Curriculum

The professional curriculum leading to the Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree requires students to complete 120 semester credit hours of coursework in 8 continuous academic semesters over a 30-month period. Students are enrolled into the Army-Baylor OTD program as a cohort and complete required courses in a prescribed, sequential manner. Course sequencing within the curriculum is designed to optimize the student’s ability to learn and integrate course material into future didactic and clinical education experiences, culminating in the doctoral capstone. The curriculum is dynamic to keep abreast with best evidence in both clinical and educational practice.

The Army-Baylor OTD faculty believe that student-centered teaching promotes discovery and clinical reasoning based client-centered service delivery characterized by ethical treatment decisions. This approach challenges students to expand their understandings of the relevance of occupational therapy to include considerations about the dynamic interaction of occupational performance, social participation and Army values. The Army-Baylor OTD curriculum design is comprised of the OTD Practice Sequence developed to prepare students for Fieldwork II and the OTD Scholarship Sequence developed for doctoral-level preparation for research and for application of in-depth knowledge required for the Doctoral Capstone. Stemming from the program’s five curricular threads the faculty have established the following curricular learning outcomes.

At the time of graduation from the program, the student will be able to:

1. Utilize clinical reasoning in the occupational therapy process based on critical analysis, reflection and a dedication to excellence;
2. Articulate the positive relationship between occupation and health and appreciate the occupational nature of humans as a core philosophical assumption of the profession;
3. Provide client-centered care based on the principles, beliefs, and values of occupational therapy and a steadfast commitment to Army values and identity;
4. Demonstrate servant-leadership roles leading to an in-depth understanding of a specialized competency in the profession that contributes to solving problems facing people and communities worldwide;
5. Demonstrate a commitment to scholarly practice and research through lifelong learning and critical inquiry.

Degree Plan

On-campus Education Format

In designing the Army-Baylor OTD curriculum, the faculty embraces a student-centered approach to develop cohorts of learners with a focus toward critical thinking, values and social responsibility, learning goals, and experiential learning. The curriculum provides the best education in a condensed timeframe through a primary focus of on-campus education. Students learn through daily engagement with faculty, peers, fieldwork experiences, and the doctoral capstone project. 

The overall curriculum is comprised of courses that prepare the graduate to practice as an occupational therapy generalist in current and emerging practice settings, with individuals of all age groups, and in areas of physical and mental health. This requires completion of Level I and Level II Fieldwork experiences. Level I Fieldwork occurs in year one of the program, over three (3) terms.

Level II Fieldwork occurs in in year two of the program over two (2) terms. In accordance with the program’s Scholarship Agenda, student learning outcomes also support the program’s expectations that the Army-Baylor OTD student performs beyond generalist-level preparation with application of in-depth knowledge in practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, or theory through a combination of a capstone experience and a capstone project. The Doctoral Capstone Experience and the Doctoral Capstone Project occur in year three of the program.

Graduation Requirements

• For a student to graduate from the entry level Army-Baylor OTD program, the student must be in good academic standing, have had satisfactory progress in all semesters of the academic program, and satisfactorily completed the following:
• The required 120 semester credit hours.
• Achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better across all academic courses.
• Exhibit professional behaviors as described in the Professional Behaviors, AOTA Core Values, and the Code of Ethics for the Occupational Therapist.
• A minimum of 24 weeks of supervised Level II Fieldwork and a minimum 14-week Doctoral Capstone Experience.
• All Level II Fieldwork and the Doctoral Capstone within 12 months of completing the didactic portion of the program.
• All required Baylor University and Army-Baylor OTD Program documents in preparation for graduation.
• Satisfied all professional and financial obligations to Baylor University, as published in the Baylor University and Army-Baylor OTD Program Manual, and as specified in any written communications from the University’s administrators.