Earn Your Degree in Two Years and Graduate Prepared for a Lucrative Career.
See the benefits.
The profession of occupational therapy has its roots in purposeful activities, or occupations. Students at Villa Maria College help others improve their quality of life through the supervised use of daily activities.
Individuals aspiring to be an Occupational Therapy Assistant must graduate from an ACOTE-accredited OTA program, pass the NBCOT certification exam, and obtain a license in the state intending to work. Villa Maria College will help you achieve this!
A Solid Foundation
Villa Maria’s Occupational Therapy Assistant students hit the ground running, with practiced faculty guiding them through the fundamentals. Through engagement in purposeful activities, occupational therapy practitioners guide patients and help them to realize their goals. Students quickly build upon a strong foundation, developing the expertise needed to work in an array of clinical settings. This program prepares students to be open minded, non-judgmental allies, and advocates for others.
A Versatile Education
The OTA program at Villa Maria supports students through constructivist teaching practices within the domain of occupational therapy practice. Through careful scaffolding of content and rigor, students will be guided from basic principles of anatomy, activity analysis, and human movement to more advanced content involving case studies and interventions in various practice areas. Students are expected to demonstrate professionalism in their interactions on campus and in the clinic.
Prepared for work
OTA students complete three internship experiences during coursework that prepares you for work after graduation. The program takes just two years to complete, and you will be a prepared job applicant. Not only will Villa Maria’s experienced OTA faculty support you as a student, they will help you prepare for the NBCOT certification exam after you graduate. Our graduates who take the NBCOT exam do well and find jobs.
The Villa Difference.
Occupational therapy assistants belong at Villa. Patience is a virtue, and it’s one that so many occupational therapy assistants possess. In the OTA program at Villa, you’ll channel your caring gene in a powerful way that helps patients, whether they’re eight or 85, get back their lives through therapy regimens that redevelop fine motor skills and visual perception faculties that are essential to living a fulfilling, independent life.
Our Faculty
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSISTANT PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Deborah Brownell, MS, OTR/L
[email protected]
716.961.1847
OTA ACADEMIC FIELDWORK COORDINATOR AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, OTA PROGRAM
Danielle Miles, MS, OTR/L, MHA, PTA
[email protected]
716.961.2867
The Career Potential
There are jobs available for Occupational Theray Assistants, now and into the future! A COTA is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. After graduating from Villa Maria’s accredited, two-year program and passing the certification exam, you will become a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, or a COTA. COTAs are able to carry out therapeutic treatments and consultations independently, contribute to the evaluation by implementing assessments as directed by an OT, practice autonomously once oriented to the patient the first time, and more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that employment in the profession of COTA will increase much more than average by 2029. The average salary for a COTA is $59,000 per year.
As a COTA, you can work with occupational therapists in all different kinds of settings, including:
- Hospitals
- Rehabilitation centers
- Nursing homes
- Outpatient clinics
- Mental health facilities
- Community-based outreach centers
- Group homes
- Specialty clinics
- Home care
- K-12 schools
- Preschools
The Facilities
Villa Maria’s OTA facilities are much more robust than other comparable programs in the WNY region.
- Two multi-functional laboratory rooms to provide you with the opportunity to practice clinical skills.
- A newly constructed pediatric lab
- Simulated hospital room and bathroom for additional clinical skill practice.
- A functional kitchen used for teaching.
- The option to explore art and music labs to apply and develop purposeful activity techniques for patients.
- A relationship with the Felician Sisters Health and Wellness Center, an assisted living and long-term care facility where you may practice your skills.
Villa Maria offers OTA students the ability to work regularly with the equipment used in the OTA field, this includes:
- Mobility devices, like walkers, canes, and wheelchairs
- Stand-to-sit lifts
- State-of-the-art physical agents, like electrical stimulation, ultrasound, cryo-therapy, and paraffin
- Upper extremity splinting
Admissions Requirements
- Direct Admission into the OTA program is competitive and requires a high school average of 85 or a college GPA of 2.8 (or higher). In addition applicants should have proven a strong science background that includes biology and chemistry OR physics in the candidate’s academic history.
- Persons interested in the OTA program are advised to apply early as enrollment in the program is limited.
- Once an application is completed and all transcripts are received, eligible applicants will be contacted to set up an interview with a program faculty member.
- Applicants who do not meet the required GPA, those with a GED, or those missing the necessary sciences may be admitted to Villa Maria College as Liberal Arts/Occupational Therapy Assistant or LBG/OTA major. These students will be advised by OTA faculty and have an opportunity to raise their GPA and/or take appropriate classes to prepare them to enter the OTA program. Please note that LBG/OTA students are not guaranteed admission into the OTA program. Admission is contingent upon meeting the GPA requirements stated above.
- Take a look at the OTA curriculum here: Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Occupational Therapy Assistant Curriculum Requirements
Accreditation and Program Information
- Accreditation & Program Information
- Graduation Rates
- Program Requirements
- Student Outcome Info
- Cost of Attendance
The 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 telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-6611 and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org.
Graduates of the program 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, all 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 may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.”
Students must complete Level II fieldwork within 18 months following completion of the didactic portion of the program. Level II FW at Villa Maria College is completed in 2 different settings.
For more information about accreditation status of the program, please contact Deborah Brownell via phone: 716.961.1847 or email: [email protected].
Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can be found online here.
Villa Maria College Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Graduation Rates
Graduation Rates for Occupational Therapy Assistant Associate of Applied Science Degree (does not indicate rate national certification examination)
| Graduation Year | # Students Entering | # Students Graduating | Graduation Rate |
| 2022 | 9 | 3 | 33% |
| 2021 | 12 | 9 | 75% |
| 2020 | 18 | 15 | 83% |
| 2019 | 17 | 11 | 65% |
| 2018 | 14 | 7 | 50% |
| 2017 | 12 | 10 | 85% |
| Total | 82 | 55 | 67% |
National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT®) program data results can be found here: https://www.nbcot.org/en/Educators/Home#SchoolPerformance
Year indicates Academic Reporting Year which is August 26 to May 17.
Villa Maria College’s OTA Program first cohort graduated in 2017.
- Students are required to attain a grade of C+ or better in all OTA courses. If you fail to achieve a grade of C+, you may re-take that course. You may only retake one OTA course before dismissal from the program.
- You must have an annual physical exam, PPD or Mantoux test for TB, and have a Hepatitis B immunization or a signed waiver of immunization prior to placement in a clinical internship.
- You are required to be CPR-certified prior to placement in a clinical internship. The college provides a CPR course for students on a yearly basis. You are responsible for fees for this course.
- All OTA students become members of the American Occupational Therapist Association (AOTA). Fees for membership are included in course fees.
In 2017, the first cohort of OTA students graduated from Villa Maria College. In 2021, it was reported that Villa’s certification exam (NBCOT) passing rate was 100%. Currently in 2022, the passing rate is also 100%. All of our graduates who passed the certification exam are fully employed in the field of Occupational Therapy.
Tuition per semester (full-time): $12,965
Tuition per credit hour (part-time): $865
Registration Fees
Full-time: $285
Part-time: $105
*Fees may be added for courses requiring a course fee.
**Please note these costs are subject to change.
Join the family.
There’s a lot of pressure to know what’s next. We’re here to say, it’s OK if you’re still figuring it out. In fact, it’s great. Villa is a place where that kind of continual discovery is prized. Because going to college isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about inventing who you’re going to become. You’ll see.