Occupational Therapy (Pre-Occupational Therapy)

Allied Health Advising Team
Wissink Hall 360
507-389-6315
ahnadvising@mnsu.edu

Occupational Therapy is a pre-professional program. The purpose of pre-professional programs is to provide students with the intellectual and academic backgrounds they will need before continuing their education in degrees not offered at Minnesota State Mankato. Acceptance to professional educational institutions is contingent upon academic performance, so students enrolling in pre-professional programs should be highly motivated and realize they are expected to maintain standards of excellence. It is important that students check requirements for their professional school of choice as some require classes in addition to those contained in this concentration. Most programs also require that the student take the Graduate Record Examination and score at a certain level.

Majors to Consider with Occupational Therapy Concentration:

• Biology
• Family and Consumer Science-Child Development and Family Studies
• Exercise Science
• Applied Health Science
• Psychology

Graduate programs generally do not specify what undergraduate major must be completed. They are concerned about your performance within the major (including cumulative and science GPA) and that you have successfully completed all prerequisite coursework.

Prerequisite Coursework:

• BIOL 201 Anatomy and Physiology 1 (4 credits) and BIOL 202 Anatomy and Physiology 2 (4 credits) or BIOL 325 Principles of Human Anatomy (4 credits) and BIOL 330 Principles of Human Physiology (4 credits)
• STAT 154 Elementary Statistics (4 credits)
• CHEM 104, or 106, or 111, or 201 (3-5 credits)-check major requirements for best choice.
• PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychological Science (4 credits)
• PSYC 343 Introduction to Developmental Psychology (4 credits), KSP 235 Human Development (3 credits), or FCS 301 Lifespan Development (3 credits)
• PSYC 455 Abnormal Psychology (4 credits)
• SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology (4 credits)
• HLTH 321 Medical Terminology (3 credits)
• HP 260 Introduction to Exercise Science and Practitioner-Based Professions (3 credits) or HLTH 295 Professional Preparation in Health Careers (1 credit)-optional, provides orientation and preparation guidance

Total: 33-39 credits

AOTA Website for Accredited OT Programs: https://www.aota.org/Education-Careers/Find-School.aspx

As professional programs transition to OTD, more are changing prerequisites and requiring physics. Be sure to check the specific prerequisite courses of programs you plan to apply to and tailor the above list to meet those requirements.