Entry-level OTD Program

In 1999, Creighton began offering the nation's first entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy. Since then, we've helped set new standards in the profession by emphasizing the complex relationships between neurology, occupation, and function in the treating and preventing of disability.

In 2007, we began our University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)-Creighton University Distance Initiative. This entry-level program initiative includes asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning in a unique hybrid model. Students will complete lab work at the UAA campus.

In a little more than three years, you can complete the coursework and clinical work to earn the highest degree in the field of occupational therapy. Through the distance-based, post-professional program, licensed occupational therapists with clinical experience can earn the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree.

The mission of Creighton's Department of Occupational Therapy is to educate ethical practitioners, engage in scholarship dedicated to the pursuit of truth, serve the profession, and offer occupational therapy expertise to local and global communities. The curriculum is conceptualized as encompassing three primary themes: Occupation, professional practice, and professional identity and leadership. Creighton occupational therapy graduates will be creative, holistic, reflective, and committed to life-long learning.

Entry Level OT Program Post Professional Distance Program

At the Creighton University Medical Center 2006 Commencement, Fr. John P. Schlegel, S.J., Creighton University President stated, "Your professors have challenged you to be leaders in your professions. As a student, you were expected to go beyond the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. Your patients will expect no less of you. Do not disappoint them. Ethics, service, and excellence: These three words have been consistent across the 127 years of Creighton's existence; they serve as the foundation for what we do today. You will carry these with you; they are marks of a Creighton health care professional."

Heather Goertz, OTD, assistant professor, collaborated with the Omaha Street School (OSS) and received a $1,000 grant from the Omaha Community Foundation's Youth in Philanthropy award to implement a program - Tea for Teens: Women in Leadership - to develop leadership skills in young women attending the OSS.