Restoring Independence, One Step at a Time.
The Occupational Therapy Assistant program prepares students to work under the supervision of occupational therapists to help patients regain independence in everyday activities. Through a combination of classroom instruction and fieldwork experiences across pediatrics, mental health, and physical disabilities, learners develop the skills to assist individuals in performing daily tasks. Graduates are eligible to take the NBCOT exam to become Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs) and enter roles in hospitals, clinics, schools, home health, and more.
Career Opportunities and Income
Visit sanjac.edu for information regarding career opportunities and potential earnings in the Greater Houston region.
Job Entry Requirements. The College informs all students in this program who may have a criminal background that a criminal history could keep graduates from being licensed by the state of Texas. Students with any questions about their background and licensure may speak with the program’s department chair. This is in accordance with Texas House Bill 1508 amendments to Texas Occupations Code Sec 53.152.
Learning & Career Pathway
The Occupational Therapy Assistant, Associate of Applied Science Degree, is intended to provide students with all skills needed to enter the workforce. At this time, this award is what employers value and hire for job entry, so the College does not currently have other certificates or degrees related to this learning pathway.
Learning Outcomes and Career Skills
A student completing this award will be able to:
- Meet foundational content requirements
- Understand theoretical perspectives and tenets of occupational therapy
- Implement screening, evaluation, and interventional plans and intervention
- Understand context of service delivery and management of occupational therapy services
- Understand evidence-based practice
Program Accreditation
The San Jacinto College Occupational Therapy Assistant program is accredited by:
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).
ACOTE
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone Number: 301-652-6611
Email: accred@aota.org
Website: https://acoteonline.org/
Licensure or Certification
Upon completion of the program, students must test for the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) to become a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and obtain a state license in which they choose to work.
External Learning Experiences
This program includes external learning experiences outside of the classroom, e.g., an internship, externship, clinical, practicum, or cooperative learning experience. Those experiences are typically on-site at a business or organization.
All students participating in external learning experiences are required to comply with the immunization requirements and policies of the external learning sites. Some learning sites outside the college have their own vaccination requirements. These rules come from those facilities and are not mandated by the college. Failure to meet those immunization requirements may limit a student’s ability to complete the program and/or may delay the student’s graduation date. San Jacinto College does not process exemptions, and students should address potential vaccination exemptions directly with the external learning site.
Locations
College Admission
San Jacinto College is an open admission institution. All students are welcome to apply and will be admitted to the College. You may begin the process on the College’s “How to Apply” webpage.
Program Admission
In addition to being admitted to the College, students must also be admitted to the Occupational Therapy Assistant program which has additional requirements and/or steps.
Plan of Study
3OCC-THRPY
| Prerequisites | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 1301 | Composition I | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| BIOL 2301 & BIOL 2101 | Anatomy and Physiology I (Lecture) and Anatomy and Physiology I (Lab) | 4 |
| BIOL 2302 & BIOL 2102 | Anatomy and Physiology II (Lecture) and Anatomy and Physiology II (Lab) | 4 |
| PSYC 2301 | General Psychology | 3 |
| PHIL 2306 | Introduction to Ethics | 3 |
| Credits | 20 | |
| First Year | ||
| First Term | ||
| OTHA 1305 | Principles of Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OTHA 1309 | Human Structure and Function in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OTHA 1315 | Therapeutic Use of Occupations or Activities I | 3 |
| OTHA 2301 | Pathophysiology in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Second Term | ||
| OTHA 1241 | Occupational Performance from Birth through Adolescence | 2 |
| OTHA 2304 | Neurology in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OTHA 2231 | Physical Function in Occupational Therapy | 2 |
| OTHA 1160 | Clinical - Occupational Therapy Assistant | 1 |
| Credits | 8 | |
| Summer Year One Term | ||
| OTHA 2209 | Mental Health in Occupational Therapy | 2 |
| OTHA 1419 | Therapeutic Interventions I | 4 |
| OTHA 1161 | Clinical - Occupational Therapy Assistant | 1 |
| Credits | 7 | |
| Second Year | ||
| First Term | ||
| OTHA 1249 | Occupational Performance of Adulthood | 2 |
| OTHA 2302 | Therapeutic Use of Occupations or Activities II | 3 |
| OTHA 2335 | Health Care Management in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OTHA 1162 | Clinical - Occupational Therapy Assistant | 1 |
| Credits | 9 | |
| Second Term | ||
| OTHA 2266 | Practicum (or Field Experience) - Occupational Therapy Assistant | 2 |
| OTHA 2267 | Practicum (or Field Experence) - Occupational Therapy Assistant | 2 |
| Credits | 4 | |
| Total Credits | 60 | |
Capstone Experience: OTHA 2266 Practicum (or Field Experience) - Occupational Therapy Assistant and OTHA 2267 Practicum (or Field Experence) - Occupational Therapy Assistant
Note: Occupational Therapy Assistant students must earn a C or higher in all courses in the curriculum. Additionally, students must maintain an overall grade point average of at least 2.0 in order to graduate from the Occupational Therapy Assistant program.