Program Menu
Curriculum
Pitt’s Prosthetics and Orthotics program has a diverse curriculum that covers a wide range of topics including:
- Trans-tibial, trans-femoral and upper extremity prosthetics
- Lower and upper extremity and spinal orthotics
- Rehabilitation biomechanics
- Rehabilitation engineering and technologies
Students learn from faculty who are connected with industry leaders and have global networks through research or academic collaborations and advocacy.
Example Plan of Study
Please note that several night classes are taken on the main campus in Oakland and are not exclusive to the Bakery Square lab and facility location.
Year 1
Fall Term
- Functional Anatomy and Kinesiology
- Pathology in Orthotics and Prosthetics
- Introduction to materials, Equipment and Fabrication
- Rehabilitation Biomechanics for the Health Care Professions
- Professional Issues in Prosthetics and Orthotics
- Patient Management in Orthotics and Prosthetics
- Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice and Research Methodologies
Spring Term
- Orthotics 1
- Prosthetics 1
- Capstone for Prosthetics and Orthotics
- Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice in Orthotics and Prosthetics
- Ethical Issues in Health Care
Summer Term
- Orthotics 2
- Prosthetics 2
- Spinal Orthotics
Year 2
Fall Term
- Orthotics 3
- Prosthetics 3
- Issues in Health System
- Fundamentals of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Applications
- Individual and Social Experience of Disability
Spring Term
- Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinical Internship
- Scholarly Paper
- Practice Management in Prosthetics and Orthotics
The program’s comprehensive exam is scheduled during this term and is set up in a style similar to that of NCOPE board exams. Passing this exam is a mandatory graduation requirement.
Course Completion
Each course in the curriculum is offered only once during the academic year, therefore, any departure from completing a course in its planned sequence (for example: failure, for any reason, to satisfactorily complete a required course; an unresolved “G” or “Incomplete” grade) will result in a one-year delay in completing the course, the remaining program requirements, and the year of graduation.
Thesis/Non-Thesis Options
All students explore scientific problem solving and engage in evidence-based practice through a Capstone project, with support of a faculty advisor and a faculty reader. Students with interest in research can further develop their understanding of the scientific method by electing to follow the Thesis Track Plan of Study that allows students to delve more into their project and experience the rigor of a thesis committee.
Students electing to pursue the thesis option will complete:
- 3 credits of Graduate Research Proposal in place of the 1 credit Capstone
- 2 credits of Scholarly Paper
- 3 credits of Graduate Research
This will change the total amount of completed credits from 65 to 68.