Post-Professional Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy

The post-professional Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) prepares occupational therapy practitioners to move into advanced professional and leadership roles. This fully online program is designed for part-time study, allowing you to continue your career while taking one course per semester or two courses in some semesters.

Faculty combine expertise in education, leadership, and research with clinical experience across populations and practice settings. With guidance from the program director and a faculty mentor, you’ll select coursework that supports your professional goals and complete a capstone project addressing a need in a practice setting or community.

The program is designed for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants who are already credentialed to practice and want to grow as practitioners, scholars, educators, or advocates. It does not provide the entry-level preparation required for initial certification or licensure as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.

The PP-OTD program will prepare you to:

• Provide advanced occupational therapy services.
• Influence occupational therapy practice and policy.
• Contribute to scholarship and evidence-based practice.
• Educate occupational therapy students.
• Develop and evaluate education and intervention programs.

You’ll complete 15 elective credit hours selected to support your professional interests and goals. Eligible coursework from UAB’s Vision Rehabilitation Graduate Certificate can count toward this requirement. Learn more about combining the post-professional OTD and Vision Rehabilitation Graduate Certificate.

See What Our Graduates Are Doing

Pierrette Yeo
Post-Professional OTD, 2024

A capstone project by UAB post-professional OTD graduate Pierrette Yeo has become a new sensory room at Jaggard Elementary School in New Jersey, opening in September. After initial grant applications were unsuccessful, Yeo continued pursuing the project, ultimately working with the school community to bring the room to life.

Read about Pierrette Yeo’s sensory-room project.