Apply: MS Direct Entry Occupational Therapy

Application Requirements

• $50 non-refundable application fee.
• Submit an official transcript or transcript evaluation
  • Requires a bachelor's degree with a major other than occupational therapy from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 GPA
  • If you attended multiple institutions, submit all transcripts, so your prerequisites can be evaluated properly
• Official transcript of any graduate courses taken or degrees held.
• Submit two references. Select either professional or academic references (family and friends are not appropriate sources of references).
• Statement of purpose. An applicant’s statement of purpose will be assessed for a clear and focused response to each question, an easily identifiable and well-constructed thesis statement for each question, content that reflects familiarity with the profession of occupational therapy, and scholarly writing that is thorough and well-organized with clear attention paid to grammar and punctuation.
  
  
  
  
  Two to three pages double-spaced, addressing each of the following questions:

1. Required: What factors in your personal and professional history have influenced you in the past and now lead you to seek admission to the Direct Entry OT program at Salem State? 
2. Required: Choose two more prompts to respond to from the following choices:
   • What skills do leaders need to ensure equitable collaboration among group members? Please describe a time when you held a leadership role and learned about diversity, equity, and/or inclusion from the experience.  
   • What is the role of health and education professionals in promoting diversity? Please describe a personal experience when it was important for diverse voices to be heard. 
   • How does your lived experience of inclusion intersect with your professional aspirations to become an occupational therapist?
   • Please describe any other information you would like to share to help the OT Admissions Committee evaluate your capacity to succeed in the SSU DE MS in OT program? 

• English Proficiency, if applicable for international applicants
• Occupational Therapy Shadowing Document. Either:
  • Submit an Occupational Therapy In-Person Shadowing Experience Document
    
    Please download and send the document to the OT you shadowed. Once completed by the OT, please email or fax the document to our office (instructions on the document). We require a minimum of 20 hours.
• Submit a Prerequisite Tracking Form

Application Deadline and Timeline

The deadline to apply is Monday, January 16, 2025, for fall 2025 enrollment. Please note the following admissions timeline and activities:

• Monday, January 16, 2025: All application materials listed above must be received by Salem State by this date in order for your application to be reviewed for fall admission. Please plan accordingly; for example, it takes several weeks for transcripts to be processed, references to be submitted, etc.
• Please note the following:
  • Only completed applications can be reviewed. The date that your application is completed and forwarded for review will be posted in your Navigator account. All completed applications will be reviewed shortly after the application deadline.
  • Completed applicants may be called for an interview with the admissions committee. If the admissions committee wishes to interview you, you will be contacted by the department.
  • Once an admissions decision is made, that decision will be posted in your navigator account as well. 
  • The OT graduate admissions committee considers all pieces of your application.
  • The most qualified candidates who meet the admissions criteria will be accepted.
• Fall (September 2025): Classes begin

Prerequisites

There are 30 credits of prerequisite courses that must be completed with a final grade of C or better. Prerequisites do not have to be completed by the Monday, January 16, 2025 application deadline but must be completed before the start of classes in September.

It is the applicant's responsibility to track the completion of prerequisites. This form must be completed and received by the application deadline. Instructions on how to submit the form are included on the form.

If you are not sure that a completed course meets prerequisite requirements, email graduate admissions all course details (course title, credits, description, etc.) and the OT department will determine if a course you have taken or plan to take meets the prerequisite requirement.