Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy programmes train the people who restore the ability to do everyday things — dressing, cooking, writing, working, playing — after injury, stroke, developmental delay or mental illness. Where physical therapy works on movement, occupational therapy works on function and participation, and it reaches further into paediatrics, mental health and adaptation of the home and workplace.

The degrees this program covers

⚠⚠ Florida teaches this on a much smaller scale than its physical therapy sibling, and the numbers are worth seeing side by side. The ASSISTANT associate degree runs at just 4 Florida public institutions producing 57 graduates a year — Daytona State 21, FSCJ 13, Polk State 13, State College of Florida 10 — against 17 institutions and 267 graduates for the physical therapist assistant. ⚠ The professional tier is 4 institutions and 111 credentials, and unlike physical therapy it is not yet all doctoral: 62 master's against 47 professional doctorates. ⚠⚠⚠ Read the scarcity carefully rather than as a warning. The assistant role pays MORE than the physical therapist assistant ($72,300 against $68,380) and grows FASTER (21% against 17%), and Florida trains a quarter as many. Both levels are licensed under Chapter 468 Part III and accredited through the same body, so the two tiers are one system.

Careers this program leads to

Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end, and the sources behind it.

Athletic Trainer

⚠⚠⚠ A master's-entry, state-licensed clinical profession paying $62,520 — less than a licensed practical nurse earns on a certificate ($64,400), and less than every associate-degree clinical route on this site except paramedic. ⚠⚠ The profession moved to master's entry in 2022: CAATE states that after the fall 2022 term, baccalaureate degree programmes will no longer enrol students. ⚠ Florida's statute has not caught up and still reads as though a bachelor's is enough.

Occupational Therapy Assistant

Occupational therapy assistants deliver the treatment that gets people back to doing ordinary things — dressing, cooking, writing, working, playing — after injury, stroke, developmental delay or mental illness. ⚠ A median of $72,300 on a two-year degree, growing 21%. ⚠⚠⚠ And the finding worth acting on: it pays MORE and grows FASTER than the physical therapist assistant, and Florida trains a QUARTER as many. Four institutions, 57 graduates a year. This page covers the assistant, the aide and the therapist.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Physical Therapy 24 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The sibling profession, and the comparison every applicant should run. Physical therapy is far more widely taught in Florida — 17 assistant programmes against 4, and 7 doctoral programmes against 4 — so it is much easier to find nearby. ⚠ But the occupational therapy assistant pays more ($72,300 against $68,380) and grows faster (21% against 17%). Movement against function is the real difference; availability against pay is the practical one.

Communication Sciences and Disorders 7 Florida schools

⚠ The third rehabilitation profession, and the one with the same shape: a graduate-entry clinician above a licensed assistant tier. All three work the same caseloads in schools, hospitals and skilled nursing, and students who like one usually should look at all three.

Athletic Training 8 Florida schools

⚠ The other rehabilitation route, and the same shape: an occupational therapy assistant earns $72,300 on an associate degree. ⚠⚠ Named because athletic training, physical therapy and occupational therapy attract the same students and their credential-to-pay ratios differ sharply.

Florida public institutions offering this program

8 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Associate, Doctorate (professional practice), Master's, Post-master's certificate, Postbaccalaureate certificate. A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Daytona State College

Associate

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Master's

Florida Gulf Coast University

Master's

Florida International University

Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Associate

Polk State College

Associate

State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota

Associate

University of Florida

Doctorate (professional practice) · Master's · Post-master's certificate · Postbaccalaureate certificate

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 21 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.