Occupational therapy. Prepares individuals to employ self-care, work, and play activities as therapeutic regimes for patients in order to increase independent functioning, enhance development, and assist recovery from disability.

Occupational therapy assistance. Prepares individuals to support occupational therapists by providing assistance during patient examinations,

treatment, and monitoring; by keeping patient and related health record information; and by performing a wide range of practice-related duties.

Ocean engineering. Prepares individuals to apply mathematical and scientific principles to the design, development, and operational evaluation of systems that operate within coastal or ocean environments. Includes the design of systems for working in underwater environments and the analysis of related problems, such as the action of water on physical systems and people, tidal forces, and wave motion.

Oceanography. The study of the oceans and associated phenomena, including the land/water and water/atmosphere boundaries. Includes instruction in physical oceanography, marine chemistry and geology, and applications to specific research problems, such as coastal erosion, seawater corrosion and reactive behavior, and seafloor volcanism.

Office supervision and management. Prepares individuals to supervise and manage the operations and personnel of business offices. Includes instruction in labor relations, budgeting, scheduling, records management, security, office facilities design, and public relations.

Operations management and supervision. Prepares individuals to manage and direct the physical and/or technical functions of firms or organizations, particularly those relating to development, production, and manufacturing. Includes instruction in manufacturing and production systems, industrial labor relations, systems analysis, productivity analysis and cost control, and materials planning.

Operations research. Program that describes the development and application of complex mathematical or simulation models to solve problems involving operational systems, where the system concerned is subject to human intervention. Includes instruction in advanced multivariate analysis, application of judgment and statistical tests, optimization theory and techniques, resource allocation theory, mathematical modeling, control theory, statistical analysis, and application to specific research problems.

Ophthalmic medical assistance. Prepares individuals to support ophthalmologists by providing assistance during patient examinations, treatment, and monitoring and by keeping patient and related health record information.

Ophthalmic/optometric services. Prepares individuals to assist ophthalmologists and/or optometrists in providing clinical services. Instruction may cover filling prescriptions, dispensing optical supplies, grinding lenses, patient counseling, vision testing, and diagnosis.

Optics. The study of light energy, including its structure, properties, and behavior under different conditions. Includes instruction in wave theory and mechanics, electromagnetic theory, physical optics, laser theory, coherence and chaotic light, nonlinear optics, and harmonic generation.

Optometric/ophthalmic laboratory technology. Prepares individuals to make prescription lenses and related visual aid equipment, under the supervision of an optician or optometrist. Includes instruction in optical laboratory procedures, principles of vision optics, lens grinding and polishing, contact lens fabrication, and glasses construction.

Optometry (O.D.). Prepares individuals for the professional practice of optometry. Describes the principles and techniques of examining, diagnosing, and treating conditions of the visual system. Includes instruction in prescribing glasses and contact lenses, corrective therapies, patient counseling, physician referral, and ethics and professional standards.

Organic chemistry. The study of the properties and behavior of hydrocarbon compounds and their derivatives. Includes instruction in molecular conversion and synthesis, the molecular structure of living cells and systems, the mutual reactivity of organic and inorganic compounds in combination and the spectroscopic analysis of hydrocarbon compounds.

Organizational behavior studies. The study of the behavior and motivations of individuals functioning in organized groups and its application to business and industrial settings. Includes instruction in organization theory, industrial and organizational psychology, social psychology, sociology of organizations, and reinforcement and incentive theory.

Ornamental horticulture. Prepares individuals to produce flowers, foliage, and related plant materials in fields and greenhouses for ornamental purposes, and to arrange, package, and market these materials. Includes instruction in enterprise management.

Orthotics/prosthetics. Prepares individuals, under the supervision of a physician and in consultation with therapists, to make and fit orthoses and prostheses. Includes instruction in design, crafting, and production techniques, properties of materials, anatomy and physiology, and patient counseling.

Osteopathic medicine (D.O.). Prepares individuals for the professional practice of osteopathy, a system of holistic diagnosis and treatment of health problems. Includes instruction in allopathic methods, spinal manipulation, musculoskeletal and nervous system influence on body health, promoting natural defense mechanisms, and the interrelation of the various body systems.