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OTA programs in Illinois

6 OTA (occupational therapy assistant) programs with results and funding that can make them free

6 schools offer these occupational therapy assistant programs, and Illinois has approved every one for workforce funding. Each shows how past students did; Illinois files no usable prices.

Occupational therapy assistants help occupational therapists treat clients, guiding them through exercises and teaching new ways to manage everyday tasks such as dressing and bathing. Most need an associate degree from an accredited OTA program and usually a state license, which takes the program, fieldwork and a passed exam; passing it also earns the title Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).1

In Illinois, all 6 programs ask for earlier courses first.

By kind, the 6 programs here are OTA (associate degree, 5 programs) and OTA program (level not stated, 1 program).

See the 6 programs

How much do OTA programs cost in Illinois?

Not reported

Illinois files no usable prices, so none can be shown.

In the typical program

Finished the program
Not reported
None of the 6 programs report it
Working 6 months later
Not enough data
3 programs report it; a typical figure needs 5
Earned a year, estimated
Not enough data
3 programs report it; a typical figure needs 5
Length
66 to 114 weeks

Source: US Department of Labor, program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025). Only programs approved for workforce funding are listed; other schools in Illinois may also offer OTA programs. How these figures are made

Are there free OTA programs in Illinois?

Who qualifies, and other ways to pay: financial aid, grants and the GI Bill

All 6 OTA programs in Illinois approved for WIOA funding

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6 programs

How to pay for OTA programs in Illinois

WIOA funding can pay for OTA programs in Illinois

Every program on this page is approved for it. Whether you qualify, how much your local area pays and how to apply are on our page Does WIOA pay for job training?

Financial aid and grants for OTA programs

Most students can get federal student aid for college, career school or trade school. A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, usually doesn't have to be repaid. Ask the school whether its program qualifies.67

GI Bill for OTA programs

Veterans, service members and qualified dependents can use GI Bill benefits for non-college training programs.8

The program list does not show which programs accept these. Ask the school.

OTA programs in Chicago, Peoria, Springfield and other Illinois cities

Choosing an area filters the program list above.

Other training in Illinois

How OTA programs compare with the rest of allied health: Allied health programs in Illinois

Where the Illinois occupational therapy assistant program numbers come from

Which Illinois occupational therapy assistant programs are on this list?

These are the occupational therapy assistant programs Illinois approved for WIOA funding (public workforce funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act), as reported to the US Department of Labor for program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025). Each state keeps its approved programs on an eligible training provider list (ETPL).9 The list here covers programs approved as of June 30, 2025. Schools that never applied for approval are missing, so this is a part of what Illinois offers.

How the prices and results of Illinois occupational therapy assistant programs are measured

Prices are tuition and required fees for someone paying without workforce funding, as the school reported them; check the current price with the school. Results describe students who left each program in recent years, so they are no guarantee, and the yearly earnings are the reported quarter times four, an estimate. A program without a "Trained with WIOA funding" line may still take WIOA students. Where a field was left empty or withheld, the page says "Not reported", and "Left out" where a figure was filed but failed one of our checks; nothing is estimated to fill a gap. Where the numbers come from explains each figure in full.

How reliable are the Illinois figures?

The US Department of Labor's own results site lists Illinois among the states with "known data quality concerns".10 We leave out the share who finished for Illinois: only a few programs report it, and those at a typical 11%. We leave out prices for Illinois: the state files a code in place of each price, so no price can be shown.

Sources for the facts about OTA programs in Illinois

Show the 10 sourcesHide the sources
  1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides
  2. US Department of Labor, TrainingProviderResults.gov: About This Site
  3. US Department of Labor: WIOA Adult Program
  4. Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, part 680, sections 680.220, 680.230 and 680.310: career services before training, other grants such as Pell Grants first, and limits on Individual Training Accounts (GovInfo, 2024 edition)
  5. US Department of Labor: American Job Centers
  6. US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid: Eligibility for Federal Student Aid
  7. US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid: Don't Miss Out on Federal Pell Grants
  8. US Department of Veterans Affairs: GI Bill benefits for non-college degree programs
  9. US Department of Labor, Training and Employment Guidance Letter 8-19, Attachment I: Requirements for Training Providers, Program Eligibility, and the State Eligible Training Provider (ETP) List
  10. US Department of Labor, TrainingProviderResults.gov: search page, note on states with known data quality concerns