Are you drawn to a career contributing to the well-being and overall quality of life of individuals who have a physical, mental, or emotional limitation? St. Kate's online occupational therapy assistant (OTA) associate degree program will prepare you to make a difference in people's lives and your career.
Program Details
Format: Online. This online option is supplemented by labs and fieldwork hours in the states of Minnesota, Virginia, California, or Texas. When you apply to the online OTA program, you'll choose to complete your labs and fieldwork in one of these regions.
Cost per credit (2023–2024): $815
Total Cost of Attendance: See College for Adults Cost of Attendance
Most College for Adults students receive some form of financial aid.
Prepare for a Role in OT
Benefiting from small class sizes, you'll work closely with faculty, engage in discussions and role-playing, build your confidence, and enhance your communication and teamwork skills.
You’ll enrich your OTA education with 700 hours of extensive, supervised fieldwork experience in a variety of healthcare and community settings.
If you are applying to the OTA associate degree program, you'll first enroll as a pre-OTA student and take liberal arts and sciences (LAS) courses required for your degree. Enrollment as a "pre-" student does not guarantee progression into OTA courses.

As a certified occupational therapy assistant, you’ll work with registered occupational therapists to implement a treatment or rehabilitation plan for patients in a variety of settings, including
- hospitals
- homes
- schools
- rehabilitation facilities
- residential care facilities
- community centers
Program Accreditation
St. Catherine University's occupational therapy assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD, 20852-4929. ACOTE's number at AOTA is (301)652-6611 and its web address is acoteonline.org.
Graduates of the program receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree and are eligible to sit for the national certification exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, they receive the title of Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).
NBCOT testing data is available via the NBCOT School Performance Link.