Excellent Reputation

Among clinicians, graduates, and prospective students, the School of Occupational Therapy at Puget Sound has established an excellent reputation. Contributions to this reputation include the program's

  • nationally recognized faculty dedicated to teaching excellence
  • closely supervised, on-campus clinical experience with real clients (children and adult) and off-campus mental health treatment experience
  • strong anatomy, biomechanics, and neuroscience foundations
  • principles of analysis: human movement, task performance, environment
  • theory and practice of pediatrics, gerontology, physical disabilities, and mental health
  • extensive thermoplastic splinting and assistive technology labs
  • computer-based interactive video patient simulations
  • extensive use of Internet for information and communication

On-Site Clinic

The on-site teaching clinic is a unique feature of the School of Occupational Therapy at Puget Sound. This is a pro-bono clinic where students perform every part of evaluation and treatment of clients, from the first visit to the last, under the supervision of expert clinicians from the community who are hired to teach, without having responsibility for a caseload of their own. The pace of the clinic is customized to student learning needs, and communication between students and clinical instructors is constant. This learning environment will give you an unparalleled transitional experience that will help you benefit more fully from internships in the community. The effectiveness of the process is evident in the reports of clinical instructors, who consistently state that Puget Sound students adapt to the clinic environment more quickly and effectively than other students they have encountered. In the on-site clinic, you will have the opportunity to participate in three specialty services, including mental health, pediatrics, and adult rehabilitation. Clients come from the University and the surrounding community for evaluation, treatment planning, and treatment implementation. Occupational Therapy students, under the supervision of licensed Occupational Therapists, provide these services to clients with diagnoses consisting of, but not limited to, stroke, multiple sclerosis, head injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, and other developmental delays.

Impressive Empirical Outcomes

  • Superior clinical writing by graduates is consistently recognized by clinical supervisors.
  • Clinical readiness among Puget Sound graduates is widely recognized by clinical employers as outstanding.