The post-professional graduate level course work of the MA program in occupational therapy at USC is designed to prepare the student for the roles of clinical practitioner, consumer of research and administrator. Both basic and applied theory provide the foundation for these roles. Clinical practice is viewed as generalist in nature requiring a synthesis of knowledge which can be applied to dysfunction, commonly classified as developmental, psychosocial or physical. The conceptual model which organizes the course work is a systems model, employing general systems theory as a framework in which to view the human as an occupational being. The least complex subsystems are the physical and biological ones, more complex subsystems include sociocultural, symbolic evaluative and the transcendental subsystems.
Occupation is visible as output from the system.
It is adaptive if it enables the individual to act on and successfully meet the demands of his or her own environmental niche. In addition, each student, in consultation with an academic advisor, completes either a thesis or an 8-unit sequence of elective course work and a comprehensive written examination. The Thesis Option enables students to conduct and report an original piece of research. Through this experience, students develop considerable expertise in a particular topic or aspect of occupational therapy and acquire strong scholastic, research and analytical skills. The Comprehensive Examination Option enables students to develop advanced knowledge and skill in an area of interest within occupational therapy by choosing several elective courses rather than completing a thesis.