Criteria for Choosing a Graduate School

December 15, 2021

"Where do you want to go to graduate school?" is one of the most common questions my peer upperclassmen receive as they enter their third year of undergraduate school. The expected reply is usually "I'm not sure, we have plenty of time to think about that" when time can be quite valuable when looking for graduate schools. From my own personal experience, I knew this was something I did not want to push aside and wait until the last minute to explore. Once I knew I wanted to pursue occupational therapy as my career choice I began looking at potential schools early to be sure I fulfilled important requirements.

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Since occupational therapy is a specific program, there are many similar requirements and prerequisites needed which have a common application process. Throughout this post, I will explain and break down the criteria of potential graduate schools I will be applying for.

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1. Location

Throughout the country, there are hundreds of programs to apply for but narrowing down schools can be difficult at first. The first step I took was evaluating what regional area I felt most comfortable in which happened to be the Midwest region. Originally coming from Indiana, I came to Wisconsin to pursue my undergraduate education and fell in love with the atmosphere the northern part of the Midwest gave. In my second year here at UWEC, I decided I wanted to stay in the Minnesota/Western Wisconsin area to pursue my higher education. I have created relationships and professional contacts here that made the most sense for me to continue living in a region where I have been given so many opportunities.

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2. Masters or Doctorate Program

There is currently no requirement to have a doctorate degree to take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) is an agency for entry-level education programs. They recently announced by 2027 all master level programs will be required to transition to a doctorate level of education. If you were to receive your master's and national certification before 2027 no further education is needed. Depending on the type of program I apply to, it will be the year 2026 when I graduate which will only be one more year before the required change. If I were to continue the path of receiving a master's degree, it would only be one year between those who have a doctorate degree and me having a master's. I view this as an indication to direct my path toward receiving my doctorate degree.

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3. Prerequisite Course Requirements

One other factor taken into consideration in which school I would like to go to is the prerequisite classes required. Overall, most programs have similar courses, but some require different social science classes than others. For example, the University of Minnesota requires 3 credits of anthropology, but St. Catherine University does not. With these prerequisites, admissions calculate a GPA for these required courses only. Most programs have a standard GPA to be considered while some even have statistics of previous cohorts' academic standings when applying. This allows potential students to gauge if they could be realistically considered for a graduate program.

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Top 3 Graduate Schools I'm Considering

Below are the top three graduate schools I have considered applying to in July 2022. Most application deadlines are not due until the beginning of 2023, but applying ahead of time will help my application be reviewed earlier rather than after the deadline.