Welcome to the Department of Occupational Therapy

Join our occupational justice-oriented program to become prepared to practice as an occupational therapist equipped to meet the dynamic needs of a diverse and global society. Gain the skills to promote your clients' health, well-being, and participation in life.
Learn more about IC OT!

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Please reach out to ot@ithaca.edu with questions.

Occupational therapy is a client-centered profession that promotes health, wellness, quality of life, and justice through engagement in the things that people want and need to do every day (occupations). Occupational therapists (OT) support people across the lifespan to participate in everyday life in the ways that are important to them. As an OT, you might work with individuals, groups, or communities. Your goal will be the same - to improve their ability to engage in meaningful life activities. If any of the following situations sound interesting to you, then OT may be a health professions career for you to consider:

  • Working directly with someone to learn a new way to do something, for example helping a toddler born with Down syndrome learn how to play with a shape sorting toy of interest.
  • Modifying the environment to help someone succeed, for example helping someone set up their bathroom so they can bathe independently after a hip replacement.
  • Helping a person find occupations that promote their health, for example helping an adolescent with an anxiety diagnosis to build a routine of using meditation to improve their day-to-day functioning.
  • Working with groups, such as a group of autistic adolescents on skill-building as they prepare to transition to college.
  • Providing population level services, such as ergonomics and design consulting for a large company.

As an OT, you will have a choice of settings where you would like to work depending upon your focus, such as hospitals, schools, clinics, or community settings. You can specialize in a population of interest, from infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to older adults interested in staying active and engaged in their community. If you are interested in advocacy, OT’s are also actively engaged at the community level to help make changes to health-care and mental health regulations.

17%
OT Employment Growth 2020-30

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

$86,280
OT Median Pay 2020

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Whether you are just beginning college or are already a college graduate or career changer, you can train to be an OT at Ithaca College. We offer two pathways with a rigorous academic curriculum alongside active, hands-on learning experiences. We strive for a strong sense of fellowship and mutual support across OT students and faculty, including the student-led Ithaca College Student Occupational Therapy Association.

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy Program Results

Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) are available online.

Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the National Certification Exam for the Occupational Therapist, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the graduate will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT Certification Examination or attain state licensure.

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
One Bank Street, Suite 300
Gaithersburg, MD 20877-4150
(301) 990-7979

Accreditation and Complaints

The combined BS/MS occupational therapy program and the professional entry-level M.S. program are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-2682 or visit ACOTEonline.org. Graduates of these programs are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).

The entry-level occupational therapy doctoral degree program has applied for accreditation and has been granted Candidacy Status by ACOTE. The program must have a preaccreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the NBCOT exam.

Students wishing to make a formal complaint against the occupational therapy program should contact the Department Chair or ACOTE directly. To our knowledge, no complaints have ever been made regarding our program. Please contact the Department or ACOTE to obtain the procedure for filing complaints regarding the Department of Occupational Therapy.

Questions?

OT Department Office
321 Smiddy Hall
Ithaca College • 953 Danby Road • Ithaca, NY 14850
Fax: (607) 274-3055