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The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is designed to prepare students with entry-level skills to provide rehabilitative services to persons with psychosocial, physical, and developmental impairments. Occupational therapy assistants, under the guidance and supervision of a registered occupational therapist (OTR/L), work with individuals to help them improve their functional capacities to participate in self-care, work, and leisure pursuits.

The degree program in Occupational Therapy Assistant is a full-time, five-semester sequential curriculum leading to an Associate in Applied Science Degree.

DISCLAIMER: The occupational therapy assistant program at Northern Virginia Community College has applied for accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Education (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301)652-AOTA. ACOTE's website can be found at www.acoteonline.org. Once accreditation of the OTA program at NOVA is obtained, graduates must have successfully completed all coursework and fieldwork requirements of the program as outlined in the policies of the program. Upon graduation, students will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction could affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Once approval is granted by ACOTE, highly competitive students will be accepted into the OTA program with the earliest start being Spring Semester 2013. In the meantime, students seeking interest in the OTA program are encouraged to attend an information session (You can find the dates at: http://www.nvcc.edu/campuses-and-centers/medical/academic-divisions/info-session/occupational-therapy-assistant.html) and follow steps in preparation for competitive placement into the OTA Program. Competitive eligibility for OTA does not guarantee admission.

The first step to beginning health career training at NOVA/MEC is to attend an information session.