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2024 Best Occupational Therapy Schools in California

9 Colleges in California
1,178 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded
Occupational Therapy is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #83 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 9 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of occupational therapy. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,178 degrees in occupational therapy during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Occupational Therapy School

Best Occupational Therapy Schools in California Your choice of occupational therapy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for occupational therapy schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Occupational Therapy Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Occupational Therapy
Master's Degrees in Occupational Therapy
Doctor's Degrees in Occupational Therapy

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Occupational Therapy Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Occupational Therapy in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the occupational therapy degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Occupational Therapy

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
235 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in occupational therapy has to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 235 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from University of Southern California

2
Loma Linda University crest
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
56 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Loma Linda University is a good option for students interested in a degree in occupational therapy. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.

There were about 56 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Loma Linda University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from Loma Linda University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
491 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in occupational therapy. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, USAHS is a private for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

There were roughly 491 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at USAHS in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
60 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

West Coast University-Center for Graduate Studies is a great option for students pursuing a degree in occupational therapy. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, West Coast University-Center for Graduate Studies is a private for-profit university with a fairly small student population.

There were about 60 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at West Coast University-Center for Graduate Studies in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from West Coast University-Center for Graduate Studies

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
51 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Oakland.

There were roughly 51 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Samuel Merritt University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from Samuel Merritt University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
49 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

DUofC is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of San Rafael. This university ranks 88th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 49 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at DUofC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from Dominican University of California

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
70 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 70 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from San Jose State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
44.4% Growth in Graduates

Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Fresno. This university ranks 59th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 18 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Fresno Pacific in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from Fresno Pacific University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
77 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 98th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 77 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at CSUDH in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from California State University - Dominguez Hills

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
64 Occupational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Stanbridge is a small private for-profit university located in the large city of Irvine.

There were roughly 64 occupational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Stanbridge in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in occupational therapy from Stanbridge University

Best Occupational Therapy Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Occupational Therapy Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 100
Oregon 587 39
Nevada 354 25

View All Rankings >

One of 16 majors within the Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions area of study, Occupational Therapy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Occupational Therapy

Related Major Annual Graduates
Physical Therapy/Therapist 1,759
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling 141
Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy 27
Rehabilitation Science 18
Music Therapy 17
Orthotist/Prosthetist 17
Art Therapy 1

View All Occupational Therapy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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