{"id":2742,"date":"2018-01-22T15:18:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T20:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/med.sites.unc.edu\/ocsci\/?page_id=2742"},"modified":"2025-06-11T14:02:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T18:02:01","slug":"opportunities-beyond-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/ocsci\/prospectivestudents\/programs\/opportunities-beyond-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportunities Beyond the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

We encourage our students to be engaged in opportunities for professional, research, and community service activities that complement and extend beyond academic study. Examples of these types of engagement are described below.<\/p>\n

Professional Involvement<\/h3>\n

Every student is encouraged to become a member of\u00a0SOTA<\/b>, the Student Occupational Therapy Association. SOTA is a pre-professional organization focused on community service, professional awareness, and social networking opportunities for current students in the occupational therapy program. For more information: SOTA website.<\/p>\n

NCOTA\u00a0<\/b>is the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, and UNC has a long history of active involvement from faculty, alumni, and students. We encourage students to join NCOTA for the purposes of networking, service to the profession, and continuing education. For more information, visit\u00a0www.ncota.org<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

AOTA<\/b>, the American Occupational Therapy Association, is the national professional association representing the interests of occupational therapists in all realms of practice. Attendance at annual national conferences keeps practitioners abreast of current clinical, educational, political and legal issues related to the profession, and student memberships are affordable and highly encouraged. For more information, visit\u00a0www.aota.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Khalilah Johnson (front left) and OS\/OT doctoral students Kierra Peak (back left), Seth Mitchell (back second-from-left), and Becky Partin (back right) led a World Caf\u00e9 data collection session at NCOTA 2022. Community providers and colleagues, including first-year OS\/OT MS students Daysha Smith, Allie Maxwell, Aria Galloway, Taylor Bolejack, Taylor Rabon, and Laura Cain, participated.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0Society for the Study of Occupational Science<\/b> \u2013 USA<\/strong> focuses on research and scholarship in the realm of occupational science, and its translation to clinical applications in occupational therapy. For more information, visit\u00a0www.sso-usa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0World Federation of Occupational Therapy (<\/strong>WFOT<\/b>)\u00a0is the international council that promotes communication between and collaboration among occupational therapists throughout the world. Online networking opportunities and information about occupational therapy organizations worldwide can be found at\u00a0www.wfot.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Community Service<\/h3>\n

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a long tradition of community service, and we encourage students in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy to carry on this tradition through involvement in various forms of volunteerism. A few of the ways in which students in occupational therapy can be involved in community service include:<\/p>\n