6 - STUDENT PLAN OF STUDY

Students initiate the planning of a course of study and advisors must approve all courses and individualized work, such as the leadership practicum and the doctoral thesis.  During the first year of a student's enrollment in the program, students must submit, via email, an advisor-approved plan of study to the RS Senior Student Program Coordinator.  Throughout the course of enrollment in the program, the student will ensure that the plan of study submitted remains current. Thus, students typically resubmit plans of study annually while in the program.  The plan of study includes courses a student has taken and plans to take that will fulfill the course requirements for the program.  The plan of study template can also be accessed on Desire2Learn (D2L) on the CAH RS (DSc) Virtual Campus.

The curriculum has four course components: 1) core; 2) cognate (outside area); 3) specialization; and 4) doctoral thesis (see Summary of Courses table below). All core courses are required and available through the OUHSC Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS), except for the statistics courses. The cognate courses are taught outside of OUHSC and are selected by the student in collaboration with their faculty advisor. Cognate course are intended to expand students’ knowledge and skills in an areas that are related to rehabilitation science and are relevant to a student’s interests and goals, such as administration, education, engineering or neuroscience. Students receiving grant support may have a required area of study for the cognate.  Specialization courses are all taught through RS or the OUHSC College of Allied Health.   Doctoral thesis hours are taught through RS and are the culmination of the student’s DSc program. Students entering with a Bachelor’s Degree are required to take additional elective courses. Electives include additional course work in statistics, cognate or specialization courses.

As the table below indicates, the program requires 67 credits for students with a professional bachelor’s degree, 58 credits for students with a professional master’s or doctoral degree, 49 credits for student with a postprofessional masters degree, and 34 credits with a post-professional master of science degree from our program (physical therapy or rehabilitation sciences).

Students typically select from among the following courses for their plans of study.  However, students’ advisors may approve alternative courses.

All courses listed below are available fully or partially online through OUHSC, with course descriptions are listed in the OUHSC course catalog. Course numbers followed by a single asterisk indicate that the course may require an OUHSC campus visit. Courses or campus visit requirements may change at any time. Students should check with their advisor for information about availability of current or outside courses.

List of OUHSC Courses

All students are required to take the Leadership Practicum (RS 5950) course, as part of their Specialization credit hours. Part of the mission of the DSc program is to prepare occupational therapists and physical therapists to be innovative leaders in practice. To achieve the mission, students will enroll in a leadership practicum during their course of study. The purpose of the leadership practicum is to provide students with opportunities to participate in activities that advance their applied knowledge and skills in a manner relevant to their individual educational goals. The practicum may focus on, but is not limited to, teaching, research, policy development, publication, and other leadership activities relevant to the student’s specialization. Students are expected to enhance and refine their leadership skills through the leadership practicum. Students enroll in this course one time during their program enrollment for variable credit hours (2-6 credit hours) determined by the student’s advisor and based on the individual student’s leadership project. The course grade is S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory). Contact your advisor for additional information.

Students frequently take their statistics and cognate (outside area) courses either online or locally from other accredited universities. OUHSC allows transfer of these credits from other accredited universities. For students to transfer credits, they must obtain grades of A or B in the course(s), unless the course is offered only as a P/F (pass or fail).  For P/F courses, students must pass (P) the course.

When completing additional elective courses, if applicable, students are required to take offered RS specialization courses prior to considering additional outside courses. Student Advisors must approve outside courses credited for elective credits.

Information regarding the doctoral thesis (RS 8430) credits are included in section 7.