Apply: MS Direct Entry Occupational Therapy

Application Requirements

• $50 non-refundable application fee 

• Official transcript from all institutions attended

  • Bachelor's degree must be in a major other than occupational therapy from an accredited college or university with a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale 

  • If you attended an institution outside of the United States, a transcript evaluation from one of our approved agencies is required.

  • If your undergraduate final grade point average falls below the minimum stated, please contact Graduate Admissions.

• Two references, professional and/or academic

• Statement of purpose, two to three pages double-spaced, addressing each of the following questions: 

  An applicant’s statement of purpose will be assessed for a clear and focused response to each question, an easily identifiable and well-constructed thesis statement for each question, content that reflects familiarity with the profession of occupational therapy, and scholarly writing that is thorough and well-organized with clear attention paid to grammar and punctuation. 

  • Required: What factors in your personal and professional history have influenced you in the past and now lead you to seek admission to the Direct Entry OT program at Salem State?  

    Required: Choose two more prompts to respond to from the following choices: 

  • What skills do leaders need to ensure equitable collaboration among group members? Please describe a time when you held a leadership role and learned about diversity, equity, and/or inclusion from the experience.   

  • What is the role of health and education professionals in promoting diversity? Please describe a personal experience when it was important for diverse voices to be heard.  

  • How does your lived experience of inclusion intersect with your professional aspirations to become an occupational therapist? 

  • Please describe any other information you would like to share to help the OT Admissions Committee evaluate your capacity to succeed in the SSU DE MS in OT program?  

• Occupational Therapy Shadowing Document. Either:
  • Submit an Occupational Therapy In-Person Shadowing Experience Document
    
    Please download and send the document to the OT you shadowed. Once completed by the OT, please email or fax the document to our office (instructions on the document). We require a total of 20 hours.
• Submit a Prerequisite Tracking Form

  • Please download and submit the completed form to graduate admissions.

  • Additional resources:

    • Email graduate admissions for an example of a completed prerequisite tracking form.

    • Register for prerequisite courses at Salem State.

    • See which of your courses are equivalent to the recommended prerequisite courses at Salem State. The transfer equivalency viewer shows you which courses from your current institution have been evaluated.

• English Proficiency, if applicable for international applicants 

Application Deadline and Timeline

Please note the following admissions timeline and activities:

• Priority Deadline: Saturday, October 31, 2026
  • All application materials listed above must be received by Salem State by this date in order for your application to receive priority consideration for fall admission. Please plan accordingly; for example, it takes several weeks for transcripts to be processed, references to be submitted, etc. 

• Final Deadline (Extension): Monday, May 10, 2027

  • This is the last date to submit all application materials listed above in order for your application to be reviewed for fall admission. Please plan accordingly; for example, it takes several weeks for transcripts to be processed, references to be submitted, etc.

• Please note the following: 

  • Only completed applications can be reviewed. The date that your application is completed and forwarded for review will be posted in your Navigator account. All completed applications will be reviewed shortly after the application deadline. 

  • Once an admissions decision is made, that decision will be posted in your Navigator account as well.  

  • The OT graduate admissions committee considers all pieces of your application. 

  • The most qualified candidates who meet the admissions criteria will be accepted. 

• Fall (September): Classes begin 

Prerequisites

There are 27 credits of prerequisite courses that must be completed with a final grade of C or better. Prerequisites do not have to be completed by the application deadline but must be completed before the start of classes in September. 

It is the applicant's responsibility to track the completion of prerequisites. This form must be completed and received by the application deadline. Instructions on how to submit the form are included on the form. 

If you are not sure that a completed course meets prerequisite requirements, email graduate admissions all course details (course title, credits, description, etc.) and the OT department will determine if a course you have taken or plan to take meets the prerequisite requirement.

The master of science in occupational therapy program does support students in F or J status (accurate for the 2026-2027 academic year).

Contact the Center for International Education or Graduate Admissions with any questions.