The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association is officially recognized as the accrediting agency for entry-level educational programs for the occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant in the United States and its territories. The School Directory lists the degree level, the institution type, the program’s contact information, the accreditation status, and the accreditation term, including the academic year the next on-site evaluation is anticipated. On-site evaluations for program accreditation are typically conducted at 5- or 7-year intervals for initial accreditation and 5-, 7-, or 10-year intervals for continuing accreditation. See ACOTE Program Status Definitions for an explanation of ACOTE accreditation statuses.
Numbers of Programs in the Accreditation Process:
Program Status | OTD | OTM | OTA-B | OTA-A | Total |
Accredited | 110 | 166 | 5 | 217 | 498* |
Candidate or Preaccreditation | 70 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 100 |
Applicant | 44 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 74 |
Total | 224 | 196 | 21 | 231 | 672 |
*Of the total Accredited programs, 13 OTM and 7 OTA programs have Accreditation-Inactive status.