
ATLANTA—Following a successful accreditation visit, the Master of Occupational Therapy (O.T./M.) degree program in the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions received full five-year accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Lewis College OT graduates, beginning with the first class graduating in December, are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist. After successful completion of this exam, they become an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). Also, graduates attain state licensure based on the results of the national certification.
Occupational therapy was one of the original undergraduate academic degrees considered when the Lewis College opened in 1968 under the name School of Allied Health. However, there was little demand for OT, and the school did not develop the program until 2014 when the Board of Regents approved it. The first cohort of O.T./M. candidates will graduate December 2018.