Combining the Low Vision Rehabilitation Graduate Certificate with the Post-Professional OTD
The Department of Occupational Therapy offers an online post-professional Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) program to meet the needs of busy working occupational therapists who want to advance their education and careers. The online OTD program aims to prepare experienced occupational therapists for important leadership roles in health care, academia, and advocacy for professional and community organizations. The program is designed for part-time enrollment, and students take one or two courses a semester.
The OTD program includes a Low Vision Rehabilitation specialization that allows students to complete the Low Vision Rehabilitation Graduate Certificate program and apply those course hours toward the clinical doctorate degree. Below are the two options for applying the graduate certificate as credit hours in the OTD program.
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Option one: You can complete the certificate program and the OTD program at the same time
- You may take the courses offered in the graduate certificate and OTD programs at the same time. The graduate certificate courses must be completed in sequence, and you may take only one certificate course per semester.
- Students interested in completing both the certificate program and the OTD degree must complete two separate applications to the UAB Graduate School: one application for the Low Vision Rehabilitation Graduate Certificate program and a separate application for the post-professional OTD program. You must pay a separate fee for each application.
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Option two: You can complete the Low Vision Rehabilitation Graduate Certificate program first and then apply to complete the OTD
In order for the graduate certificate credit hours to transfer to the OTD program, you must apply and be accepted to the OTD program within 5 years of obtaining your low vision certificate.
If you are completing or have completed the low vision certificate and are interested in pursuing the post-professional OTD degree, contact the OTD program director about using these credit hours toward the OTD degree.
Shortened Pathway to the CLVT Credentials
We pride ourselves in preparing our graduates to become the leaders in the field of low vision rehabilitation. One mark of our success is the number of graduates who are able to meet the rigorous requirements to become credentialed as experts in low vision rehabilitation. The Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP) offers advanced credentialing to occupational therapists in low vision.
Earn your CLVT quickly
ACVREP determined that graduates of the UAB certificate program qualify to apply in Category 1 for the CLVT. This enables our graduates to complete the CLVT exam while completing 350 hour practice requirement and significantly speeds up the time required to obtain the credential.