and support developmentally-focused coursework for each semester, beginning with pediatrics in the second semester, continuing on with adults in the third semester, and ending with older adults in the fourth semester. The third and final level I experience has an additional focus on the social and psychological factors that impact occupation.

Students are required to complete 3 level I fieldwork experiences, in their preferred geographic regions, related to each semester's coursework. For the pediatric and adult/older adult rotations, OTAs are required to accrue a minimum of 40 hours onsite, per clinical rotation, and PTAs are required to accrue a minimum of 50 hours onsite, per clinical rotation. The psychosocial rotation will be 15-40 hours in duration for all MSOT students. The academic fieldwork coordinators will help guide the students in selecting potential sites suitable for each semester's curriculum, the students' educational needs based on their current skill sets, and the students' geographical areas.

Students may choose, and are encouraged to choose, one of the three Level I experiences under the supervision of a non-occupational therapist. This “non-traditional” Level I experience may enrich a student's professional growth and provide learning that a student may not experience with an occupational therapist. However, the curriculum design is built upon an adult learning model and recognizes that such an experience may not be valuable to all students since each has different prior learning experiences, educational backgrounds, and learning styles. Students who would like to complete a Level I in a non-traditional setting are asked to complete a brief proposal that identifies how the learning experience will meet specific objectives, relate to the curriculum design, and enrich their professional development.

As part of the Level I Seminar course, the students also engage in both live and online discussion of the experience. Specific questions are posed to encourage critical and clinical reasoning, explore the differences in roles and education of the occupational therapy assistant and occupational therapist, the frames of reference being utilized, and the specific occupations being performed by the clients.

Level II Fieldwork

Students participate in two back-to-back twelve-week level II fieldwork rotations following successful completion of the fourth academic semester. Students participate in online Blackboard discussion boards geared toward heightening their critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills, and their professional development throughout both level II fieldwork rotations. Through this platform, students are able to support one another with resource sharing and they are able to stay in close contact with the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator. Successful completion of their Level II Fieldwork fulfills the requirement for graduation and enables one to be eligible to apply for the NBCOT Certification Examination.

Graduates are able to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). Most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to be eligible to take the national certification examination or obtain state licensure.

Student Graduation Rates

Employment Placement