Occupational Therapy/ Occupational Science (formerly Therapeutic Science)
Graduate Advisors: Ruth E. Benedict, OTR, Dr.P.H.; Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D.; Elizabeth A. Larson, Ph.D., OTR.; Mary L. Schneider, Ph.D., OTR.; Julia L. Wilbarger, Ph.D., OTR
Synopsis: Occupational Science is the theory and body of knowledge
that provides the foundation for the conduct of occupational therapy. Occupational Science draws on the disciplines of biomechanics, motor control, neuroscience, psychology, and sociology. This multidisciplinary grounding provides for investigation of how occupational therapy can promote human health and well being.
Purpose of M.S.: The M.S. degree in the Occupational Science Track is an advanced post-professional degree offered to students who have graduated from an accredited program in occupational therapy or a related field. Program emphasis is on the understanding of theories underlying occupational science. Students conduct research and develop advanced knowledge in a specific area of concentration within occupational science. Completion of 16 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree is required and includes seminars in human occupation and health, courses that emphasize research theory and design, electives focusing on a particular area of study, and completion of a thesis.
Purpose of Ph.D.: The doctoral track in Occupational Science prepares
occupational therapists to serve as researchers and educators who are able contribute
to the understanding of the theoretical and empirical relationships between occupation,
physiological health, and psychological well-being. Graduate students work closely
with their advisors to pursue research on issues that expand upon current
theory in occupational therapy and life-span development.
Facilities: Several laboratories are available for research in
the area of Occupational Science. The Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human
Development is one of 14 facilities in the nation established to further the understanding,
treatment, and prevention of mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
Faculty maintain office space and laboratory space equipped for videotaping infants
during behavioral task performance. A data analysis room has a PC with an integrated
videotape analysis system for on-line coding of the subject's performance.
Community health care settings serve as settings for the formal and informal study
of caregiving in geriatric health care. Research methods include:
- Ethnographic interviewing and participant observation of staff behaviors in dementia
day care.
- Analysis of family-caregiver interactions with physicians in the outpatient geriatric
medical visit.
- Qualitative study of the meaning of practice to occupational therapists
- Phenomenological interviews with family caregivers and staff regarding the ethics
of dementia care.
The Institute on Aging is a campus resource for grant-writing and coordination of
aging research and education.
The Harlow Primate Laboratory and Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, in
combination, comprise the largest primate facility associated with an academic institution
in the United States. Faculty members maintain personal office space, office space
for technical staff and graduate students, animal housing space, behavioral testing
facilities and apparatus, and laboratory space for collection, storage, and analysis
of biological samples. Research methods include:
- Studying early neurobehavior of infant rhesus macaques.
- Measuring levels of hormones and neurotransmitter levels in rhesus monkeys from
different prenatal or postnatal rearing conditions.
- Measurement of physiological growth patterns and social, emotional, and cognitive
development in monkeys.
Prerequisites for Admission (in addition to departmental requirements):
Satisfaction of University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School and Department of
Kinesiology graduate admission requirements. Graduation from an approved program
of basic professional education in occupational therapy and completion of a Master's
degree is required. If the Master's degree was awarded without a thesis, then evidence
of scholarly writing in the form of a professionally peer reviewed publication is
required.
Prerequisites for admission to Occupational Therapy/Occupational Science Ph.D. program
Course requirements for Ph.D. in the Occupational Therapy/ Occupational Science track