Occupational Science/Occupational Therapy
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences
School of Public Health and Health Professions
515 Kimball Tower
South Campus
Buffalo, NY 14214-3079
Phone: 716.829.3141
Fax: 716.829.3217
Web: sphhp.buffalo.edu/ot
Michael F. Noe
Interim Chair
Susan M. Nochajski
Program Director
About the Program
The Occupational Therapy program at the University at Buffalo is based on the philosophical belief that people have a vital need for occupation. Occupation is defined as the ways in which people occupy their time and includes such activities as self-care, play, work, and leisure. One engages in occupation for three primary reasons: (1) to acquire the skills and behaviors necessary for ensuring one’s survival, (2) to achieve a sense of quality in one’s life, and (3) to contribute to the progress and well-being of society by being a productive member of that society.
Based on the assumption that it is within the context of roles that people engage in occupation, the concept of occupational role emerged to account for those major life roles that occupy one’s time. These major life roles or occupational roles have a developmental perspective and change over the course of a lifetime. They include the roles of preschooler, student, worker and/or homemaker, and retiree. Each role has its associated age-appropriate and role-appropriate tasks that influence the nature of one’s occupations. What evolves in responding to these tasks is called occupational behavior. Occupational competence is defined as an individual’s ability to engage in a fulfilling lifestyle consistent with his or her goals and values.
When individuals are threatened by deprivation, disease, illness, or injury, occupational therapy intervenes to protect and/or restore (1) the individual’s physical, psychological, and social capacities to achieve occupational competence; and (2) the skills and habits of effective role performance. Occupational therapy is committed to providing services to the “whole person”; thus, occupational therapy is holistic in its orientation to health care.
The entry-level professional occupational science/occupational therapy program is a five year combined BS/MS program. Preceding their professional preparation, students receive a liberal arts education in their pre-professional studies. The professional program, structured to prepare students for personal and professional development, is flexible enough to meet the needs and interests of individual students while still ensuring that upon graduation they will be competent to enter the profession.
Professional-level classes begin in the summer immediately preceding the junior year. The ten-week summer program includes ANA 407 Gross Human Anatomy (6 credit hours), which meets daily for eight weeks, and OT 351 OT Practice Skills I (2 credit hours), which continues for ten days following ANA 407. Three additional academic semesters and a summer at the undergraduate level provide learning experiences structured to integrate theory and practice. During the second semester of the fourth year, students progress to the MS component of the program. At this time, students register for six months of full-time supervised fieldwork experience.
Students choose fieldwork sites by a lottery system and in consultation with the fieldwork director. Additional fieldwork experiences in such specialized areas of practice as developmental disabilities, substance abuse, and ergonomics are available as electives. The program maintains clinical affiliation agreements with more than 150 health-care facilities throughout the United States for student placement. Students should expect to leave the Western New York area to fulfill this requirement. Upon completion of fieldwork, students return to the campus for the fifth year of the program.
About Our Degrees
Acceptance Criteria
Students must complete the required prerequisite courses with a grade of "C" or better and have a minimum GPA of 2.8 in the prerequisite courses to advance to professional-level status during the summer between the sophomore and junior years.
Acceptance Information
The Occupational Therapy Program has a Freshman Admission Policy. Students who declare occupational therapy as their major on the UB application are automatically accepted into the occupational therapy program. Courses in the first two years of the B.S. program meet the general education requirements and constitute the occupational science prerequisite courses.
Degree Requirements
See the Undergraduate Catalog.
About Our Courses
For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.
About Our Faculty
Each faculty member is committed to teaching, research, and community service as part of his/her responsibilities to fulfill the mission of the department, school, and university.
See a list of our undergraduate faculty.
Practical Experience and Special Academic Opportunities
Undergraduate Research and Practical Experience
Independent Study
Students can elect to study specific topics of interest under the mentorship of OT faculty.
Internships
Six months of fieldwork in New York State or other states in the U.S.A. is required of all majors; including three months of fieldwork in a selected service area (i.e. mental health, homecare, pediatrics, or geriatrics), and three months in physical disabilities.
Study Abroad
Occupational therapy students have the opportunity to travel to Brazil to visit occupational therapy educational programs, rehabilitation programs, clinics, and hospitals. Students also have the opportunity to host and interact with Brazilian students, both professionally and socially, who are visiting the University at Buffalo.
Research Opportunities
There are several opportunities for research experiences for occupational therapy students. Faculty are involved in research in a variety of areas including: school to work transition for students with disabilities, impact of assistive technology and environmental adaptations on elders and persons with disabilities, and effects of activity and exercise on functional abilities on persons with multiple sclerosis and other disabilities.
Honors, Awards, and Scholarships
A number of scholarships and financial aid opportunities are available each year to OT students. The following are some of the scholarships routinely available:
The American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF)
A limited number of scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate OT students. An applicant for a foundation scholarship must: (1) be a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, (2) be enrolled as a full-time student in occupational therapy, (3) demonstrate a need for financial assistance, and (4) have a record of outstanding scholastic achievement.
New York State Occupational Therapy Association (NYSOTA)
Scholarships. Awards are granted annually from the Wollman Scholarship Fund. To qualify, students must (1) be currently enrolled full-time or accepted into an occupational therapy program in New York State leading to a bachelor's or higher degree, (2) be a resident of New York State, and (3) be a NYSOTA member. Awards are granted on the basis of community and professional involvement, academic excellence, personal maturity, professional promise, and financial need, not necessarily in that order of importance.
Stonegraber Scholarship Fund
This fund was established in memory of Eleanor and David Stonegraber. Mrs. Stonegraber was an OTR in the Buffalo and Rochester areas and director of occupational therapy at Rochester Psychiatric Center at the time of her retirement in 1959. The fund provides financial aid for students in occupational therapy and physical therapy at the University at Buffalo. The amount varies from year to year, ranging from $300 to $1,500. To qualify, a student must (1) demonstrate financial need, (2) show academic promise, and (3) have a firm commitment to the profession.
Linda Walters Memorial Scholarship
This award was established to remember the efforts of Linda Walters, an OT student whose ill health prevented her from completing the professional program at UB. Beginning 1993, this scholarship has been issued to a senior OT student who is a COTA. To apply for this award, students must demonstrate professional promise and financial need.
Niagara Frontier District, NYSOTA (NFD/NYSOTA)
The district OT association provides scholarship assistance to students at the University at Buffalo. Other district associations of the NYSOTA also offer scholarships to students whose permanent residence is located within one of these other districts.
Extracurricular Activities
- American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
- American Student Committee of the Occupational Therapy Association (ASCOTA)
- New York State Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (NYSOTA)
- Pi Theta Epsilon [OT honor society]
- UB Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA)
See the UB Student Association.
Complementary Programs and Courses
Majors that Complement Occupational Therapy
Minors that Complement Occupational Therapy
Courses Outside Occupational Therapy that Could Improve Employment Opportunities
- Health care administration
- Medical ethics
- Methods of Inquiry (GSE 155)
Career Information and Further Study
Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activity and interventions to achieve functional outcomes. "Achieving functional outcomes" means to maximize the independence and the maintenance of health of any individual who is limited by physical injury or illness, cognitive impairment, pyschosocial dysfunction, mental illness, developmental or learning disabilities, or an adverse environmental condition.
Employment of occupational therapists is expected to increase faster than average for all occupations through 2008 (with the majority of this growth expected to occur in the second half of this projection period).
Work settings include:
Occupational therapists work in all types of private, nonprofit and public settings including schools, job training services, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, and community health agencies.
Degree Level Required
**Beginning January 1, 2007, occupational therapy programs will only be accredited at the post-baccalaureate degree level.
Salary Information
Beginning salaries: $30,000 - 50,000
Factors influencing salary: Skills, experience, and specialization. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2000-2001, median earnings of occupational therapists were $48,230 in 1998. The middle 50 percent earned between $39,140 and $68,570 per year. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,850 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $86,540 per year.
Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest number of occupational therapists in 1997 were as follows:
Nursing and personal care facilities
$57,000
Offices of other health care practitioners
$51,800
Hospitals
$46,200
Elementary and secondary schools
$38,200
Additional Resources
American Occupational Therapy Association
Links to Further Information About This Program
- Undergraduate Catalog
- Undergraduate Admissions
- Graduate Admissions
- Department of Rehabilitation Science
- School of Public Health and Health Professions
Last Modified: Tuesday, 7-Nov-2006 10:26:13 EST