Occupational Therapy Master’s Program at Colorado State Named One of the Best in the Country in Survey Released Today

Colorado State University’s master’s degree program in occupational therapy was today named one of the best graduate programs in the country.

The program was tied for eighth place in a national survey released by US News and World Report magazine in their special 1998 Graduate Guide.

"We are very proud of this recognition for the department of occupational therapy and its tradition of excellence," said Nancy Hartley, dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences, home to the department. "We’re even more proud of the solid research and teaching done in this department and we’re justifiably proud of the quality of our graduates and what they in turn do to benefit many people in our state and nation."

The master’s degree program in occupational therapy has 65 students who work with 12 faculty members in the department. The entire occupational therapy program, including undergraduates, has 489 students. Colorado State is among only a handful of universities in western states offering degree programs in occupational therapy.

Wanda Mayberry, associate professor and graduate coordinator for the department, said the occupational therapy graduate program trains graduate students to work with people who have difficulties in work, recreation or living skills. These graduate students, in their education, use a wide variety of concrete activities to help people achieve their rehabilitation goals. The graduate students also take courses in leadership skills, learn research techniques and study advanced theory in their field.

"If a person’s had a stroke, an occupational therapist might help teach them to button a shirt one-handed or to write with their non-dominant hand, or even teach them to use a computer instead of manually writing at all," Mayberry said. "There’s a wide variety of applications and options occupational therapists use every day. We help educate them for those wide possibilities."

Other graduate programs at Colorado State that are ranked among the best in the country by the survey include veterinary medicine and vocational education. Colorado State’s veterinary medicine program ranked fourth in the nation and the vocational education program ranked twelfth. There were no new rankings in the latest survey for veterinary medicine and vocational education categories.