Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program at GW

Faculty at GW are dedicated, passionate, and highly experienced. The team consists of clinicians, educators, and researchers from across the globe who bring diverse perspectives to the academic community.

The small cohort size of ~30 students provides a strong ratio of faculty to students for optimal learning and support.

In the heart of the nation's capital, students experience unique opportunities and apply occupational therapy principles to the community. Students gain new perspectives, engage in society, and advocate for social justice to bring awareness to inequalities. Opportunities include:

• AOTA Hill Day: Lobby elected officials in Congress on policy issues that impact OT practice, and people and communities, across the continuum of care.
• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Discuss how history affects healthcare and shapes the way we care for and serve different patient populations.
• Falls Prevention Day: Perform screenings for strength, vision, balance, and blood pressure; provide demonstrations on home safety, seated exercises, and fall recovery techniques to prevent older adults in the community from falling
• Graduate on the National Mall: GW is the only institution in the nation to hold its commencement ceremony on the National Mall.
• The White House Easter Egg Roll: In 2023 and 2024, OTD students served as volunteers at the White House Easter Egg Roll to support its sensory-friendly session.

Students can complete fieldwork in traditional settings such as inpatient rehab, inpatient acute care, skilled nursing and outpatient, as well as nontraditional settings or community-based settings such as adult day programs, older adult community living programs, and equine therapy. There are also school-based and early intervention settings. Students are able to select where they want to go for field work through a systematic match process where they rank their top choices. 

• Level One Fieldwork experiences have one focus area: mental health and psychosocial, adult physical dysfunction, and child and youth.
• Level Two Fieldwork experiences are full-time 12-week experiences.

Community Partnership organizations offer opportunities for various resources such as socializing, employment, education, health and wellness support and community building for the populations of individuals who live with mental illness, older adults, the youth population living in D.C., people in public housing and adults with autism.

The Capstone project and experience is the culminating experience of the OTD program, requiring students to synthesize in-depth knowledge in a real world context. The capstone experience will lead to the integration and application of OT knowledge while allowing students to explore more deeply in one of the following areas: clinical skills, research skills, administrative skills, program development & evaluations, policy development, advocacy, education or leadership.

Example capstone projects include:

• User-Centered Co-Creation of Informative Video on Early Intervention (EI) Rights for Spanish-speaking Families receiving EI Services with Georgetown University Center for Child & Human Development
• Accessibility and Inclusion in Cultural Institutions
• Determining the Inter and Intra Rater Reliability of the Complete Minnesota Dexterity Test in the Seated Position
• Occupational Therapy's Role in Spiritual Care at End of Life with Georgetown University Hospital
• Aging, Activity Engagement, and Loneliness; Implications for Occupational Therapy with DC Villages
• Exploring Social-Emotional Skill Development in Autistic Youth Through Inclusive Sailing: A Mixed-Methods Study with Spectrum Sailing
• Children's National Hospital - LEND Fellowship Program
• Spirituality in Early Intervention: Unveiling the Impact on Clinician Self-Efficacy, Attitudes, and Current Practice with Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
• Sexual Health Models of Practice
• More Than Toys: Exploring the Use of Culturally Diverse Toys and Books in Play Therapy with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Interprofessional collaborative experiences produce collaborative, holistic, person-centered, and solution-focused health care professionals who think beyond the clinic. Example experiences include the following, and more:

• Interprofessional Experience: The School of Medicine and Health Science, School of Nursing, and School of Public Health run two events per year when students from multiple programs collaborate on a plan of care for a simulated patient.
• Speech-Language and OT Achievement through Recreation (SOAR): The speech-language pathology and 1st and 2nd year occupational therapy students design and implement a one-week summer recreational experience for autistic children.
• Occupational Therapy and Technology course: Solve real-world challenges faced by individuals with physical and cognitive impairment with GW students in the biomedical engineering program.
• Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth course: OT, PT, and SLP students complete a virtual co-evaluation of an infant with the infant’s parent(s). The interdisciplinary team plans the co-evaluation procedures, implements the co-evaluation, and co-prepares a final report.

The GW OTD program's hybrid education format is designed to allow students to manage their schedule alongside their various life commitments while pursuing a degree. The convenient schedule should accommodate all walks of life and allow students to learn when they are most productive and focused.

Students are on campus between six and eight days each month, with fully remote weeks in between. On Thursdays of remote weeks, there are synchronous sessions over Zoom in the afternoon.

Commensurate with the SMHS mission, the Occupational Therapy program is dedicated to recruiting and educating a qualified and diverse health care workforce able to meet societal needs. This academic merit and need-based scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional potential for success in the profession and in the program, as evidenced by their academic achievements, engagement, and leadership.

There are a limited number of departmental scholarships available for qualified applicants. All students will be considered, no additional application is required.