Army-Baylor Entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program Receives Full Accreditation through ACOTE
Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences is pleased to share that the U.S. Army-Baylor Entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) has been granted full accreditation for a period of seven years by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).
“We were truly excited, humbled, and honored to receive the approved ACOTE accreditation for the maximum possible length of seven years!” shared COL Enrique Smith-Forbes, PhD, OTR/L, CHT, Director of the U.S. Army-Baylor OTD program. “This program is the first in the nation in which graduates will have advance practice for upper extremity conditions, mental health, and holistic health and fitness within the federal system. This has been a labor of love for the last five years that has included collaboration with the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence leadership, the Army-Baylor DPT program, Baylor University, and numerous other clinical providers at Brooke Army Medical Center.”
The Entry-level Army-Baylor OTD is one of nine programs housed within Robbins College in a partnership between Baylor University and the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence. The OTD program seeks to produce active duty, commissioned occupational therapists who are clinician scientists and leaders prepared for worldwide military health system practice. It focuses on academic and clinical excellence to prepare students for public servant service with entry-level knowledge, skills, clinical reasoning abilities, duties, responsibilities, and ethics to deliver high quality occupational therapy services based on scientific research.
In addition to receiving ACOTE accreditation, the Army-Baylor OTD program also recently received its first rating from U.S. News & World Report, coming in at #41 out of 263 occupational therapy programs for the 2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings.
“We are thrilled at our program’s excellent performance, ranking with another 11 programs at #41,” Smith-Forbes said. “This is a great achievement as the program now offers a level II fieldwork placement abroad, meeting the U.S. Army’s strategic priority of global health engagement and Baylor University’s mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service.”
“We are proud of and excited for COL Smith-Forbes and the entire Army-Baylor OTD team,” said Denny Kramer, PhD, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and the Division of Health Professions in Baylor’s Robbins College. “Both the accreditation achievement and the strong initial ranking in U.S. News speak to the commitment of the leadership and the high quality of the program. I look forward to seeing the continued success of the Army-Baylor Entry-level OTD and to watching program graduates make a positive impact through their service.”