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The Rehabilitation and Participation Science (RAPS) PhD program aims to develop rehabilitation scientists whose research questions are chosen based explicitly on their potential to generate rehabilitation knowledge that will enhance health, reduce illness and disability and optimize participation and quality of life. In our doctoral training model, students devote the majority of their time to mentored research activities beginning in their first semester, and then they become increasingly independent. Students may choose rehabilitation and participation scientists who hold appointments in the occupational therapy program as mentors to help focus their study in the areas of chronic diseases, evidence-based care, interventions, cognitive rehabilitation, neurorehabilitation, health promotion, decreasing secondary conditions, improving physical fitness for people with disabilities, and rehabilitation outcomes and informatics.

This program is designed to be completed in four to five years of full-time study. There is no provision for part-time study. A tuition stipend and fellowship are provided for up to four years, with the possibility of a one-year extension.

Graduates of the RAPS PhD program will be prepared for careers as academic research scientists.

As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.

Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)

Philosophy of Teaching

Teaching in Rehabilitation and Participation Sciences (RAPS), as viewed along a continuum (from a 1:1 clinician-client therapy session through community health education), is at the heart of occupational therapy and rehabilitation. Academicians in rehabilitation and participation science will need preparation for a wide range of educator roles, including classroom teaching, student mentoring, laboratory staff training, and client/research participant education.

Preparatory Engagement

Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.

All RAPS students take the Teaching Practicum course, a 2-credit seminar covering a variety of topics and skills necessary for success as an academic educator, including learning theories, educational philosophies, instructional design, goal-writing and assessment, course/curriculum design, and mentoring students. Students develop a personal statement of philosophy of teaching and learning and must also complete a mentored teaching experience in the Program in Occupational Therapy either in the concurrent or a subsequent semester. 

Students are required to participate in the Teaching Orientation through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) prior to enrolling in the Teaching Practicum course and are encouraged to take advantage of 90-minute workshops offered through the CTL.

Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)

Assistant in Instruction (AI)

An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.

RAPS students ordinarily follow this sequence of engagements: CTL orientation the summer before the year in which they will take M01 7200. M01 7100 is offered every other year, so this will occur in the student’s first or second year in the program. Students will complete one AI for either 10 or 15 MER units.  The minimum requirements (completing M01 7200 and one AI experience) should be completed by the end of their third year.

• 10 units = Preparing course materials, giving one or two lectures, leading discussions, managing Canvas, grading and evaluating some assignments, holding office hours
• 15 units = All activities listed above for 10 units, plus developing quizzes and exams, tutoring, supervising projects, administering and grading exams

Required Pathways for Completion

Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.

• Preparatory Engagement

Pathway #1

UG Spanish Seminar

MGS 8010	Take one time

Pathway #2

UG Spanish Seminar

MGS 8015	Take one time