Admission to the IUSB Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program is competitive and selective. Therefore, completion of the prerequisites and submission of an application does not guarantee admission to the program.
The IUSB MSOT program uses the Occupational Therapist Centralized Application System (OTCAS) to accept and process all applications to the program. Prospective students must create an OTCAS account and submit all required documents through the OTCAS portal only. Direct email communication and documentation submissions to the MSOT program or individual faculty will not be accepted. Submitted OTCAS applications must be in “verification” status by the application deadline.
Once the application is submitted it may take up to 3 weeks or longer to process through received, completed, and verified status, therefore submission before the deadline is necessary. The application cycle is opened annually from mid-July to October and for applicants starting the following Fall. A Spring application cycle (January – March) may open for the following Fall admission and early consideration for the next year Fall start admission.
To be eligible to apply for the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program, you will need to fulfill the following requirements:
The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) at Indiana University South Bend is a graduate health professional program designed for students who do not have a degree in occupational therapy, but have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, and are seeking an entry-level graduate program in occupational therapy. If you have not yet completed your bachelor’s degree at the time of application but expect to have it completed by the start of the program, you must complete the Declaration of Intent to Complete Degree Requirements Form (.pdf). To avoid losing progress, download this form and complete it in Acrobat Reader. Then upload the completed form to OTCAS in the documents section. This form will need a signature from an advisor or a school official.
Minimum Cumulative GPA of 3.0
Minimum Prerequisite GPA of 3.0
All undergraduate and graduate course work is included in cumulative grade point average calculations. All GPAs will be calculated by OTCAS.
All prerequisites must be completed with a minimum grade of C.
For the current year application deadline, applicants may have no more than two (2) prerequisite courses outstanding. The outstanding prerequisite course(s) must be completed by the August start date of the program with a grade of ‘C’ or higher while maintaining at least the required 3.0 admissions cumulative GPA. Final transcripts accounting for any outstanding pre-requisite coursework must be received prior to matriculation into the program.
Record all prerequisite coursework on the Prerequisite Course Completion Form (.pdf). To avoid losing progress, download this form and complete it in Acrobat Reader. Then upload the completed form to OTCAS in the documents section.
Introductory Psychology (1 semester)
Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology (1 semester)
Life Span/Human Development Psychology course (more than one course may be required)
Must include the study of development from birth to death
Introductory Sociology or Introductory Anthropology (1 semester)
Statistics* (1 semester minimum)
Must include a study of descriptive and inferential statistics
Human Anatomy with lab (1 semester)
Human Physiology with lab (1 semester)
Medical Terminology (minimum 1 credit hour)
All prerequisite courses must be a minimum of 3 credit hours (with the exception of Medical Terminology, which is a minimum of 1 credit hour).
Coursework must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher.
Final transcripts accounting for any outstanding prerequisite coursework must be received prior to matriculation into the program.
Advanced Placement (AP) Credit/Dual Credit: High School Advance Placement (AP) credit appearing on official college transcripts is accepted if score is 3 or higher. If the AP credit is for a prerequisite course, the course is omitted from the prerequisite GPA. For dual credit courses, the course title must appear on an official college transcript with letter grade.
Satisfactory/Pass Grades: Acceptance of a Satisfactory grade for prerequisite courses completed in spring 2020. The preference would be for all applicants to earn a letter grade.
If an applicant’s school has transitioned to a Satisfactory/Fail or Pass/Fail grading option, grades would be accepted as follows: For students in the Indiana University system, a Satisfactory grade would be accepted although a Passing grade would not be accepted. For applicants from universities other than Indiana University, either Satisfactory or Passing grades will be accepted, though Satisfactory is preferred if both S and P grades are an option.
All prerequisite courses must be completed not more than 7 years prior to application deadline.
Credit Retake Hours: Students are approved to retake up to 15 credit hours of prerequisite courses, and the higher grade will be used to calculate the prerequisite GPA. Each prerequisite course can only be retaken twice. Cumulative GPA will include each course completed according to the institutional repeat policy where the course(s) were repeated.
Because of the unique nature of each occupational therapy curriculum, occupational therapy graduate courses from other OT programs will not be accepted. Additionally, previous work experience in an occupational therapy paid position will not be accepted. Only credits completed in the past 7 years from the year the application is submitted will be accepted. Courses completed over 7 years will need to be retaken to meet the pre requisite requirement.
Clinical observation hours are NOT required; however, recommended for the applicant to begin to understand the scope of the profession. We recommend seeking observation in a minimum of 2 practice settings (E.g. hospital, pediatric clinic) and 2 different populations (E.g. children, older adults).
Please submit your personal statement essay electronically on the OTCAS application portal.
If you do provide your GRE score in your OTCAS application, it will not be reviewed.
The IU Graduate application does not need to be completed when applying to the IUSB MSOT program, only the OT CAS application is needed. An applicant that is accepted in the IUSB MSOT program will be required to complete the IU Graduate application at that time.
As determined by the academic criteria, verified/qualified applications will be invited to an admissions interview (virtual if required by campus). Should an interview spot become available, applicants from the verified/qualified list will be contacted for remaining interview spots. Candidates outside of Indiana for whom travelling would be a hardship will be allowed to interview virtually. Candidates will also complete an essay on site or virtually (if required by campus guidelines or if travel hardship is present).
International Students
Additional requirements for international applicants where English is not the primary language
Test of English Proficiency (TOEFL) For applicants whose native language is not English, submission of a TOEFL score which meets or exceeds the minimum passing scores by NBCOT, is required.
International applicants, or applicants with foreign transcripts, must meet additional requirements as determined by the IUSB Office of International Affairs:
International Student Services Indiana University South Bend Administration Building, Rm 140 1700 Mishawaka Avenue P.O Box 7111 (Mail) South Bend, IN 46634-7111 United States
For purposes of admission, students may submit copies of official academic documents in the original language along with an English translation. For more information, click the button below:
