Pitt Announces New One-Year Masters and Graduate Certificate in Rehabilitation Technology

Published in Complex Rehab on July 06, 2020

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology has announced a new 35-credit Master of Rehabilitation Technology (MRT) degree beginning in the fall semester of 2020. The degree can be in one year of full-time study or part-time. The program includes weekly remote classes and in-person labs conducted over one 4-day weekend per semester in Pittsburgh. 

Learn more in this video! 

Below is the original press release from the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology:

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology has announced a new 35-credit Master of Rehabilitation Technology (MRT) degree beginning in the fall semester of 2020. The degree can be in one year of full-time study or part-time. The program includes weekly remote classes and in-person labs conducted over one 4-day weekend per semester in Pittsburgh. 

For those who do not want to pursue a full Master’s degree, RST is also offering a 15-credit Graduate Certificate In Rehabilitation Technology. The goal for developing the new degree and certificate was to focus more on practical applications and the skills necessary for students to get through a degree in a flexible manner that meets their needs and prepared to seek employment as an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) in a growing job market.   

Full-time students will enroll in five classes (15 credits) for the fall and spring semesters followed by completing a 240-hour (3 credit) internship and a thesis or scholarly paper (2 credits) in the summer semester. Part-time students also have the option of being on campus working as paid Research Assistants in any one of the numerous laboratories and clinics within the department. 

The new MRT will be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Education (CoA-RATE) in conjunction with the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) in the same manner the previous Master of Science was accredited. Therefore, students will have met the majority of the work hour requirements to be eligible to sit for the Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certification exam soon upon graduation. 

Given an aging population who want to age in place and people surviving and living longer with disabilities, the demand for ATPs will only continue to grow and be recognized as a health profession. We want to promote this great profession especially to bright young minds coming out of undergraduate programs.  

For more information about the program go to www.shrs.pitt.edu/mrt or contact Mark Schmeler, Program Director at [email protected]