Occupational Therapy Master’s

Students from Sage's graduate occupational therapy programs in an OT lab.

Program Highlights

Find all of the following distinctions at an institution recognized for its Health Sciences programs, giving you lots of interaction with other healthcare fields, which you will ultimately engage with as a professional who make a difference in your community.

More Fieldwork: We include more Level-I fieldwork than other programs, so you’ll begin making connections between courses and professional practice almost immediately.
Professional Preparation: Four physical rehab courses, mental health embedded into fieldwork, and two types of placements for Level-II fieldwork will help you become a highly marketable professional, with a lifespan approach to OT practice.
Support: Our academic fieldwork coordinator helps match you with fieldwork, and our low student-to-faculty ratio means professors get to know you, and serve as mentors throughout your education and as you start your career.
Accredited: We are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Expert Faculty: Several professors hold advanced certification in pediatrics, neurodevelopmental treatment, physical rehabilitation, hand therapy, or other areas.

Doctor of Occupational Therapy Degree: We offer an OTD degree for individuals who would eventually like to pursue leadership roles in health care practices or educational settings.
3+2 Accelerated B.S./MSOT: Eligible undergraduate students can earn a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in just over five years — that’s less time than it would take to pursue the degrees separately.
Undergraduate Majors for Occupational Therapy: The following Russell Sage undergraduate programs are an excellent foundation for our Master or Doctor of Occupational Therapy programs: Expressive Arts in Therapy, Biology, English, Health Sciences, Psychology, Sociology
Students who wish to earn a bachelor’s degree and an MSOT at Russell Sage College should apply for undergraduate admission.

Course Requirements

Credits and Completion

Students can complete the 80-credit program in just over two years, including a research project and six months of full-time fieldwork.

View Program Catalog

Russell Sage College’s Occupational Therapy program encourages students to be self-directed and engaged actively in their learning. The program provides opportunities for reflective practice and critical inquiry with vibrant problem solving. We emphasize experiential learning that builds occupation-based clinical reasoning practices explicitly linking the person, environment and occupation. Our graduates will occupy diverse workforce roles and contribute to the health and well-being of individuals, populations and society.

Our Mission and Philosophy

The Russell Sage College Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is 301-652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. The most recent reaccreditation was granted in December 2016. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can be found online.

Accreditation and Graduation Rate

The occupational therapy curriculum emphasizes the person, environment and occupation relationship and incorporates an experiential approach that focuses on students engaging as active learners. Foundation and upper level clinical courses promote an understanding of the dynamic relationship between health, well-being and occupational engagement for a person’s ability to participate in valued life activities and roles. Students are immersed in learning opportunities to both promote clinical reasoning skills and develop a systemic view of health and service delivery systems.

Curriculum

Russell Sage College’s 80-credit master’s program in Occupational Therapy includes classes, research experiences and field placements centered around the foundations of occupational therapy; therapeutic evaluations and interventions; and professional identity and responsibility. The program prepares students for the certification exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT), which leads to national certification and eligibility for state licensure as an occupational therapist.

Easily Apply

Apply by February 1 and start in the fall semester.

Students with a bachelor’s degree who meet the prerequisite requirements for our MSOT program should submit an RSC graduate school application and supporting materials by Feb 1. Find complete MSOT admission requirements and application instructions.

Application Requirements

Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
Two letters of recommendation
A one- to two-page career goals essay
A current resume
Documentation of at least 20 hours of clinical observation under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapist
Academic Standards Form
Prerequisite Form
GRE scores are not required

Preferred MSOT Admission

We have agreements with several undergraduate colleges, to offer preferred acceptance to qualified students who wish to pursue an MSOT at Sage. Please review our MSOT articulation agreements with partner colleges to learn more about MSOT preferred admissions.

Apply Now

Personal advising, experienced faculty

Our occupational therapy master’s comes with a deep, Russell Sage-level of support from an assigned faculty advisor who works with you to ensure your success.

Leslie
Bennett, OTD, OTR/L

Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy & Academic Fieldwork Coordinator

Learn more about Leslie

Bonnie
Fischer-Camara, OTD, OTR/L

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy

Learn more about Bonnie

Becky J.
Bernhardt, OTD, OTR/L, C/NDT

Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, Program Chair & Capstone Coordinator

Learn more about Becky

Debra L.
Collette, OTD, OTR/L

Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy & Program Director, MSOT and OTD

Learn more about Debra

Christine
Mulligan, OTD, OTR/L, CHT

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy

Learn more about Christine

Sarah
Brockway, Ed.D., OTR/L

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy & Assistant Academic Fieldwork Coordinator

Learn more about Sarah

Wendy
Gaughan, OTD, OTR/L

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy

Learn more about Wendy

Marybeth
Hoefs, OTR/L

Lecturer of Occupational Therapy

Learn more about Marybeth

Your Future Career with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy

Upon completing your Occupational Therapy graduate program, you’ll be eligible to take the certification exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, which leads to national certification and eligibility for state licensure.

Sage graduates work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, schools, private practice and community agencies across New York state and around the country.

Recent employers include Albany Medical Center, St. Peter’s Health Partners, Capital District Beginnings, Anderson Center for Autism, United Health Services, and Metro Therapy.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook for Occupational Therapists,

$85,570

median annual wage in May 2021

14%

growth in employment opportunities expected from 2021 to 2031. (The average growth rate for all occupations is 5%, according to the Bureau.)

Learning Experience

Fieldwork

As an OT master’s degree candidate, you will work therapeutically with clients under the supervision of licensed occupational therapists during five fieldwork experiences: three multi-week placements in clinical and simulated settings connected with your first- and second-year coursework, and two full-time, 12-week experiences with responsibilities leading to those of an entry-level occupational therapist.

More than 400 clinical sites throughout the country host students from our OT graduate program for fieldwork experiences.

Research

You will also conduct original research under a faculty mentor and may be eligible for research funding from Sage’s Broughton Graduate Fellowship. Recent Broughton Fellows have investigated 3D hand modeling for splinting scleroderma patients, women’s maternal health, the impact of integrated play interventions on social skills, and recommended sensory room features for an agency serving people with disabilities. Students have presented their research at American Occupational Therapy Association and New York State OT Association conferences and Sage’s Graduate Research symposium.

Networking

Sage’s Health Sciences programs stress interprofessional education and create opportunities for future occupational and physical therapists, nurses, dieticians, mental health professionals, and others to learn together, in preparation for roles on interprofessional health care teams.

The Occupational Therapy program has a leadership role in annual interprofessional conferences, which attract hundreds of health sciences students from Russell Sage and other colleges.

We also have an award-winning chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon, the national honor society for Occupational Therapy students.