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University of Southern California
University of Southern California
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
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Courses at Chan: What Makes Each Trojan OT Unique

Japeth

May 5, 2020
by
Japeth

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One thing I really love about the Post-Professional Master of Arts in OT program at USC Chan is the liberty that we have as students to learn what we are really interested in. The program takes a year to complete and consists of two semesters: the Fall semester includes the core courses (these are the courses that you take together with the entire cohort) and the Spring semester includes two core courses and elective courses (these courses are specialty courses and students take what they are passionate about).

This spring semester, I decided to take the following courses: OT 560 Contemporary Issues in School-Based Practice, OT 583 Lifestyle Redesign, OT 565 Sensory Integration Interventions, and OT 568 Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration: Special Topics.

OT 565 and OT 568: I want to take this chance to say thank you to Dr. Janet Gunter and Dr. Joan Surfus for being amazing! The Sensory Integration Theory is not an easy theory to learn, and it even gets more difficult when you start learning how to use it during assessment and intervention, but these two professors made sure that we learn every concept and encouraged us to ask questions when we were quite confused. They give us coursework that are practical and useful and are very helpful in making us integrate theory into practice.

OT 560: Dr. Linsey Smith is a great teacher for me. Each module was equipped with up to date information about OT in the school setting, evidence-based interventions, and standardized assessments! I love how the course is properly organized according to the grade level from Early Intervention to High School transition, and it also included contents about interprofessional collaboration, professionalism management, and advocacy!

OT 583: Another “only at USC” course and also one of the best at Chan is the Lifestyle Redesign® elective. This course taught me how to manage myself as a person and as an OT, how to manage individual and group sessions that are very client-centered, and how to establish routines and habits through behavior change. This course is very empowering, and I appreciate how Dr. Camille Dieterle allows us to do return demonstrations during class.

(Disclaimer: You can take 10-12 units of elective courses, and mine is more than that because as a student, we are also allowed to overload.)

And finally, I am sharing this video project that USC Chan’s Post-Professional Master’s in OT 2020 created! We hope that this will be a useful resource to future students!