McGill Program 

The Occupational Therapy (OT) program at McGill University is the only program in Canada with two entry points for students to apply into the Master's program. 

1. Entry Point 1 - Undergraduate program (Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Science (OT)) 
2. Entry Point 2 - Qualifying year (QY) (Applicants who already hold a Bachelors degree) 

The Undergraduate program (U1 -U3) (Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Science (OT)) is a 90-credit degree which provides the student with a basic health sciences foun­dation and undergraduate level courses specific to the practice of Occupational Therapy. Completion of the bachelor’s degree does not make you eligible for licensure to practice as an OT. This degree provides access to the Professional program, a 63-credit Masters of Science (Applied) in Occupational Therapy.

The Master of Science (Applied) in Occupational Therapy is a professional program leading to eligibility for licensure to practice as an Occupational Therapist. It is a 63-credit degree program that includes 1000 hours of clinical fieldwork education over 5 semesters. There are two entry points to this professional program.

Consult the Professional Masters program admissions for a detailed description of entry points and application routes. 

The Occupational Therapy (OT) Program is committed to responding to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the spirit of its final report. Our current curricular objectives are to build the OT faculty’s foundation, reflexivity, and professional competencies in relation to the development and evaluation of current and new Indigenous partnerships, and content that aligns with critical occupational therapy philosophy.

About the Profession 

An Occupational Therapist is a health care practitioner whose aim is to help all people with different abilities to live meaningful lives.

The goal of occupational therapy intervention is to promote the capacity of individuals, groups, communities and organizations to engage in their valued and necessary occupations.

Occupation refers to the meaningful activities and roles within the environments in which people live and function.

Occupational therapists use a person-centred approach and the most updated evidence to work with people of all ages, from infancy through midlife to old age, to navigate physical, emotional or social barriers and address inequities in participation. 

Explore the courses you will take in the program curriculum. 

Learn more about the profession on the national (CAOT)  and provincial (OEQ) association websites.

More videos to understand the role of an Occupational Therapist

• Field Studies in Northern Quebec
• Occupational Therapy: Faces of Diversity 
• Occupational Therapy as a Career
• Rebecca Langbein: An Occupational Therapist's Role in Person-Centered Design
• Quinn Tyminski: Occupational Therapy for the Homeless
• Jill Martin: The hidden magic of Occupational Therapy
• Shawn Phipps: Occupational Therapy and Neuroplasticity After Brain Injury
• Denise Rotert: Occupational Therapy: It isn't all work
• Rayya Ghul: Doing, being, becoming
• Fatima Chehouri: A parachute, a beachball, and teamwork: OT unleashes the 7 senses

Looking for volunteer opportunities?

Refer to this list for possibilities.

Program Mission and Vision

Vision Statement

Promoting participation for all through occupation.

Mission Statement

The Occupational Therapy Program is dedicated to:​

• Advancing occupational therapy knowledge and promoting equitable participation in occupations by collaborating with individuals, communities and systems. ​
• Empowering learners to champion meaningful occupations and to advance occupational therapy practice through innovation, academic excellence and scholarship.​

Program Goals

To educate learners to become competent, innovative, socially responsive practitioners using professional reasoning and evidence.

To advance equitable participation in meaningful occupations for individuals, families and communities.

To contribute to knowledge generation and mobilization in occupational therapy, occupational science, rehabilitation science, and interprofessional health care education and practice.

Program Accreditation

McGill University’s Master of Science (Applied) in Occupational Therapy is an accredited educational program. In February 2024, it was granted a seven-year accreditation award (November 2023 to 2030) by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. The accreditation of professional education programs is a process of quality assurance through which accredited status is granted to a program of study once it has met certain standards of education. Find out more about accreditation by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists here.