Academics - Wingate University Academics Request Information Submit Application via OTCAS The Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Wingate University prepares students to enter the workforce as occupational therapists. The profession of occupational therapy is highly skilled and technical, requiring a rigorous academic preparation. Therefore, students must possess certain capabilities to be able to fully participate in the educational process required for preparation as an occupational therapist. Technical standards The standards listed below must be met with or without reasonable accommodations in alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Wingate University does not discriminate against students with disabilities. Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Support Services within the Academic Resource Center early in the admissions process to begin a confidential conversation about what accommodations they may need to meet these standards. Prior to enrolling as a student in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, all potential students must confirm their ability to meet each of the standards listed below. If at any time before or during the course of the program the student or professor(s) believes they cannot meet any of these standards with or without reasonable accommodations, they may be dismissed from the program. Wingate University welcomes specific inquiries from potential students with disabilities regarding required technical skills and how mastery of those skills might apply to his/her unique situation. Please note that Wingate University uses independent clinical education sites that may or may not be able to offer the same reasonable accommodations made available by the University. Observation Skills Communication Skills Intellectual Skills Social Skills Professional Behavior Skills Technology Skills Pre-Clinical Skills Students must have the ability to perceive, acquire, understand, interpret, assimilate, and respond to detailed and complex information presented in both academic and clinical coursework. Students must understand the spatial relationships of structures, including three-dimensional relationships, and nonverbal communication to safely and thoroughly observe, evaluate, grade, and interpret client interactions accurately. Students must be able to communicate effectively, sensitively, and confidently in person, remotely, electronically, and in writing as needed with a variety of audiences including clients of all ages and cultures, caregivers, other health professionals, payers, policy makers, faculty, peers, and the general public. Students must be able to elicit and accurately record relevant information; follow instructions, direct, and instruct others; and access and create digital information. Students must be able to effectively participate in individual, small-group, and lecture learning modalities in the classroom, clinical, and community settings. Students must have the ability to use cognitive skills sufficient for critical thinking, reflecting, reasoning, problem solving, organizing, analyzing, calculating, following complex instructions/directions (both written and verbal), recalling information, and integrating material from a variety of sources. Students must have the ability to select and adjust responses based on data and information available. Students must be able to establish mature, sensitive, and effective therapeutic relationships with clients of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, and cultures and with those supporting them (peers, faculty, staff). Furthermore, students need to possess emotional intelligence sufficient to show empathy and compassion for others, be able to give and receive critical feedback, and resolve conflicts with maturity and professionalism. Students must be able to manage heavy workloads, function effectively under stress, display flexibility, and adapt to changing environments. Students must demonstrate professional behaviors at all times including personal accountability, integrity, punctuality, dependability, collaboration/cooperation, maintaining professional personal appearance and hygiene, showing initiative, and respect for others. Students must also understand and function within the legal and ethical aspects of the practice of occupational therapy. Students must possess basic computer skills including searching the internet, use of email, using Microsoft Office, and saving/retrieving files. Students must be able to work with people with different diagnoses, medical conditions, and functional limitations. Students must be able to exercise good judgment and identify, assess, and address risks and safety concerns including the ability to respond in emergency situations in a timely manner by providing or directing interventions. Students must be able to plan and lead individual and group activities and interventions and document such activities within assigned timeframes. Students must be able to demonstrate and/or direct safe client evaluations and interventions in a variety of settings. Interview Graduation Requirements Criminal Background Check Preferred Status Transfer Credits Technology Applicants will be selected to participate in an on-campus interview based on a combination of factors including but not limited to cumulative GPA, prerequisite GPA, letters of recommendation, observation experiences, service activities, and leadership endeavors. In addition to the interview with program faculty members, students will also complete a writing sample while on campus. Interviews are by invitation only and will be conducted on one of our Information Session dates. All Level II Fieldwork and the Doctoral Experiential Component must be completed within 24 months of the conclusion of the didactic portion of the curriculum, and the entire curriculum must be completed within 72 months of beginning the OTD program. To be eligible for graduation, students must successfully complete the 125 credit hour fixed-sequence curriculum, attain a cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0 or higher, earn a “Pass” for all courses that are graded on a “Pass/Fail” basis, successfully complete a Doctoral Capstone Projec t, and be in good administrative/financial standing. Matriculating students will be required to pass a criminal background check at the time of admission to the program in order to be eligible to complete clinical fieldwork and to sit for the National Board for Certification for Occupational Therapists (NBCOT) examination. Eligibility requirements for the national examination can be found at www.nbcot.org or by contacting NBCOT, One Bank Street Suite 300, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. Phone: 301-990-7979. Students who are graduates of (or who plan to graduate from) Wingate University will be guaranteed an interview provided that they have met all of the admissions criteria. Wingate students are not guaranteed acceptance into the program, but they are granted a preferred status which may be beneficial in a competitive admissions environment. The Wingate University OTD program offers no advanced placement or any other type of transfer credit from prior enrollment in any health science, medical, work experience, or related program. A qualified applicant previously enrolled in another ACOTE-accredited OTD program may be considered for admission only after consultation with the director of the former program of study. Prerequisite courses must be completed through high school Advanced Placement courses, high school/college dual enrollment courses, or through a regionally accredited institution of higher education (junior college, technical school, college, university) in a face-to-face or online setting. Medical Terminology may be completed through the above avenues or through an online certificate course. All Wingate University occupational therapy students are required to have a laptop personal computer including the Microsoft Office software package, provided at the student’s expense, available for use on the first day of class. Are you thinking about using your biology degree in the healthcare industry? Explore HPAW Curriculum Design Program Philosophy The curriculum for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Wingate University was designed in accordance with the educational standards set forth by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE, 2023), the AOTA Blueprint for Entry-Level Education (AOTA, 2010), The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process 4th Edition (AOTA, 2020), and the Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health (National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM], 2016). As such, the program “builds critical thinking through interprofessional, cross-sectional, and experiential learning opportunities” (NASEM, 2016, p. 2). The curriculum was developed in a subject-centered manner, emphasizing occupational therapy’s core subject of human occupation. While a wide variety of topics and skills are taught within the program, all topics and skills are implicitly and explicitly linked back to the core subject so that students can fully understand the connection between the topic/skill and occupation (Hooper et al., 2014; Hooper et al., 2015). The occupation-centered focus leads to students learning to see, listen, and reason through an occupational lens that epitomizes the core and distinct nature of the occupational therapy profession (Mitcham, 2014). The curriculum also draws upon the concept of competency-based education. This approach to education emphasizes what graduates must be able to demonstrate versus what straightforward knowledge they have gained (Jung et al., 2015). Therefore, students will be provided with multiple opportunities throughout the curriculum to practice skills they have attained in realistic settings through simulation, clinical affiliations (including four Level I Fieldwork opportunities), and laboratory experiences. The didactic portion of the curriculum concludes with a course focused on the students’ ability to demonstrate clinical competencies and knowledge required for entry-level practice. Lastly, the approach to education within the OTD program aligns with the Transformative Learning Theory, which asserts that adults learn best through critical reflection and dialogue therefore enabling them to build upon existing knowledge and attain new knowledge to facilitate autonomous thinking (Mezirow, 1997). This is accomplished through a student-centered approach in which the educators design learning opportunities that consider students’ learning styles, learning needs, and learning objectives, and that provide ample opportunities for guided and independent critical reflection. Such an approach to education will build lifelong learners, critically thinking reflective practitioners, and leaders who are prepared to address society’s occupation and health needs. Five specific curricular threads are woven throughout the course content. The primary thread is occupational performance . This concept describes the performance of occupations, which are “all the things people want, need, or have to do, whether of physical, mental, social, sexual, political, or spiritual nature and [are] inclusive of sleep and rest” (Wilcock & Townsend, 2014, p. 542). Humans are occupational beings who are able to influence their health and well-being through occupational performance (AOTA, 2017; Reilly, 1962). The primary aim of occupational therapy is to facilitate the engagement in and performance of those desired and needed occupations. Therefore, throughout the curriculum, each topic addressed will be done so through the consideration of how it affects or is affected by occupational performance. Critical thinking/professional reasoning is “an ability or skill to make reasoned decisions or solve complex problems based on critical analysis of available evidence [and requires] identification of the problem, relevant data and information for this problem, analysis of those data, and an outcome or solution to the problem” (Rowles et al., 2013, p. 29). Occupational therapy practitioners must rely on critical thinking/professional reasoning skills to fully assess a client’s barriers to and desires for occupational performance within the client’s context and without allowing personal biases, assumptions, and social norms to interfere (Robertson et al., 2015). This type of deep thinking enables occupational therapists to develop strong therapeutic relationships with clients through the ability to articulate the process and components of planning, implementing, and assessing interventions (Unsworth & Baker, 2016). Students will be taught skills for developing critical thinking/professional reasoning skills and will be provided with scaffolded opportunities for critical reflection throughout the curriculum. Evidence-based practice is the reliance upon a combination of the best available evidence, clinical expertise, client values, and client context to design and implement occupational therapy interventions (Straus et al., 2011). The AOTA (2025) Vision 2030 urges occupational therapists to act as evidence-based practitioners as a means of delivering high quality and skilled services for the purpose of enriching the lives of those they serve.  To become evidence-based practitioners, occupational therapists must be able to locate, access, critically appraise, and integrate evidence into practice. This process also relies upon the existence of research evidence. Therefore, students will learn about the importance of asking clinical questions and seeking answers through the implementation of scholarship activities including but not limited to the design and implementation of a research study. Students will be granted opportunities to demonstrate their skills as a practice scholar and contribute to the profession’s body of evidence through publications, presentations, and other evidence-based projects. The concept of servant leadership was established by Greenleaf (1991) as a way of leading that focuses on prioritizing others’ needs before one’s own. As such, servant leaders strive to facilitate personal growth and improved well-being of their followers. This intention is not unlike the desire of occupational therapists to maximize the well-being and occupational performance of their clients. Servant leadership is based upon empathy, trust, open communication, respect, emphasis on morals, and a true desire to serve others (Greenleaf, 1991). These characteristics are incorporated throughout the curriculum, especially within coursework that addresses establishing therapeutic relationships, communication, service-learning opportunities, and leadership. As occupational therapists, we believe that all human beings have the right to participate in desired meaningful occupations regardless of socioeconomic status, race, culture, physical environment, or other factors (AOTA, 2017). This belief is also known as the concept of occupational justice . Oftentimes, components of a client’s context or environment prevent him/her from engaging in occupations of choice. Additionally, one’s culture has a strong influence on the occupations they deem meaningful and important. To fully advocate for and facilitate a client’s ability to engage in their preferred occupations, practitioners must be sensitive to cultural influences. Cultural responsiveness means more than just having an understanding of other cultures and forms of diversity. It requires that practitioners continuously explore, learn, reflect, and remain “open to the process of building mutuality with a client and to accepting that the cultural-specific knowledge one has about a group may or may not apply to the person you are treating” (Muñoz, 2007, p. 274). The concepts of occupational justice and cultural responsiveness are woven throughout the curriculum as part of the intervention process and outcomes of occupational therapy (AOTA, 2020). *References available upon request by emailing Within the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Wingate University, we believe that occupational performance is central to a healthy and satisfying life. Our distinct combinations of preferred occupations make us who we are; they form our identities. We believe in the principle of occupational justice. That is, all human beings, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, culture, or other factors, have the right to engage in meaningful occupations from birth to death (AOTA, 2017). Furthermore, we believe that humans are healthiest and happiest when they are able to participate in the activities that are most meaningful to them (AOTA, 2020). By employing critical thinking/professional reasoning skills , occupational therapists address factors including personal and contextual barriers that limit one’s occupational engagement in a client-centered manner. Occupational therapists serve as facilitators to ensuring optimal engagement in life by using occupation, the core subject of our profession, as both the therapeutic medium and the outcome of the therapeutic process (AOTA, 2017). In alignment with the Transformative Learning Theory, we believe that adults learn best through critical reflection and dialogue that allows them to build upon existing knowledge and attain new knowledge to facilitate autonomous thinking (Mezirow, 1997). This is accomplished through a student-centered approach in which the educators design learning opportunities that consider students’ learning styles, learning needs, and learning objectives, which has been proven to elicit higher student motivation and participation (Bradford et al., 2016; Stefaniak & Tracey, 2015). Furthermore, we value the construct of competency-based education, which allows students to demonstrate proficiency in necessary skills for occupational therapy practice through real world applications and simulations (Jung et al., 2015). As such, professors do not merely lecture to students but instead facilitate the construction of knowledge in a personal, active, engaging, and practical manner. This approach to teaching and learning builds knowledgeable evidence-based practice scholars who are committed to lifelong learning. The Doctor of Occupational Therapy program is built upon a foundation of servant leadership . Servant leaders put followers’ needs before their own and take the time to nurture, strengthen, develop, and empower followers (Northouse, 2013). As educators, we follow these principles by assessing student needs, modeling desired behaviors, attentively listening, and demonstrating empathy and care for students. Similarly, we believe that all occupational therapists are leaders by the nature of their roles that require them to lead their clients through the process of habilitation or rehabilitation. We strive to teach our students to honor the principles of servant leadership as they serve their clients, their colleagues, and their profession. *References available upon request by emailing Semester 1 (Fall; 15 credits) Semester 2 (Spring; 18 credits) Semester 3 (Summer; 16 credits) Semester 4 (Fall; 17 credits) Semester 5 (Spring; 17 credits) Semester 6 (Summer; 12 credits) Semester 7 (Fall; 14 credits) Semester 8 (Spring; 16 credits) OTD 711 Human Gross Anatomy (5 credits) OTD 712 Pathophysiology (3 credits) OTD 713 Applied Kinesiology (4 credits) OTD 714 Occupational Therapy Foundations (3 credits) IPE 701 Interprofessional Education Introduction I (0 credits) OTD 721 Neuroscience (4 credits) OTD 722 Occupational Therapy Process: Mental Health (4 credits) OTD 723 Foundations of Clinical Practice in Occupational Therapy I (3 credits) OTD 724 Foundations of Clinical Practice in Occupational Therapy II (3 credits) OTD 725 Scholarship & Evidence-based Practice I (3 credits) OTD 726 Fieldwork I & Professional Development I (1 credit) IPE 702 Interprofessional Education Introduction II (0 credits) OTD 731 Occupational Therapy Process: Pediatrics (4 credits) OTD 733 Technology for Occupational Performance (4 credits) OTD 734 Interventions to Support Occupations (4 credits) OTD 735 Scholarship & Evidence-based Practice II (3 credits) OTD 736 Fieldwork I & Professional Development II (1 credit) OTD 741 Occupational Therapy Process: Adults (4 credits) OTD 742 Introduction to Doctoral Capstone (1 credits) OTD 743 Program Development for Community-Based Practice in Occupational Therapy (3 credits) OTD 744 Cultural Considerations for Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits) OTD 745 Professional & Scholarly Writing (2 credits) OTD 746 Scholarship & Evidence-based Practice III (3 credits) OTD 747 Fieldwork I & Professional Development III (1 credit) OTD 751 Occupational Therapy Process: Geriatrics (4 credits) OTD 752 Scholarship of Teaching & Learning in Occupational Therapy Practice (3 credits) OTD 753 Healthcare Management & Administration (2 credits) OTD 754 Leadership Theory & Practice (2 credits) OTD 755 Fieldwork I & Professional Development IV (1 credit) OTD 756 Practice Preparation & Clinical Competence (2 credits) OTD 757 Scholarship & Evidence-Based Practice IV (3 credits) OTD 761 Fieldwork II (12 credits) OTD 771 Fieldwork II (12 credits) OTD 722 Doctoral Capstone I (2 credits) OTD 781 Doctoral Experiential (14 credits) OTD 782 Doctoral Capstone II (2 credits) Wingate OTD students register 100 percent pass rate on certification exam 42 PM For three years in a row, all Wingate grads who have taken the NBCOT exam have passed. OTD records 100 percent pass rate on national certification exam 30 PM All Wingate graduates who have taken the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy exam have passed it. Student-led OT clinic saves community more than $28,000 in first year 11 46 AM OT students get hands-on experience providing skilled services to clients during their first semester of the doctoral program. For OTD capstone, Bolin studies effects of improved sleep on healing 12 00 PM Award-winning graduate will take what she learned from her research to help patients at Charlotte hospital. First OTD grads highlight midweek Commencement ceremonies 06 AM More than 550 students will receive diplomas on Tuesday and Wednesday. OTD student proving up to the challenge of starting free clinic 18 PM Wingate's new OT clinic offers services to the community, experiential learning to students. OT students to show how to be a JEDI advocate during Lyceum 23 AM Why are justice, equity, diversity and inclusion important when it comes to healthcare? During this online event, a panel of Wingate's future occupational therapists will share their personal journeys into the field and why they are committed to these principles. Questions? Dr. Melissa Sweetman (704) 233-8972 OTD@wingate.edu