ASOT OTD Program Student Handbook

Spalding University is a private, not-for-profit, liberal arts university. Our campus encompasses 24 acres in downtown Louisville, KY. As of the fall of 2016, Spalding had a headcount of 2,322 students. Established in 1814 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Spalding University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award more than 66 degrees at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist’s and doctoral levels. Tori Murden McClure, M.Div., J.D., M.F.A has served as president since 2010.

Kosair Charities has donated significant resources to Spalding University for many years, and ASOT has enjoyed their generosity to improve resources used in the classroom, at enTECH, and in Spalding's comprehensive outpatient rehab facility. Please visit the following link to learn more about Kosair Charities and how they have helped numerous organizations and individuals through the metro Louisville area.

The program began as a baccalaureate degree program within the School of Nursing and Health Sciences in 1995 with the first class admitted in January 1997.  At that time, the bachelor's degree in occupational therapy was a professional degree allowing the student to enter the practice of occupational therapy and deliver services to individuals with deficits in occupational performance and function.  In recognition of the outstanding personal and financial support of the Occupational Therapy Program by Dr. S. Pearson Auerbach and his family, the program was named the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy in March 2000.   

In November 1999, the Occupational Therapy Program initiated a planned transition to graduate admission as the entry level for occupational therapy practice.  Effective January 2001, the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy at Spalding University began offering a combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science degree. The ASOT MSOT degree has been awarded to hundreds of alumni, and students admitted in January 2019 will be the charter cohort to receive their clinical doctorates in occupational therapy (OTD) in December 2021.

Please visit the ASOT OTD home page within Spalding University's website to read more information about the current OTD program, faculty and staff, partnerships, and other ASOT programs.

The profession of occupational therapy is an exciting and rewarding career that is projected to continually grow across the nation. The ASOT OTD program educates individuals who will be doctorally prepared, competitive, entry-level occupational therapists to serve individuals and populations from the east coast to the west and in rural, suburban, and urban areas.

To read more about occupational therapy and its career outlook, please visit the websites for the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics by clicking the links below.