Program Details Eligibility How to Apply

AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO WELL-BEING

With Nova Southeastern University’s Dual Admission program, you can earn your bachelor's and Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree in seven and a half years or in six years and one semester with the accelerated track. Gain the skills needed to integrate knowledge from the arts and sciences, assess and treat in a way that matches a client's needs and goals, and promote health and well-being by helping people do their occupation. You’ll also develop the skills you need to lead your colleagues and the public in understanding how occupation impacts health. This program gives you the opportunity to practice in various settings with people across the lifespan, with or without a disability or illness.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

A Dual Admission program is available to qualified freshman, allowing them to complete a combined bachelor's degree and doctoral degree in a total of a seven-and-a-half-year period (4+3.3) or a six-year period for the accelerated track (3+3.3). Save a year and start practicing even sooner with our innovative accelerated pathway program.
 
After successfully completing an undergraduate degree at NSU (see requirements chart below), students are eligible to immediately start their Entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy.

Degrees Earned

You can earn any bachelor’s degree and your Doctor of Occupational Therapy (O.T.D.)

Interview Required

Students applying for Dual Admission must interview during Shark Preview Weekend, an exclusive admitted students event.

Program Length

Earn your bachelor’s in four years and your doctorate in 3.3 years or in three + 3.3 years on the accelerated track.

Deadline to Apply

Fall Admission: February 1

 

ELIGIBILITY

To be considered for Dual Admission and fill your reserved seat in graduate or professional school, there are some requirements you must meet. Undergraduate Admission Requirements are for first-time in college students applying to earn a bachelor’s degree. This Dual Admission program is ONLY for first-time in college students, although college credits earned through advanced high school program may apply ( see “transfer credits through high school section below”). 

Graduate Admission Requirements are the standards students need to maintain, while earning their undergraduate degree, to remain eligible for the graduate or professional program.

Undergraduate Admission Requirements

GPA (3+ track)

High School: 3.5 Weighted GPA 
(First-Time Students)

GPA (4+ track)

High School: 3.0 Weighted GPA 
(First-Time Students)

Courses

Biology

ACT/SAT/CLT

Test-Optional

Graduate Admission Requirements

Keep your dual admission status while you earn your bachelor’s.

Dual Admission reserves your seat in NSU’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, but you must still complete a graduate application once you finish your bachelor’s degree.

Keep in mind that these are the basic requirements, and final determination of admission into the professional program is at the discretion of the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences.

Degree Required

You must complete a bachelor’s degree in any major you choose. Additional prerequisites may be communicated upon admission.

Undergraduate GPA

You must maintain a 3.0 cumulative and science GPA and earn a minimum grade of C or better in pre-requisite courses.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Observation hours are not required. Applicants are encouraged to have exposure to and familiarity with the profession of occupational therapy and the various populations with which OTs work so that they are prepared to effectively articulate their interest in the field. This can be achieved by shadowing OTs, research and readings, prior occupational therapy college coursework, or personal experience. 

Additional Requirements

Transfer students are not eligible to apply to this Health and Medical Professions Dual Admission program. Only students coming to NSU in the fall semester as first-time college freshman applicants are eligible to apply.

College credits that were earned through advanced high school programs such as AP, IB or college academy—or in summer coursework following high school graduation, prior to attending NSU—may transfer to NSU. However, we strongly encourage students to take a majority of their specific science program pre-requisites at NSU to highlight their competency in these critical domains and maximize their long-term profile for future graduate/professional school candidacy.

Students who enter NSU with earned college credits through advanced high school programs may be able to complete their degree and program requirements earlier than scheduled and request to enter their graduate professional programs earlier as well.

Please contact your admissions representative for more details regarding high school transfer credits.

Please be advised that a student's initial course placement in mathematics, science or composition may impact the timing of the completion of all dual admission prerequisites and major courses, and could result in the need to take summer courses.

Ready for the Next Step?

Here’s how to apply.

Dual Admission is just one of NSU’s distinctive Premier Programs. These programs are designed to help highly motivated students accelerate their success.

You can apply for just about any combination of the following Premier Programs:

• Dual Admission
• The Fischler Academy of Education
• Huizenga Business Innovation Academy
• Razor’s Edge Scholars

You may apply for and be admitted into only one Dual Admission program for your first semester. Each program is unique and has its own eligibility requirements.

Questions? Browse FAQ

Apply for Undergraduate Admission

You can use the Shark Select Application or the Common App to apply to Nova Southeastern University.

Submit a Supplemental Application

Complete the supplemental Premier Programs application for fall entry.

Interview During Shark Preview

If you’re admitted to NSU and submit the supplemental application, you will be invited via email to choose which Shark Preview Weekend works for your schedule.