School of Occupational Therapy

Mission

The PNWU School of Occupational Therapy is committed to delivering graduate programs of distinction and preparing occupational therapists as leaders, scholars, and change agents who deliver occupation-based services that promote the health and wellbeing of rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Northwest and beyond.

Vision

To be a leader in preparing occupational therapy professionals who revolutionize the health of rural and medically underserved communities.

Program Accreditation Information

Effective August 18th, 2022, the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).

ACOTE is located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-6611, their email is accred@aota.org and the web address is www.acoteonline.org.

NBCOT program data results

Founding the PNWU School of Occupational Therapy

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences’ Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program is in the development phase. Heather Fritz, OTR/L, PhD is the founding director. Information can be found on the program specific pages. Interested parties may contact Dr. Fritz directly at hfritz@pnwu.edu with further questions.

In 2018, PNWU Board of Trustees authorized leadership to proceed with the planning for the occupational therapy programs including advertisement for the founding program director. PNWU also achieved regional accreditation in 2018 from NWCCU. This allowed PNWU to pursue the MSOT program. PNWU submitted a Notice of Intent to Seek Accreditation of a MSOT program to ACOTE in August 2019, following a needs assessment detailing why the MSOT program at PNWU is the right program at the right time.

Need for Occupational Therapy in the Region

PNWU’s five-state region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska) generally has lower access to occupational therapists than the national average based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Location Quotient.  A Location Quotient (LQ) of less than 1.0 indicates an occupation is less prevalent in the area than the national average while a LQ of greater than 1.0 indicates an occupation has a higher share of employment than the national average. As of May 2021, the LQ for occupational therapists for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana was less than 1.0. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Occupational Therapists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapists.htm)

In addition to the growing need for qualified occupational therapy practitioners, the need for qualified educators in the profession of occupational therapy is also growing with the proliferation of occupational therapy education programs. ACOTE requires that 50% of faculty teaching in an entry-level occupational therapy doctorate program have a post-professional doctoral degree and that 25% of faculty teaching in an OT master’s program have a post-professional doctorate degree (ACOTE, May 2020). In addition, an estimated 24% of the currently employed OT faculty anticipate retiring by 2027 (AOTA Faculty Survey, 2018).

Growth in the Profession

Occupational therapy is one of the fastest-growing health professions with a projected 17% increase from 2020-2030. Salaries for occupational therapists also remain strong. In 2019, the average salary nationally for occupational therapists was $89,470, and it was 92,650 in Washington state. (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapists.htm)¹

PNWU is offering the following scholarships. Scholarships are available on a first-come first-serve basis. All scholarship funds will be applied toward the balance of tuition.

• The first 10 students who apply by our priority consideration deadline, (May 1, 2024) and are accepted will be offered a $5000 scholarship.
• The second 10 students who apply by our priority consideration deadline, (May 1, 2024) and are accepted will be offered a $3500 scholarship.
• The third 10 students who apply by our priority consideration deadline, (May 1, 2024) and are accepted will be offered a $2000 scholarship.

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