Program Overview
Occupational Therapy is a health profession that provides services to children and adults of all ages whose lives have been disrupted by physical injury or illness, developmental problems, the aging process and/or psychosocial dysfunction. Occupational Therapy Assistants use occupation and purposeful activity with clients/patients to help them reach their maximum level of independence.
Specific tasks may include daily living skill training, fabrication of adaptive equipment, leading individual and group treatment activities, adapting home environments, ADA architectural accessibility standards, enabling computer access for the disabled, cognitive retraining, improving development of gross/fine motor skills and activities that enhance quality of life. Graduates will receive an Associate of Applied Science degree after successful completion of academic and fieldwork experiences.
The Occupational Therapy Assistant program is a Community-Engaged Learning program. Community-Engaged Learning requirements are embedded in coursework. Students are required to spend 150 hours or more involved in Community-Engaged Learning, which may be outside of scheduled course times. Students may be required to attend conferences and out-of-state activities. The expenses of these requirements are additional student costs. Expenses can be offset by enrollment in AmeriCorps, if available. Students with a "B" average or higher will graduate as civically engaged scholars.
Career Opportunities
Job outlook for occupational therapy assistants is anticipated to grow by 23% by 2032, a rate much faster than average. Median pay for occupational therapy assistants is $63,450. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
What You Will Learn
- Work settings includes acute care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, community living facilities, home health agencies, community mental health centers, school systems, nursing homes, burn centers and rehabilitation clinics. Practice areas include: children and youth, health and wellness, mental health, productive aging, rehabilitation, disability and participation, work and industry and emerging practice areas. COTAs work under the supervision of licensed, occupational therapists.
- Graduates will acquire substantial foundational knowledge of the profession.
- Graduates will acquire substantial therapy skills.
- The program graduates will pass the National Board Certification of Occupational Therapy occupational therapy assistant examination.
- Graduates with certifications will obtain employment in occupational therapy or their chosen field.
- Employers will report that our graduates are competent at their jobs.
- The program graduates will be effective in verbal, written, and non-verbal communication with patients, peers and others.
Estimated Cost
Course Fees: $337
Other: $1,186
Note: Fees vary based upon specific registration and are subject to changes.
Career Outlook
Some careers shown require further education beyond this program.
Additional Information
Occupational Therapy Assistant Program selective admissions Application Requirements
This program has selective admission and has additional requirements to be accepted into the degree program. Specific requirements and process can be found here. Please contact the Health Sciences Admissions Office, healthsciencesadmissions@slcc.edu, or 801-957-6253 for additional information.
Specialized Accreditation
The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). ACOTE; C/O Accreditation Department, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814-3449.
Graduates are eligible to take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam.
Licensure Information
We have made a good-faith effort to collect state licensure requirements for the SLCC programs of study that lead to professional licensure. You can view additional information about state licensure requirements on our Professional Licensure webpage.