Admissions

Observation Hours for OT School

By · Updated October 9, 2026 · Sources: program admissions pages

Most OT programs that require observation ask for about 30 hours with an occupational therapist (range 8–80, across 103 programs), often in two or more settings. But 22 OT programs say observation hours are not required, and 16 only recommend them.

Tips for getting observation hours

  • Contact hospital, outpatient, school-based and skilled-nursing OT departments; ask for a set schedule, not a one-off visit.
  • Log every visit: date, hours, setting, supervising OT/OTA and their license number.
  • Aim for two or more settings and populations (children and adults).
  • If you apply through OTCAS (2026–2027 cycle opened July 16, 2026), enter experiences as you go. OTCAS guide.

OT programs by required hours

#ProgramStateDegreeHoursSource
1 Drexel University PA master's 8 hrs school site
2 Indiana Wesleyan University IN OTD 10 hrs school site
3 Methodist University NC OTD 10 hrs school site
4 New York UniversityPreaccreditation NY OTD 10 hrs school site
5 Saint Francis University PA master's 10 hrs school site
6 Saint Joseph's University PA master's 10 hrs school site
7 Saint Joseph's University PA OTD 10 hrs school site
8 University of Hartford CT master's 10 hrs school site
9 University of New HavenPreaccreditation CT OTD 10 hrs school site
10 Wilmington College OH master's 10 hrs school site
11 Slippery Rock University PA OTD 12 hrs school site
12 Temple University PA OTD 12 hrs school site
13 University of Pittsburgh PA OTD 12 hrs school site
14 Hanover College IN OTD 15 hrs school site
15 Duquesne University PA master's 16 hrs school site
16 Duquesne University PA OTD 16 hrs school site
17 Stanbridge University CA master's 16 hrs school site
18 Stanbridge University-Riverside CA master's 16 hrs school site
19 University of Arkansas-Fayetteville/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences AR OTD 16 hrs school site
20 A.T. Still University, Arizona School of Health Sciences AZ master's 20 hrs school site
21 Alliant UniversityCandidacy CA master's 20 hrs school site
22 Carlow University PA master's 20 hrs school site
23 Clarkson University NY master's 20 hrs school site
24 Elmhurst University IL master's 20 hrs school site
25 Faulkner University AL OTD 20 hrs school site
26 Felician UniversityCandidacy NJ master's 20 hrs school site
27 Florida Gulf Coast University FL master's 20 hrs school site
28 Gwynedd Mercy University PA master's 20 hrs school site
29 James Madison University VA master's 20 hrs school site
30 Maria College NY master's 20 hrs school site
31 Northern Kentucky University KY OTD 20 hrs school site
32 Ohio State University OH OTD 20 hrs school site
33 Pace University-Westchester Campus NY master's 20 hrs school site
34 Quinnipiac University CT master's 20 hrs school site
35 Quinnipiac University CT OTD 20 hrs school site
36 Rush University IL OTD 20 hrs school site
37 St. Louis University MO master's 20 hrs school site
38 Tuskegee UniversityCandidacy AL master's 20 hrs school site
39 University of Alabama at Birmingham AL OTD 20 hrs school site
40 University of Minnsota - MinneapolisApplicant MN master's 20 hrs school site
41 University of South Alabama AL OTD 20 hrs school site
42 Walsh University OH master's 20 hrs school site
43 Widener University PA OTD 20 hrs school site
44 DePaul University IL master's 25 hrs school site
45 Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus NY master's 25 hrs school site
46 Pfeiffer University-Albemarle Campus NC master's 25 hrs school site
47 Winston-Salem State University NC master's 25 hrs school site
48 Baylor University TX OTD 30 hrs school site
49 Jacksonville University FL OTD 30 hrs school site
50 McDaniel CollegeCandidacy MD master's 30 hrs school site
51 North Central College IL OTD 30 hrs school site
52 Notre Dame of Maryland University MD OTD 30 hrs school site
53 Roberts Wesleyan University NY OTD 30 hrs school site
54 Saginaw Valley State University MI master's 30 hrs school site
55 Tennessee State University TN master's 30 hrs school site
56 Texas Christian UniversityCandidacy TX OTD 30 hrs school site
57 The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center TX OTD 30 hrs school site
58 University of Florida FL OTD 30 hrs school site
59 University of North AlabamaCandidacy AL master's 30 hrs school site
60 West Virginia University WV master's 30 hrs school site
61 West Virginia University WV OTD 30 hrs school site
62 University at Buffalo, State University of New York NY master's 35 hrs school site
63 Abilene Christian University TX master's 40 hrs school site
64 Abilene Christian University TX OTD 40 hrs school site
65 Biola UniversityPreaccreditation CA master's 40 hrs school site
66 Colorado Mesa University CO master's 40 hrs school site
67 Davenport University MI master's 40 hrs school site
68 Dominican University of California CA master's 40 hrs school site
69 Dominican University of California CA OTD 40 hrs school site
70 Eastern Washington University (OTM) WA master's 40 hrs school site
71 Emory and Henry University-Marion Campus VA OTD 40 hrs school site
72 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University FL master's 40 hrs school site
73 Gannon University-Florida Campus FL OTD 40 hrs school site
74 Howard University DC OTD 40 hrs school site
75 Iona University NY master's 40 hrs school site
76 Loma Linda University Health CA OTD 40 hrs school site
77 Murray State University-Paducah Regional Campus KY master's 40 hrs school site
78 Northeastern State University-Muskogee Campus OK master's 40 hrs school site
79 Point Loma Nazarene University CA master's 40 hrs school site
80 Rochester Institute of TechnologyCandidacy NY OTD 40 hrs school site
81 Shawnee State University OH master's 40 hrs school site
82 Stockton University NJ master's 40 hrs school site
83 Tennessee Wesleyan University-Downtown Knoxville Site TN master's 40 hrs school site
84 Touro University NY master's 40 hrs school site
85 Touro University, Manhattan NY master's 40 hrs school site
86 University of Cincinnati OH OTD 40 hrs school site
87 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor TX master's 40 hrs school site
88 University of Texas at El Paso TX OTD 40 hrs school site
89 Utah Tech UniversityPreaccreditation UT OTD 40 hrs school site
90 William Carey UniversityCandidacy MS master's 40 hrs school site
91 Wingate University NC OTD 40 hrs school site
92 Belmont University TN master's 50 hrs school site
93 Belmont University TN OTD 50 hrs school site
94 New York Institute of Technology NY master's 50 hrs school site
95 New York Institute of Technology NY OTD 50 hrs school site
96 Seton Hall University NJ master's 50 hrs school site
97 University of the Incarnate Word TX OTD 50 hrs school site
98 Whitworth University WA OTD 50 hrs school site
99 York College, The City University of New York NY master's 50 hrs school site
100 Augusta University GA master's 60 hrs school site
101 California State University, Dominguez Hills CA master's 80 hrs school site
102 California State University, Dominguez Hills CA OTD 80 hrs school site
103 Northern Arizona University AZ OTD 80 hrs school site

OT programs that don’t require observation hours

These 22 programs say on their admissions pages that observation (shadowing) hours are not required. Many still recommend them or ask you to show what you know about OT practice, so read each quote (hover or tap “school site”).

#ProgramStateDegreeObservation hoursSource
1 George Washington University DC OTD None school site
2 Nova Southeastern University-Ft. Lauderdale FL OTD None school site
3 Nova Southeastern University-Tampa Bay Regional Campus FL OTD None school site
4 Drake University IA OTD None school site
5 Concordia University Ann Arbor MI OTD None school site
6 Grand Valley State University MI master's None school site
7 St. Catherine University MN master's None school site
8 St. Catherine University MN OTD None school site
9 Maryville University MO master's None school site
10 University of Missouri MO OTD None school site
11 University of Nebraska Medical Center NE OTD None school site
12 Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus NJ OTD None school site
13 Kean University NJ master's None school site
14 Kean University NJ OTD None school site
15 Duke University School of Medicine NC OTD None school site
16 East Carolina University NC master's None school site
17 Bowling Green State UniversityPreaccreditation OH OTD None20 recommended school site
18 Kettering College OH OTD None school site
19 George Fox UniversityPreaccreditation OR OTD None school site
20 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga TN OTD None school site
21 University of Puget Sound WA master's None school site
22 University of Puget Sound WA OTD None school site

Programs that recommend (but don’t require) hours

#ProgramStateDegreeRecommendedSource
1 Shenandoah University VA master's 10 hrsrecommended school site
2 Shenandoah University VA OTD 10 hrsrecommended school site
3 Shenandoah University-Loudoun VA master's 10 hrsrecommended school site
4 American International College MA master's 16 hrsrecommended school site
5 Andrews UniversityCandidacy MI OTD 20 hrsrecommended school site
6 Carroll University WI master's 20 hrsrecommended school site
7 Husson University ME master's 20 hrsrecommended school site
8 Husson UniversityCandidacy ME OTD 20 hrsrecommended school site
9 Pacific University OR OTD 20 hrsrecommended school site
10 Hawaii Pacific University-Honolulu HI OTD 30 hrsrecommended school site
11 Hawaii Pacific University-Las Vegas NV OTD 30 hrsrecommended school site
12 San Jose State University CA master's 30 hrsrecommended school site
13 San Jose State University CA OTD 30 hrsrecommended school site
14 Lenoir-Rhyne University NC master's 40 hrsrecommended school site
15 University of Illinois Chicago IL OTD 50 hrsrecommended school site
16 University of the Pacific-Sacramento Campus CA OTD 50 hrsrecommended school site

OTA programs

#ProgramStateDegreeHoursSource
1 South College-Asheville Campus NC OTA associate degree 8 hrs school site
2 South College-Knoxville Campus TN OTA associate degree 8 hrs school site
3 South College-Nashville Campus TN OTA associate degree 8 hrs school site
4 Del Mar College TX OTA associate degree 10 hrs school site
5 Union Adventist University NE OTA associate degree 10 hrs school site
6 Central Piedmont Community College NC OTA associate degree 12 hrs school site
7 Utah Valley UniversityCandidacy UT OTA bachelor's degree 12 hrs school site
8 Suffolk County Community College-Michael J. Grant Campus NY OTA associate degree 15 hrs school site
9 Tyler Junior College TX OTA associate degree 15 hrs school site
10 Cuyahoga Community College OH OTA associate degree 16 hrs school site
11 Missouri Health Professions Consortium MO OTA associate degree 16 hrs school site
12 Bossier Parish Community College LA OTA associate degree 20 hrs school site
13 North Dakota State College of Science ND OTA associate degree 20 hrs school site
14 Piedmont Technical College-Newberry Campus SC OTA associate degree 20 hrs school site
15 Rhodes State College OH OTA associate degree 20 hrs school site
16 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey NJ OTA bachelor's degree 20 hrs school site
17 Shawnee State University OH OTA associate degree 20 hrs school site
18 Ozarks Technical Community College MO OTA associate degree 24 hrs school site
19 Wallace State Community College AL OTA associate degree 24 hrs school site
20 Delgado Community College LA OTA associate degree 30 hrs school site
21 McLennan Community College TX OTA associate degree 40 hrs school site
22 Arkansas State University-Jonesboro AR OTA associate degree None school site
23 University of Missouri MO OTA bachelor's degree None school site
24 Rockland Community College NY OTA associate degree None school site
25 Nashville State Community College TN OTA associate degree None school site
26 San Jacinto College-South Campus TX OTA associate degree None school site

Policies are quoted from each program’s admissions page as of October 2026 and can change each cycle. Programs that are not admitting are excluded.

Frequently asked questions

How many observation hours do I need for OT school?

It depends on the program. Among the 103 OT programs we verified that require hours, requirements range from 8 to 80 hours, with a median of 30. Another 16 only recommend hours, and 22 say no observation hours are required.

Which OT programs don’t require observation hours?

22 OT programs say on their own admissions pages that observation hours are not required, including George Washington University, Nova Southeastern University-Ft. Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University-Tampa Bay Regional Campus, Drake University, Concordia University Ann Arbor, Grand Valley State University. The full list, with quotes, is on this page.

Should I get observation hours even if a program doesn’t require them?

Usually yes. Several of these programs say they still strongly recommend observation, give admission points for it, or expect you to show you understand OT practice in your essay or interview. Hours also count for other programs you apply to.

Do observation hours need to be in different settings?

Often, yes. Many programs ask for hours in two or more settings (for example pediatrics and adult rehab) under a licensed OT or OTA. Check each program’s quote in the table.

How do I document observation hours for OTCAS?

Programs that use OTCAS usually ask you to list observation experiences in the application and may require a signed form from the supervising OT. Keep a log with dates, hours, setting and supervisor contact details.