Choosing a Major for OT | Springfield College

Students generally complete the following requirements to apply to occupational therapy (OT) school.

Requirements vary by program and additional prerequisite courses may be required for some courses on the list.

Common OT program prerequisite courses

  • Bioscience 1
  • A&P Concepts 1 & 2
  • Physics 1, or Physics for Movement Science
  • Kinesiology
  • Statistics or Biostatistics
  • Intro to Psychology
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Intro to Sociology

Additional OT program requirements

  • GRE exam scores
  • High overall GPA
  • High GPA in science courses
  • Letters of recommendation
  • Personal statement
  • Observation hours or clinical hours
  • Community service and extracurricular activities

Additional course requirements are needed to complete the following majors:

Health Science (12 additional courses), Psychology (7 additional courses), and Sports Biology majors (14 additional courses):

For Health Science

  • Intro to Health Care
  • Intro to Public Health
  • Intro to Health Care Ethics
  • Human Disease and Chronic Illness
  • Principles of Epidemiology
  • Concepts of Assessment in Health Care
  • Evidence-Based Health Care
  • Cultural Comp for Health Professionals
  • Senior Research Practicum
  • 4 Health Science selectives (e.g., EMT 1, EMT 2, Health Psychology, Health Law, etc.)

For Psychology majors

  • Biological Basis of Behavior selective
  • Social and Cultural Contexts selective
  • Applied Psychology selective
  • 2 Psych in the Larger World selectives
  • PSYC 301 – Research Methods
  • PSYC 482 – Senior Capstone Seminar

For Sports Biology majors

  • Bioscience 2
  • General Chemistry 1 & 2
  • Physics 2
  • Psychology of Exercise
  • Human A&P 1 & 2
  • Organic Chemistry 1 & 2
  • 4 Biology selectives (e.g., Genetics, Microbiology, Developmental Biology, Biological Chemistry, Immunology, etc.)
  • Seminar in Biology (BIOL 482)

Resources developed by Sofija Zagarins and Melinda Fowler.

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