Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Completion of a recognized baccalaureate degree in any field. Your degree must be academically equivalent to a UBC 4-year Bachelor’s degree in any field, from any accredited post-secondary institution. Your degree can be in progress at the time of the application deadline, but all courses required for the completion of your degree must end by April 30 of the application year. Students with undergraduate degrees in progress during the Summer term (ie. May-August) cannot apply for the September intake.

Successful completion of the following prerequisite courses. The prerequisite courses can be in progress at the time of the application deadline, but must be completed by April 30 of the application year.

Accepted Human Anatomy Course (1 course of 3 credits or equivalent): focus on gross human anatomy of the upper and lower limbs and trunk. To view the lists of accepted and declined courses (to fulfill this requirement), or for information on submitting a course for review, please visit the Human Anatomy Requirement page.

Social Science Course (1 course of 3 credits or equivalent): any course, at any level from an accredited post-secondary institution in Sociology, Anthropology or Human Geography. If you have taken any sociology, anthropology or human geography course, at any level at a post-secondary institution, you do not need to confirm if the course will fulfill the requirement. If you have taken a course outside of this discipline and you feel it may fulfill the requirement, it can be assessed on a case-by-case basis by providing the course syllabus to [email protected]. The intent of the social science pre-requisite is to provide students with a broad background at personal/body, group/family and societal levels.

Behavioural Science Course (1 course of 3 credits or equivalent): any course, at any level from an accredited post-secondary institution in Psychology. If you have taken any psychology course, at any level at a post-secondary institution, you do not need to confirm if the course will fulfill the requirement. If you have taken a course outside of this discipline and you feel it may fulfill the requirement, it can be assessed on a case-by-case basis by providing the course syllabus to [email protected].

All admitted MOT students are required to undergo an immunization review with university health services at their MOT program site location, to ensure they are up-to-date on all immunizations required by the Office of the Provincial Health Officer and the Provincial Health Authorities. Once immunization records are reviewed, students may be required to book additional vaccination appointments with health services to complete necessary vaccination and/or lab tests. Students are responsible for obtaining their immunization records before booking an appointment with their MOT program site health services provider.

The Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and all MOT students, are required to follow guidelines and mandates for health care workers, including immunization and vaccination requirements, set by both the Provincial Health Officer and the Provincial Health Authorities. These may change during the course of the program. Health care workers include MOT students on placements. In order to participate in any activities with patients, MOT students must meet all immunization requirements. Students who are unable to complete the required clinical hours during the program due to missing immunization requirements will not be able to graduate from the Master of Occupational Therapy program.

The University of British Columbia is subject to the requirements of the Criminal Records Review Act (CRRA); meaning all students, who are enrolled in programs that include a practicum component involving work with children or vulnerable adults, will have to undergo a criminal record check before they will be permitted to register in the practicum.
If you are found to present a risk of physical or sexual abuse to children, or physical, sexual, or financial abuse to vulnerable adults, as a result of the CRRA check, you will not be permitted to register in the practicum. If the practicum is required for your program, this means that you may not be able to complete the program and you may not graduate. Please consider this requirement carefully before applying to, or continuing in, this program.

Successful completion of a minimum of 70 hours of interactive volunteer or work experience with individuals with disabilities at the time of the application deadline. This experience can be paid or unpaid and must include direct in-person contact and interaction with individuals with cognitive, emotional or physical disabilities. Your experience must be completed at no more than two facilities/organizations. You must have a direct supervisor, in an official role, who can act as your reference, and comment on your abilities and verify the number of hours you completed. In order for your experience to be counted, you must have been hired directly by an organization as an employee or volunteer. You must provide a reference from an individual employed by the organization who acted as your direct supervisor. The individual(s) submitting the Volunteer/Work Experience Reference, to verify and validate your experience, cannot be a family member under any circumstances.