Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology: Comparing the Four Paths
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 17, 2026 • Fields of Study, Canadian Universities & Colleges
Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology and audiology are 4 separate regulated professions in Canada. Each needs its own professional master's degree, its own licensing exam, and its own provincial college registration.
🎓 All 4 professions need a professional master's degree after your bachelor's, usually 2 years.
OT and PT both write a national certification exam, NOTCE for OT and the CAPR physiotherapy exam for PT.
Speech-language pathology and audiology have no shared national exam. Each provincial college runs its own Canadian Entry-to-Practice exam instead.
Every profession is regulated province by province through its own college, not federally.
💵 The physiotherapy exam alone costs around $2,500, on top of your degree.
The Four Professions at a Glance
| Profession | Day-to-day focus | Degree length |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational therapy (OT) | Daily function and independence after injury, illness or disability | 2-year professional master's |
| Physiotherapy (PT) | Movement, pain and physical rehabilitation | 2-year professional master's |
| Speech-language pathology (SLP) | Communication and swallowing | 2-year professional master's |
| Audiology | Hearing and balance | 2-year professional master's |
Occupational Therapy
OT graduates work with patients rebuilding daily living skills after injury, illness, or a disability, in hospitals, schools, and community settings. Canadian programs award a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, and you write the National Occupational Therapy Certification Examination (NOTCE) after you graduate.
NOTCE splits into 2 parts of 100 questions each, 2 hours per part. The pass mark sits around 70% on a criterion-referenced scale, not a bell curve. You get 3 attempts. Every province except Quebec requires NOTCE for registration with its provincial college.
Physiotherapy
PT graduates treat movement and pain conditions through hands-on therapy and exercise programs. Canadian programs award a Master of Physical Therapy, a Master of Science in Physical Therapy, or a Master of Health Sciences in Physiotherapy, depending on the school.
The Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR) runs the national licensing exam. From January 2026, CAPR merged its former 2-part written and clinical exam into a single Canadian Physiotherapy Examination (CPTE), with a 100-point written section and a 150-point oral section on the same day, each running 2.5 hours. You get 3 attempts, and the exam costs around $2,500.
Speech-Language Pathology
SLP graduates assess and treat communication and swallowing disorders in hospitals, schools, and private clinics. Programs award degrees such as a Master of Clinical Science or a Master of Health Sciences.
Unlike OT and PT, there's no single national exam body. Provincial colleges, such as the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario, require you to pass the Canadian Entry-to-Practice (CETP) exam for registration. Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC) also offers a voluntary certification program on top of your provincial license, it recognizes ongoing professional development rather than replacing registration.
Audiology
Audiology graduates diagnose and treat hearing and balance disorders. Canadian programs award a Master of Clinical Science or Master of Health Sciences in Audiology, the entry credential for the profession in Canada.
Like SLP, audiology has no single national licensing exam. Provincial colleges require the CETP exam for registration, and SAC runs the same voluntary certification track described above for audiologists.
Professional Associations vs Regulatory Colleges
Don't confuse a national professional association with the provincial college that licenses you. The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) , the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) , and Speech-Language and Audiology Canada are membership associations. They run professional development and advocacy, and in SAC's case a voluntary certification, none of them issues your legal right to practice.
Your right to use a protected title, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, speech-language pathologist, or audiologist, comes from your provincial regulatory college instead, the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario or its equivalent in your province. You register with that college after you pass your required exam, and you renew your registration every year you practice.
How These Professions Work Together
Hospitals, rehabilitation centres, and school boards often employ OT, PT, SLP, and audiology staff on the same team, treating the same patient from different angles after a stroke, a traumatic injury, or a developmental delay. Understanding how the other 3 professions work helps you collaborate once you're practicing, regardless of which path you choose.
How Competitive Admission Is
All 4 professions draw far more applicants than available seats each year. Expect programs to weigh your GPA alongside references, relevant experience, and in many cases a written submission or interview, rather than ranking purely on grades. Building relevant volunteer or work experience during your undergraduate degree strengthens every one of these 4 applications. Nearly all Canadian programs in these fields run full-time only, with no part-time option to spread the 2 years over a longer schedule.
Where You'll Work
Occupational therapists work in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, schools, mental health settings, and home care.
Physiotherapists work in hospitals, private clinics, sports medicine settings, and long-term care.
Speech-language pathologists work in hospitals, school boards, private clinics, and early intervention programs.
Audiologists work in hospitals, private hearing clinics, and industrial or occupational health settings.
Timeline from Bachelor's to Practice
Budget roughly 6 years total for any of these 4 paths, a 4-year undergraduate degree followed by a 2-year professional master's. After graduation, plan for several more months before independent practice, time to write your certification or entry-to-practice exam, wait for results, and complete your provincial college's registration paperwork.
Choosing Between Them
Look at OT if you want to help patients regain daily independence across physical, cognitive, or mental health challenges.
Look at PT if you want to treat movement, pain, and physical rehabilitation through hands-on therapy.
Look at SLP if you want to work on communication and swallowing, with patients ranging from toddlers to stroke survivors.
Look at audiology if you want to diagnose and manage hearing and balance conditions.
All 4 paths need a competitive undergraduate GPA, relevant volunteer or work experience, and a professional master's application. Most Ontario programs go through ORPAS , while other provinces run their own direct application systems at each university. Job shadowing or volunteering in each setting before you commit gives you a clearer read than any comparison chart, ask your prehealth advisor or undergraduate program for local placement contacts.