Eligibility to Apply

No you do not need a full-time course load from your undergraduate studies to be considered for this program. We understand applicants take diverse pathways to graduation during their undergraduate degree program. This often includes co-op work terms, research courses, volunteer activities and elective courses during summer. It is not our intention to limit the educational and professional opportunities you are offered while completing your bachelor’s degree.

However, the MScOT program is offered on a full-time in-class basis only. The program is intensive. Your application should show your ability to keep up with a full-time workload, either academic or professionally (or a combination thereof).

In order to register in the OT program, admitted students must hold Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Residency in Canada (this must be verifiable with proof from Citizenship and Immigration Canada). Alternatively, if an admitted student does not have either of these statuses, they may be eligible to register if they qualify for an international fee exemption based on the U of T approved list of specific statuses If you are in the process of obtaining citizenship or permanent residency at the time of application, please update your status by the application deadline.

Other than an appropriate bachelor’s degree in progress or conferred, there are no prerequisites to be considered for the OT program. We do not favour applicants from educational backgrounds more closely related to occupational therapy, though the majority of applicants typically come from a liberal arts or science background. We commonly see successful candidates from programs such as kinesiology, psychology, life sciences, physical sciences, sociology, history, humanities, family studies, and many more. We encourage educational diversity and welcome all qualified applicants to apply. For example, some of our graduates even have experience in specialty areas such as law, engineering, business and education.

To enhance your learning experience we recommend the following basic background knowledge (i.e., core concepts) in the following subject areas:

• Human growth and development
• Introductory physiology or introductory human biology
• Psychology
• Sociology or anthropology
• Statistics and research design

No advantage is given in the selection process to applicants who possess these courses. Having some familiarity with these areas of study may reduce the amount of background reading a newly registered student has to do before class.

Some examples of common 4-year bachelor’s degrees include: Arts, Science, Engineering, Kinesiology, and Health Sciences. Example: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, etc.

No, as all applicants must be in the final year of an undergraduate bachelor’s degree program OR have already completed an appropriate bachelor’s degree in order to be eligible to apply for the MScOT program.

If the primary language of instruction from your institution is in English, you do not need to present a TOEFL exam score to our department. Applicants educated in a language other than English must use the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Minimum score requirements are listed in the accompanying chart.

Minimum TOEFL Score Requirement

TOEFL candidates should request that results be sent to institution code: 0982-00

English facility test scores MUST be forwarded to the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto by March 1 of the year of application.

An applicant, who has been educated in a university where the language of instruction and examination is English, will not be required to take another TOEFL exam, provided that they meet the Department’s minimum requirement from their TOEFL exam. NOTE: An Interview may be required at the request of the Department’s Admissions Committee.

It depends on what your career goals are. If you already hold an Occupational Therapy degree, this program is NOT designed to “top up” your existing degree. The MScOT degree has replaced the BScOT degree in Ontario as the primary professional practice degree to enter Occupational Therapy. If you hold Occupational Therapist credentials earned outside of Canada and want to practice as an Occupational Therapist in Canada, you may already be eligible to apply for certification from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy. Please contact CAOT directly for information regarding licensing and credential evaluation.

Again, if you simply want to further your studies of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the graduate-degree level, and are already a practicing Occupational Therapist (either in Canada or in another country), the MScOT Full-Time 24-Month program may not be appropriate for you. We suggest exploring degree options in research through the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute.

You can view the School of Graduate Studies database of International Degree Equivalenciesto see if you have met our minimum academic eligibility requirement. If offered admission to the MScOT program, students must be either Canadian citizens or permanent residents. To be considered official, academic records must be received directly from the originating institutions. Photocopies of these records may be used to process an application, but applicants should note that official documents will be required before any firm offer of admission will be made. Official English translations done by a certified translator for all non-English documentation must also be submitted (in the province of Ontario, a translator from the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) is required). An interview may be required at the request of the Department’s Admission Committee.