21 Best Occupational Therapy (OT) schools in California, US

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Occupational Therapy. A graph of 306K citations received by 7.7K academic papers made by 21 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Southern California

For Occupational Therapy

#8 in the United States

#12 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1495
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $41,496

2. University of California - Los Angeles

For Occupational Therapy

#12 in the United States

#17 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $22,441
Enrollment: 46,678

3. University of California - San Francisco

For Occupational Therapy

#14 in the United States

#19 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,126
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

4. University of California-San Diego

For Occupational Therapy

#34 in the United States

#43 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $24,176
Enrollment: 42,376

5. Stanford University

For Occupational Therapy

#35 in the United States

#45 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $17,998

6. University of California - Irvine

For Occupational Therapy

#42 in the United States

#53 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $21,533
Enrollment: 36,582

7. University of California - Davis

For Occupational Therapy

#76 in the United States

#91 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Receiving Aid: 58%
Average Aid: $21,258
Enrollment: 39,707

8. University of California - Berkeley

For Occupational Therapy

#103 in the United States

#120 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $25,951
Enrollment: 45,699

9. Loma Linda University

For Occupational Therapy

#106 in the United States

#123 in North America

Enrollment: 4,202
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1905

10. San Diego State University

For Occupational Therapy

#125 in the United States

#145 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $5,459
Enrollment: 39,241

11. San Jose State University

For Occupational Therapy

#129 in the United States

#149 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Receiving Aid: 67%
Average Aid: $11,311
Enrollment: 36,062

12. California State University - Sacramento

For Occupational Therapy

#180 in the United States

#204 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $11,503
Enrollment: 31,172

13. San Francisco State University

For Occupational Therapy

#198 in the United States

#223 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $11,498
Enrollment: 23,908

14. California State University - Northridge

For Occupational Therapy

#229 in the United States

#261 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $12,000
Enrollment: 37,760

15. California State University - Long Beach

For Occupational Therapy

#240 in the United States

#272 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $10,512
Enrollment: 40,278

16. Samuel Merritt University

For Occupational Therapy

#242 in the United States

#274 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Enrollment: 1,894
Male:Female: 21:79
Founded: 1909

17. Dominican University of California

For Occupational Therapy

#252 in the United States

#286 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 1181
Average ACT: 26
Net Price: $51,292

18. California State University - Fullerton

For Occupational Therapy

#254 in the United States

#288 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $10,445
Enrollment: 41,962

19. Palo Alto University

For Occupational Therapy

#263 in the United States

#298 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,223
Male:Female: 15:85
Founded: 1975

20. Chapman University

For Occupational Therapy

#268 in the United States

#304 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 56%
Average SAT: 1340
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $48,037

21. California State University - Los Angeles

For Occupational Therapy

#269 in the United States

#305 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 92%
Receiving Aid: 94%
Average Aid: $12,478
Enrollment: 25,080

Closest to California states to learn Occupational Therapy

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	5	44
Utah	4	48
Arizona	4	72
Washington	5	4
Colorado	4	53
Nebraska	4	88
Texas	22	25
Oklahoma	3	127
Minnesota	3	19
Iowa	2	41
Missouri	5	16
Arkansas	4	92
Louisiana	3	96
Wisconsin	6	28
Illinois	12	7
Mississippi	3	138
Indiana	5	38
Michigan	8	5
Tennessee	7	56
Alabama	4	6
Kentucky	4	49
Ohio	11	13
Georgia	6	20
South Carolina	3	51
North Carolina	7	21
Virginia	8	37
Pennsylvania	14	2
Florida	10	10
District of Columbia	3	79
Maryland	7	3
New York	22	22
New Jersey	5	29
Connecticut	5	11
Massachusetts	13	1
Rhode Island	3	46

Medicine subfields in California

Anatomy and Physiology72

Anesthesiology49

Bioethics/Medical Ethics23

Biomedical Engineering24

Clinical Psychology79

Critical Care Nursing34

Family medicine58

Forensic Science16

Gastroenterology and Hepatology28

Health Science85

Healthcare Management (MHA)59

Medical Physics15

Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN)37

Oncology and Cancer research49

Ophthalmology32

Paramedicine and Emergency medicine56

Physical Therapy66

Plastic Surgery17

Public Health92

Radiation Therapy24

Radiology and Nuclear medicine71

Respiratory Therapy13

Sonography and Ultrasound14

Sports / Exercise science28

Sports Medicine52