Admission Application Deadlines

Applicants must meet the criteria for admission. They also must demonstrate a commitment to professional program study, complete all the prerequisite courses and meet other program specific admission criteria.

The majority of the class is selected during Early Admission application reviews. For both early admission and regular admission, only applications marked “Complete” in OTCAS by the deadline will be reviewed. We recommend that applicants submit up to two weeks early to ensure that their applications will be complete prior to the deadline.

You will need to complete two applications

1. one to the University of Florida Office of Admissions
2. one to the Department of Occupational Therapy via OTCAS

(1) Online University Admission

Your application must be complete and application fee paid to the Office of Admissions before you can be admitted to the OTD Program.

International Students

Students who have graduated from non-US universities or colleges, must submit acceptable evidence of US degree equivalency. Applicants must have transcripts evaluated and translated by an education evaluation service. Please see the Foreign Evaluations section in OTCAS for instructions and services. International Students must also report TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores in OTCAS. A minimum of 550 on the paper-based or 80 on the internet-based version of the TOEFL is required.

(2) Departmental – OTD Program Admission via OTCAS

The UF OTD program uses the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application Service (OTCAS).  Help using OTCAS can be found on their Applicant Help Center.

OTCAS Contact Info

Phone: 617-612-2860
Email: otcasinfo@otcas.org
Website: https://otcas.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login

Where to Send Your Application

OTCAS must receive the application, references, and transcripts by the application deadline. Once your application is complete, OTCAS will verify your documents before releasing them to the University of Florida. Please note that UF cannot access unverified applications. Applicants should confirm their status as verified with OTCAS.

• For any questions about the receipt, processing, and verification of your application, please contact OTCAS Customer Service, contact info above.
• For other questions, please contact the University of Florida OT Department.

Upon completion of the UF Office of Admissions professional school application, you will receive a UF ID. You can find your UF ID by checking your application status: https://admissions.ufl.edu/appstatus. This UF ID must be submitted to OTCAS with your application.

Transcripts

Transcripts for all schools attended, including high school dual enrollment, must be sent to OTCAS:

OTCAS Transcript Processing Center
PO Box 9120
Watertown, MA 02471

Recommendations

The department will access your recommendations through OTCAS. Applicants must submit three (3) recommendations. One (1) of the recommendations must be from a professional level OT who is currently practicing. The other two (2) should be from professionals, such as a present or former faculty member, academic advisor, or employer. Names and addresses do not need to be entered on the University Office of Admissions online application, but must be provided to the appropriate section of the OTCAS application.

Personal Statement

Applicants must submit a personal statement that addresses why they selected OT as a career and how an Occupational Therapy degree relates to their immediate and long-term professional goals. They must describe how their personal, educational, and professional background will help achieve their goals. The department will access your personal statement through OTCAS. The personal statement is an important part of your application for admission and provides you with an opportunity to clearly and effectively express your ideas.

Resume

Include all academic, service, leadership, employment, and/or research activities on your resume. Upload to OTCAS.

Observation Hours

All applicants are required to complete a total of 30 hours of observational hours in at least two (2) diverse OT settings. Diverse settings are settings that service clientele are significantly different; inpatient, outpatient, long term care, school-based, elders, pediatrics, orthopedics, rehabilitation, etc. Upload documentation verifying your observation hours to OTCAS. You may submit the UF OTD Observation Hours Form (click the link above), a form from another program, or a signed letter from a supervisor documenting your hours.

Computer Requirements

According to the University’s Student Computing Requirements policy, all UF students must have access to a computer that allows them to complete all coursework and general curriculum requirements.  Students are responsible for knowing how to operate the computer systems and the software packages required, including the Canvas online course management system (UF e-Learning). Applicants should review the OTD Program Computer Requirements and Competency information prior to applying to the program.