University of Illinois at Chicago
College of Applied Health Sciences
Department of Occupational Therapy
1919 West Taylor St., M/C 811
Chicago, IL 60612-7250
(312) 413-0124 (OTD Admissions)
(312) 413-0256 (Fax)
Otdept@uic.edu
www.ahs.uic.edu/ot
APPLIC ATION INSTRUCTIONS
FOR ADMISSION TO THE DOCTOR OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PROGRAM (OTD)
The final application deadline is February 15th for fall and November 1st for spring; completed
applications must be received by these dates. Applications received after these final deadlines will be
denied, unless there are extenuating circumstances warranting an exception.
Students who apply for the fall semester should be notified of their admission status on or before April 1,
spring semester applicants should be notified on or before December 1. Please read and follow the
instructions carefully. You are responsible for submitting all the materials described below (except for
the Graduate College Application and official GRE and TOEFL scores) to the Department of
Occupational Therapy.
(1) Graduate College Application Form and Fee
Application Fee: $60 for domestic applicants
$60 for international applicants
All applicants not currently attending UIC are required to apply to the UIC Graduate College to be
considered for admission to the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. The Graduate College
requires you apply and pay the Graduate College application fee online at:
http://www.uic.edu/depts/oar/grad/apply_grad.html.
If you are already applying to or are enrolled in the Master’s program in OT at UIC you do not have to
complete an additional Graduate College application or pay another fee for your OTD application.
(2) Transcripts
You must request transcripts from each college or university that you have attended and send them to
the Department of Occupational Therapy (not the Office of Admissions and Records or the Graduate
College). The Department of Occupational Therapy will forward them to the Office of Admissions after
making a copy for our files. Transcripts should be sealed in an envelope by the Registrar and the
Registrar's seal or signature should be affixed over the seal. Transcript envelopes should be submitted
unopened, with your application packet. Persons who have completed studies outside the United States
while attending a U.S. college or university should have those credits reflected on their U.S. transcript.
Students who either do not have international credits recorded on a U.S. transcript, or who completed all
of their post-secondary education outside of the U.S., must present all post-secondary school credentials
and transcripts. An original transcript in the native language is required. In addition, the Office of
Admissions requires literal, certified translations for all documents issued in a language other than
English. Translations should be on a translator's letterhead and should be literal (not an interpretation).
UIC only accepts translations from ATA certified translators, court-appointed translators, or from the
consulate. You can find an ATA translator at their web site: www.atanet.org. Plain translations, notarized
translations, and translations done by someone other than a certified translator are not acceptable.
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(3) Graduate Record Examination (GRE): General Exam and Writing Assessment Exam
The general Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which evaluates verbal and quantitative reasoning as
well as analytical writing skills, is required for admission. For students who have taken the GRE before
August 1, 2011, a combined score of 1000 on the GRE verbal and quantitative tests is recommended.
There is no minimum score for the writing assessment, although most accepted applicants earn at least
a 4.0 out of 6.0. A combined score of at least 300 is recommended for students who take the GRE after
August 1, 2011. The GRE exam can be repeated, but one month must elapse between each attempt.
Please contact GRE at (800) GRE-CALL or visit the website at www.gre.org for testing dates, locations,
and more information. A GRE prep course is offered on the UIC campus on the weekends, for 30+
hours, at one-third the price of popular prep courses. Please visit the following link for more information:
www.getbetterscores.org
Be sure to use the UIC Institution Code R1851 and OT code 0618 on your GRE application.
If you have taken the GRE within the past five years, you must request that scores be sent from ETS to
UIC (ETS retains records for only five years). Official GRE scores must be received by the application
deadline; SELF-REPORTED SCORES MUST ACCOMPANY THE APPLICATION. Please be advised
that your application will be considered incomplete until the University receives your official GRE scores.
(4) Occupational Therapy Application Form
Please complete the Occupational Therapy Application Form and include it in your submission to the
Department of Occupational Therapy. The form is available on the Department of Occupational Therapy
website: www.ahs.uic.edu/OT.
(5) Curriculum vitae
Curriculum vitae (CV) is the term used in academic settings to refer to a résumé that includes additional
information about academic related achievements. The CV is a key component of the OTD application
package. The CV provides the admissions committee with a view of your experiences and
accomplishments. This information allows the committee to understand your background, determine
your fit with the OTD program and potential faculty advisors, evaluate your readiness for doctoral
education, and evaluate your potential for success.
If you are simultaneously applying for both the MS and OTD, you will be required to submit a CV in
addition to the “Experience Form” for the MS program.
Academic CVs tend to be significantly longer than typical professional résumés, and there is no length
limitation. The CV should be prepared using 1 inch margins, 12 point font and single spacing, with extra
spaces in between the sections listed below.
You are strongly encouraged to include the following information in your CV. Use only the categories
that apply to you. It is assumed that applicants who are applying for co-enrollment in the MS and OTD or
who are in the midst of their occupational therapy education will have some categories that do not apply.
We recommend that you use the following headings when you prepare your CV:

Name & Contact Information: Address, phone and email.

Certifications and Licenses: List any certifications or licenses you hold, including certification or
licensure numbers and states in which they are valid.
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
Educational background: Degree(s), date(s) of graduation, college/university & major.

Employment History: Job title, location, beginning and ending dates of employment, a brief
description of major responsibilities, percent time of appointment (based on a 40 hours week: 40
hours per week equals 100%, 20 hours per week equals a 50% appointment, and 10 hours per
week equals a 25% appointment).

Teaching Experience: Includes but is not limited to appointments as a faculty member, adjunct
instructor, fieldwork/clinical educator, teaching assistant, guest lecturer or tutor. List the employer
or organization, role, topics/content, dates, and percent time of appointment.

Research Experience: List employer or organization, role, description of responsibilities, dates,
percent time of appointment, name of research supervisor, and name of the project.

Publications: List any publications you have authored or co-authored, including peer-reviewed
journal articles, newsletter or newspaper articles, and any other publications. Provide full citations.

Presentations: Includes but is not limited to training sessions, inservices, conference
presentations and continuing education programs. Provide full citations.

Volunteer Work and Community Service: Include experiences in and outside of OT that are highly
relevant to demonstrating your OTD potential and/or areas of interest. List organization, your role
and responsibilities, and length of service (dates),.

Organization Membership and Leadership: Includes but is not limited to student, professional and
community organizations. List organization, role, offices held (if any), and length of service
(dates),.

Honors and Awards: Includes but is not limited to scholarships, honors or awards for
accomplishment in school, work, or volunteer settings.

Completed Continuing Education: Workshops, conferences, or intensive professional continuing
education completed. List the provider, dates and title/topic.

Other: Relevant experiences not listed above
(5) Guidelines for the Personal Statement
The personal statement is a critical part of the OTD application, and will allow the Admissions Committee
to determine if there is a good match between your career goals and the OTD program offered at UIC.
We recommend that the statement be between 3 and 4 pages in length. It is not to exceed five pages in
length. The statement should be prepared using 1 inch margins, 12 point font, and double spacing.
In your personal statement, you are strongly encouraged to: :

Explain your career goals and how an OTD will help you meet your t career goals.

Identify your primary area of interestand applied scholarship that you would like to pursue in the
OTD program, ), and how this area corresponds to your identified and future career goals. If you
have initial ideas about the focus of your OTD project, this information should be included in the
statement.
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
Identify one or two members of the occupational therapy faculty that you are interested in having
serve as your OTD advisor, and that you have researched and communicated with about the
potential match. Explain how each of these these faculty members and their work corresponds to
your interests, career goals, and primary area of interest in the OTD program. Please note: Only
graduate faculty can serve as advisors. Graduate faculty include: Theresa Carroll, Gail Fisher,
Joy Hammel, Sandy Magana, Susan Magasi, Mansha Mirza, Robin Newman, Kathy Preissner,
Elizabeth Peterson, Kathy Preissner, Ashley Stoffel, Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, and Renee
Taylor. For information about the faculty, their scholarly interests, and their opportunities for
doctoral students, please refer to the “faculty” section of the Department of Occupational Therapy
website.

Discuss your personal and professional strengths, and how these strengths will allow you to
contribute to the scholarly culture of the Department of Occupational Therapy and to your cohort
of OTD students and the profession of OT. You are strongly encouraged to review information
about UIC’s Scholarship of Practice model and the OTD information packet when preparing this
aspect of the statement.
(6) Guidelines for the Letters of Recommendation
Forms for the Letters of Recommendation are available on the Department of Occupational Therapy
website: www.ahs.uic.edu/ot. Click on “Academics” on the top menu bar, “Doctor of Occupational
Therapy (OTD) Program”, and finally the ”Application and Instructions” link. This cover sheet must have a
narrative letter attached to be accepted.
Personal references are not acceptable. Recommenders/referees are typically faculty, academic
advisors, teaching assistants, or work or volunteer supervisors.
Three professional letters of recommendations will be required for each applicant who is not already
enrolled as a MS student. You are required to have at least one referee with a doctoral degree
(professional or research) who can address your potential to complete professional doctoral studies.
You are strongly encouraged to select referees who can speak to your potential for doctoral study in your
area of interest e.g., advanced practice, education or leadership.
If you are simultaneously applying for both the MS and OTD, in addition to the three letters required
for the MS application, you must submit an OTD form and narrative letter of recommendation. The OTD
letter must be from a person who can address your potential to complete professional doctoral studies. It
can be from one of your three MS recommenders or a fourth recommender. This person should be an
individual with a doctoral degree (professional or research).
If you are currently enrolled in the MS program you will be required to submit one new OTD form and
narrative letter from a source who can address your potential to complete professional doctoral studies,
This must be from someone with a doctoral degree (professional or research). If you are in the first
semester of the UIC MS program, this person cannot be one of the current occupational therapy faculty
at UIC.
Complete the top Applicant section of the recommendation forms. Send the recommendation forms to
the designated recommenders, request they complete the form, attach a narrative letter, and return it to
you in an envelope marked "Letter of Recommendation" with their signature written over the seal.
Submit the unopened recommendation letters with your application packet to the Department of
Occupational Therapy.
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COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
Download the application forms in Microsoft Word format on our website. Use the Word format so you
can easily type in your responses. The website address is www.ahs.uic.edu/OT .
Mail all application materials together in a large envelope to:
OTD Application
Department of Occupational Therapy
University of Illinois at Chicago
1919 West Taylor, M/C 811
Chicago, IL 60612-7250
If you have questions regarding any of the application materials or the Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Program at UIC, please write to the OTD Admissions Advisor at the address above, call (312) 413-0124,
or email OTdept@uic.edu.
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ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
An applicant whose native language is not English must take either the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL) or the exam of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The test
score cannot be more than two years old. The University requires a minimum TOEFL score of 550 on
the paper based test and a score of 213 on the computerized test. The minimum TOEFL scores
accepted for admissions for the new TOEFL iBT includes minima for the four subsections, as well as the
total score. The required scores are: Reading 19. Speaking 20, Listening 17, Writing 21, and Total 80.
TOEFL scores must be submitted from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Please use
UIC Institutional Code is 1851. For more information on the TOEFL, please visit http://www.ets.org
The IELTS is administered by the International English Language Testing System. The University
requires a minimum total score of 6.5 and minimum subscores of 6.0 for each of the four subsections.
UIC's mailing address for IELTS results is: UIC Office of Graduate Admissions (MC 018), Box 7994,
Chicago, Illinois 60680-7994. For more information on the IELTS, please visit http://www.ielts.org/
The TOEFL and IELTS are not required for students who have completed at least two academic years of
full-time study in a country where English is the native language and in a school where English is the
language of instruction within five years of the proposed date of enrollment in the University. In addition,
the examination is not required of non-native English speakers who have a minimum of one year full-time
employment in the U.S. or other country where the only official language of the country is English.
Applicants must submit a letter from their employer verifying at least 12 consecutive months of
employment and describing their English language skills.
The Declaration and Certification of Finances form, accompanied by an original or certified copy of a
bank statement showing proof of sufficient funds in U.S. dollars must be included with the application.
The form can be found on the Department of Occupational Therapy website at www.ahs.uic.edu/ot.
Original transcripts in the native language are required for students who have completed any coursework
outside of the United States. In addition, certified translations must be completed for all documents
issued in a language other than English. Translations should be on a translator's letterhead and should
be literal (not an interpretation). UIC only accepts translations from ATA certified translators, courtappointed translators, or from the consulate. ATA translators can be found at their web site:
www.atanet.org. Plain translations, notarized translations, and translations done by someone other than
a certified translator are not acceptable. Applying by November 1 is highly recommended for students
with transcripts that are not in English.
A Detailed International Academic Credential Report is also required for students who have
completed any coursework outside of the United States, in addition to original transcripts and the ATA
translation. The evaluation must be completed by one of the following companies. However, an ECE
translation is strongly preferred. Make sure to get a course-by-course report.
Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
P.O. Box 514070
Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470
414-289-3400
www.ece.org
World Education Services, Inc. (WES)
P.O. Box 11623
Chicago, IL 60611-01623
312-222-0882
www.wes.org
PLEASE NOTE: Matriculations in the OTD program MAY qualify students for NBCOT certification and
that each student should contact NBCOT at www.nbcot.org to obtain information and clarification specific
to his/her own situation. To check if your school is WFOT accredited, please visit the WFOT website at
www.wfot.org. UIC cannot guarantee that the OTD will meet NBCOT requirements. It is the
responsibility of the student to make the necessary inquiries to determine his/her own eligibility. .
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APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR CREDIT, NON-DEGREE STUDENTS
Non-degree applicants must submit the Graduate College application form and fee, an official transcript
from the school awarding the occupational therapy degree, and a curriculum vitae. Submit the
application form and accompanying materials by August 1st for Fall admission and November 15th for
spring admission.
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