Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology & Master’s of Occupational Therapy 3+2 Program

Purpose: The purpose of the 3+2 program is to provide a way for highly qualified students with a desire to obtain a Master’s degree in occupational therapy to complete their undergraduate degree requirements in three years and begin Shawnee State’s master’s of occupational therapy (MOT) program at the end of those three years.  Students accepted into the 3+2 program are guaranteed entrance to the MOT program, provided they maintain appropriate progress towards their degree and appropriate academic standing (as described below).

Admission: Admission to the 3+2 program is highly selective and competitive.  A maximum of 10 applicants will be admitted each year.  The first step is to submit an online admission application to Shawnee State University.  The online application form can be found here. 

Admissions packets to the 3+2 program may be downloaded here or you may contact the department of social sciences at 351-3234.  Applications must be received by August 1st.  Applications should be mailed to: 

The following requirements must be met for consideration for admission to the program:

• Placement in ENGL 1102 in fall semester, freshman year (information on English placement can be found here).

• Placement in MATH 1500 in fall semester, freshman year (information on math placement can be found here).

• Minimum ACT composite score of 22.

• Minimum high school GPA of 3.5.

Requirements: Students admitted to the program must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA each semester and progress through the program requirements in a timely and successful manner.  Withdrawals, grades of D or F in any course, and taking less than 16 credits per semester for the first three years are all considered grounds for dismissal from the program.

Consultation with your advisor is required every semester to ensure that you maintain appropriate progress towards completion of the degree.  Failure to meet face-to-face with your advisor each semester is grounds for dismissal from the 3+2 program.

Completion of a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer experience supervised by an occupational therapist is required in order to successfully progress from the bachelor’s of arts in psychology (BA PSYC) program and in to the MOT program.  It is recommended that this volunteer experience take place in the summer between years 2 and 3 of the BA PSYC program.

Completion of the following courses is required in order to successfully progress from the BA PSYC program and into the MOT program:

1. Completion of all GEP requirements (The requirements for the GEP can be found here.)

• The Quantitative Reasoning section must be fulfilled utilizing MATH 1500 statistics.

• The Social Science requirement must be fulfilled using SOCI 1101 Introduction to Sociology.

• The Natural Science requirements must be fulfilled using BIOL 1151 General Biology 1 and BIOL 1130 Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 1.  Completion of the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology PRE-MOT program as listed below.

2. Completion of all Bachelors of Arts in Psychology PRE-MOT requirements (see below).

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology PRE-MOT (Total of 124 hours – 35 GEP, 42 major, 38 additional required coursework, 9 elective)

Psychology Core Courses (Total of 18 hours)

Course Number          Course                                                  Credit Hours

PSYC 1101                 Introduction to Psychology                           3

PSYC 2120                 Quantitative Methods in Psychology               3

PSYC 2121                 Experimental Psychology                               3

PSYC 2130                 Child and Adolescent Psychology                   3

PSYC 3130                 Psychology of the Adult                                  3

PSYC 3160                 Abnormal Psychology                                     3

Psychology Capstone Course (Total of 3 hours)

Choose at least three hours of:

Course Number          Course                                                  Credit Hours

PSYC 4129                 Student Research in Psychology                        1-6

PSYC 4169                 Psychological Internship                                     3-6

PSYC 4179                 Psychological Study of Contemporary Problems      3

Psychology Upper Division Courses  (Total of 21 Hours)

Choose a total of 27 credit hours from the following list of classes.  You must choose at a minimum the hours specified from each category.  Additional courses may be chosen and will count as general electives.  (*recommended courses for pre-MOT students)

Clinical Psychology (Minimum of 3 Hours)

Course Number          Course                                                        Credit Hours

*PSYC 3161               Health Psychology                                               3

PSYC 4160                 Behavior Problems in Children                             3

*PSYC 4161               Counseling Psychology                                        3

Developmental and Social Psychology (Minimum of 6 Hours)

Course Number          Course                                                         Credit Hours

*PSYC 3131               Death and Dying                                                   3

*PSYC 3140               Social Psychology                                                 3

*PSYC 3141               Personality                                                            3

PSYC 3142                 Gender Psychology                                               3

PSYC 3143                 Psychology of Women                                           3

PSYC 3170                 History of Psychology                                            3

PSYC 4140                 Industrial/Organizational Psychology                       3

Learning and Cognition (Minimum of 6 Hours)

Course Number          Course                                                          Credit Hours

*PSYC 3110               Psychological Tests and Measures                           3

*PSYC 3111               Learning and Memory                                              3

PSYC 3112                 Educational Psychology                                           3

PSYC 4111                 Cognitive Psychology                                               3

Biopsychology (Minimum of 6 Hours)

Course Number          Course                                                         Credit Hours

*PSYC 3150               Neurobiology of Behavior                                         3

*PSYC 3151               Sensation and Perception                                         3

*PSYC 3152               Cognitive Neuroscience                                            3

*PSYC 4150               Physiology of Behavior                                              4

PSYC 4151                 Evolutionary Psychology                                           3

Required Additional Courses (Total of 15 hours)

Course Number          Course                                                           Credit Hours

BIOL 1131                  Principles of Anatomy and Physiology II                  4

SOCI 3000+                Upper division Sociology Course                            3

CHEM 1000+             Chemistry Course                                                   4

PHYS 1000+               Physics Course                                                     4         

Required MOT Courses (Total of 23 hours)

Course Number          Course                                                               Credit Hours

MOT 5502                    Structure & Function of Musculoskeletal System         4

MOT 5503                    Neurobiological Foundations                                     4

MOT 5550                    Occupational Nature of Humans Across Lifespan        3

MOT 5555                    Theories of Occupation                                             3

MOT 5560                    Participation in Occupations:  Therapeutic Process     3

MOT 5565                    Analysis of Human Movement                                    3

MOT 6601                    Research Concepts in Health Services                       3

General Electives (Total of 9 Hours)

***Please click here to view a sample schedule of the progress required in order to successfully complete the 3+2 BA Psychology degree.