Occupational Therapy major
Occupational Therapy: courses, careers, and where to study
Occupational therapy prepares you to help people regain everyday skills after injury, illness, or disability so they can take part in the daily activities that matter to them.
Occupational therapy focuses on helping people do the everyday activities that matter to them, from dressing and cooking to working and playing, when a physical, cognitive, developmental, or mental-health condition gets in the way. Students learn how the body and mind support purposeful activity, then study how to assess what a person can and cannot do, set meaningful goals, and design interventions that rebuild skills or adapt the task and environment instead. Coursework blends anatomy, neuroscience, and human development with psychology and the social side of health, alongside training in standardized and observational assessments, assistive and adaptive technology, ergonomics, and the professional ethics that govern client care. Unlike physical therapy, which centers on movement, strength, and recovery of the body itself, occupational therapy is organized around participation in daily life and the practical adaptations, routines, and tools that make activities possible.
In the United States, entry into clinical practice as an occupational therapist generally requires a graduate degree, either a master's or a clinical doctorate, and graduates must pass a national certification examination and obtain a state license before treating patients, so prospective students should verify a program's accreditation and their state's licensure rules. Programs typically combine classroom and lab work, where students practice assessments and fabricate adaptive equipment or splints, with supervised fieldwork placements, and doctoral-level programs add a culminating capstone project. Graduates work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, outpatient clinics, schools, skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, mental-health settings, and home health, often specializing over time in areas such as pediatric, geriatric, hand, or school-based practice.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of occupational therapists, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $98,340 and projects employment to grow about 13.8% from 2024 to 2034; a master's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Occupational Therapy maps to CIP 51.2306, Occupational Therapy/Therapist, within the HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to assist patients limited by physical, cognitive, psychosocial, mental, developmental, and learning disabilities, as well as adverse environmental conditions, to maximize their independence and maintain optimum health through a planned mix of acquired skills, performance motivation, environmental adaptations, assistive technologies, and physical agents. Includes instruction in the basic medical sciences, psychology, sociology, patient assessment and evaluation, standardized and non-standardized tests and measurements, assistive and rehabilitative technologies, ergonomics, environmental health, special education, vocational counseling, health education and promotion, and professional standards and ethics.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Occupational Therapy is awarded as
Of the 10,444 Occupational Therapy credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Associate<1%38
- Bachelor's5%505
- Graduate95%9,901
This mix is fairly consistent nationally: across the 38 states reporting it, the certificate share moves by about 0 percentage points between the 10th and 90th percentile state, so the credential is more a property of the field than of where you study it. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Functional anatomy, kinesiology, and neuroscience for everyday movement
- Human growth and development across the lifespan
- Standardized and observational patient assessment and evaluation
- Therapeutic intervention planning and goal setting
- Activity analysis and adaptation of daily-living tasks
- Assistive and adaptive technology, splinting, and orthotic fabrication
- Ergonomics, environmental modification, and home accessibility
- Mental-health and psychosocial intervention approaches
- Supervised clinical fieldwork and professional ethics
Typical careers
- Occupational Therapist
- Pediatric Occupational Therapist
- Geriatric Occupational Therapist
- Hand Therapist
- Rehabilitation Specialist
- School-Based Occupational Therapist
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 occupational therapists median $98,340).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Occupational Therapy, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $105,620 | 27,400 | +17.3% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Occupational Therapists | $98,340 | 10,200 | +13.8% | Master's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 2 of these 2 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Occupational Therapy does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Occupational Therapy major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Occupational Therapy program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Occupational Therapy department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Occupational Therapy program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Occupational Therapy credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- University of St. Augustine for Health SciencesCA · 730
- University of Southern CaliforniaCA · 258
- Thomas Jefferson UniversityPA · 147
- Texas Woman's UniversityTX · 126
- Eastern Kentucky UniversityKY · 125
- Creighton UniversityNE · 119
- Quinnipiac UniversityCT · 106
- West Coast University-Center for Graduate StudiesCA · 104
- University of New Hampshire-Main CampusNH · 100
- Long Island UniversityNY · 98
- Baylor UniversityTX · 94
- Saint Louis UniversityMO · 92
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Occupational Therapy credentials were awarded
12 states have a distinct enough set of Occupational Therapy colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Occupational Therapy schools by state
- Occupational Therapy in California
- Occupational Therapy in Florida
- Occupational Therapy in Georgia
- Occupational Therapy in Illinois
- Occupational Therapy in Maryland
- Occupational Therapy in Massachusetts
- Occupational Therapy in New York
- Occupational Therapy in North Carolina
- Occupational Therapy in Pennsylvania
- Occupational Therapy in Texas
Related majors
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy trains you to evaluate why movement breaks down after injury or illness and to restore function through hands-on treatment and guided exercise.
Kinesiology
Kinesiology studies human movement and exercise science, suiting students who want to work in fitness, rehabilitation, athletic training, or healthcare rather than treating disease.
Health Sciences
Health Sciences is a broad pre-professional major for students preparing for medical, dental, PA, PT, or pharmacy school, combining biology, chemistry, and patient-care exposure.
Athletic Training
Athletic Training prepares students to prevent, evaluate, and rehabilitate injuries in physically active people, suiting those who want a hands-on clinical role in sports and orthopedic care.
Speech-Language Pathology
Speech-Language Pathology studies how people produce speech, language, voice, and swallowing, suiting students who want to assess and treat communication and swallowing disorders across the lifespan.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Occupational Therapy degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Healthcare careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Occupational Therapy degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Occupational Therapy path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.