“We are aware of the need for additional qualified rehabilitation medicine professionals, and we believe that our proposed occupational therapy doctoral program will help address this shortage,” Nelson said in a statement.
Currently, there are only five accredited entry-level OT doctoral programs in the U.S., and just one in Ohio, according to the college. Seven other schools nationwide have applied to create programs and six more are listed online as being in the process of gaining accreditation, according to AOTA.org.
Kettering hired Terrance Anderson, OTD, as the founding director for the program. He earned an occupational therapy doctorate degree at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in 2007; an entry-level master of science in occupational therapy from Towson University in 1997; and a bachelor of science in counseling psychology from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in 1991.
The program could begin as soon as fall 2014, and would span eight semesters over 32 months, according to Kettering. Students would need a bachelor’s degree in a related field, and meet additional criteria yet to be determined.
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