Entry-Level OTD Fieldwork

How does an accomplished OT student make the transition to expert practitioner? At Boston University, observation and participation in clinical practice start in the first year of the Entry-level OTD program. From then on, your exposure to a wide range of clinical settings and types of patients will continue to grow. With supervised fieldwork experiences integrated into your coursework, you’ll soon be applying what you’ve learned to real-life client situations.

Level I and Level II Fieldwork

Supervised fieldwork experiences are an integral part of the educational program. The Accreditation Standards of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) require two levels of fieldwork experience.

• Level I Fieldwork (LIFW) at Boston University consists of semester-long, weekly experiences designed to complement your OTD coursework during the four on-campus academic semesters of the program.
• When you’ve completed the two years of required coursework, you’ll enter Level II Fieldwork (LIIFW): two 12-week, full-time clinical placements in which you’ll take responsibility for delivering occupational therapy services to clients.

The large number of BU-affiliated fieldwork sites around Boston makes a broad mix of practical experiences possible—a major advantage of our program. Later, after the first 2-years of OTD coursework is completed, you’ll acquire more in-depth experience at two full-time internships selected from hundreds of available clinical sites throughout the United States. Our students find the rich diversity of placements and client populations exciting, rewarding and, most of all, wonderful preparation for the final step into clinical practice.

Please note:

• Sargent College of Health and 康复科学 offers programs leading to licensure at the graduate level. Students in licensure programs or interested in obtaining licensure should review their program’s Professional Licensure and Certification Requirements. This document provides information about Sargent College’s state-approved programs and how the educational requirements compare with those in other states.
• Students who are admitted into BU Sargent College routinely participate in clinical education experiences as a part of their respective program curricula. Most clinical education facilities require criminal background checks to determine students’ eligibility for participation. History of a criminal background may disqualify students from participating in these experiences, which are required for successful completion of the degree program.
• There may be some clinical placements that are unavailable to students who are non-US citizens.
• Students should anticipate the need to complete clinical experience related requirements, which cost an average of $100 per experience. This estimate does not include transportation and housing costs. Questions regarding requirements for specific sites should be directed to the Clinical Education Services Office (clined@bu.edu; Sargent College room 218).

Sargent Clinical Education Office

To help students arrive at their clinical placement well prepared, BU Sargent College has a dedicated Clinical Education Services office right in the building in room SAR-218. To learn more, please visit Boston University’s Clinical Education.