Occupational Therapy - MSc *
Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.
As an occupational therapist, you’ll help people who have difficulties with daily activities resulting from disability, illness, trauma, ageing, and a range of long-term conditions. You could work in many different settings, including hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centres, mental health facilities, private practices, and children's clinics....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time
- Award MSc
- Start date January 2026
- Subject
- Location City South
This course is:
Overview
As an occupational therapist, you’ll help people who have difficulties with daily activities resulting from disability, illness, trauma, ageing, and a range of long-term conditions. You could work in many different settings, including hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centres, mental health facilities, private practices, and children's clinics.
So, if you’re looking for a career where you can help people to live independently and would enjoy a variety of work where you’re always learning and can use your creativity to support people to regain, maintain or improve their independence, occupational therapy could be the pathway for you.
Our MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) course will support you to become a competent, autonomous and reflective occupational therapist. You will have the opportunity to develop excellent clinical, interpersonal and research skills and the ability to apply these across the multifaceted profession of occupational therapy.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for the protected title of occupational therapist, fully equipped for employment and able to provide the highest standards of client-focused care, both individually and within interprofessional teams.
Accreditation
This course is currently going through the approval process with the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). We already have a long history of delivering HCPC-accredited courses in Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Diagnostic Radiography and Paramedic Science to name a few.
What's covered in this course?
Through specialist teaching and learning techniques, you will explore and learn the philosophy, theory and science behind occupational therapy practice, as well as the human anatomy, physiology, sociology and psychology that underpins occupational therapy treatment. Students will explore occupational science and its interaction with the mental, physical and social elements of health. You will develop your practice and skills by spending time on clinical placement gaining significant specialist experience of at least 1000 hours, as well as developing your employability skills.
Your academic studies will take place at our City South Campus, which features a simulation centre with specialist home environment and mock ward facilities. Through use of these dedicated facilities, you will develop the essential knowledge, skills and behaviours to become a confident occupational therapist within a safe, supported educational environment.
Our MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) course is a qualifying course intended for graduates with a suitable, relevant first degree and provides an accelerated route into the profession. It is not for those who have already completed a qualification in occupational therapy.
Topics covered in the course include:
- Theories, sciences and core concepts underpinning human occupation and the occupational therapy provision.
- Human anatomy, physiology, psychology across the lifespan of patients with varying impairments, illnesses and conditions.
- Human occupational performance and the relationship between the person, environment and occupation.
- The occupational therapy management of patients with long term conditions and complex health and care requirements.
- Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team working.
Development of key skills relevant to occupational therapy, including communication, abstraction, critical thinking, reflection, research and professionalism will enable you to become a compassionate and competent practitioner who can deliver effective, evidence-based and quality-driven care.
Why Choose Us?
- Funding - Allied health profession students will receive at least £5,000 a year in additional funding for maintenance and associated study costs. Download the funding FAQs
- You will be taught in a small cohort by highly specialist lecturers who are practising occupational therapists and can provide relevant insights into the current healthcare landscape and deliver research informed curriculum based upon real life case studies.
- We work in partnership with service users and carers to inform the design of the programme as well as involving them in all aspects of delivery, enabling you to directly interact with, and learn from, service users and carers
- You will develop effective team working and communication skills through inter-professional learning, projects and placements enabling you to facilitate group education and to work within a multi-disciplinary team.
- Developed in partnership with and as a response to a request from local partners (including service users, local service providers and other health professionals), this course will provide you with the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to apply for registration as an Occupational Therapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
OPEN DAY
Join us for an Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation. Booking isn't open for this event yet, register your interest and we'll let you know as soon as booking goes live.
Next Event: 28 June 2025
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
All candidates must have an Honours degree with a 2:1 or above in a relevant discipline (e.g. a life science or health-related subject, this may include (but is not limited to): psychology, biology, behavioural science, sports science, physiology, health science, or a health-related profession (which ideally contains human anatomy and physiology)
Candidates will also need GCSE Mathematics and English Language at Grade C/4 or above
Candidates must also demonstrate:
- A sufficient understanding of the role of an Occupational Therapist and the profession of Occupational therapy
- A strong understanding of the course requirements including the required professional standards and standards, and ethical conduct expected of Occupational therapy students and professionals
The University operates a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process that enables all applicants to gain recognition for previous studies and learning that relate to the course being applied for.
Offers of a place on the course are subject to:
- satisfactory performance at interview
- an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check
- Occupational Health Clearance.
After the initial check, students will be required to self-declare and re-enrol each year.
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
International students
Sorry, this course is not available to International students.
Personal statement
You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.
If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.
Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.
Course in Depth
Modules
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):
This is one of the two inter-professional modules in the programme, delivered by HCPC registered healthcare professional tutors and other specialists from Birmingham City University.
This module will emphasise the underpinning philosophies of inter professional collaboration and communication within health and social care, enabling shared learning across professional boundaries and facilitating the contextualisation of the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to deliver optimal care within a dynamic healthcare environment.
This module will begin with an exploration of the unique philosophy and history of occupational therapy. You will examine key concepts, theories and processes that underpin the profession. You will explore the relationships between the person and their environment and how this may impact on health, wellbeing and occupational function.
You will explore and develop your professional identify as an occupational therapist alongside your role in the wider multi-disciplinary and/or multi-agency team. Students will be able to articulate the unique contribution of occupational therapy to holistic client care across a breadth of settings and places of work.
This module enables the development of core knowledge of the person through the study of the theories that underpin the occupational performance of an individual. You will study human anatomy, physiology, sociology, pathology and psychology.
You will develop a greater understanding of health, ill health, and wellbeing. You will explore the impact of health conditions and life events on self-identity, roles, relationships and occupational functioning. You will begin to develop the knowledge to enable you to work with clients of all ages who may possess physical, mental health, learning difficulties or social challenges.
This 40-credit module will build upon existing taught knowledge to give students the knowledge and skills required to be competent and confident Occupational Therapists in practice.
This module will provide an opportunity to focus on the theories which inform Occupational Therapy assessment, treatment and patient management, aiming for critical investigation of their relevance to contemporary practice. There will be a focus on how this learning will support the development of confident practitioner with a strong professional identity who is able to articulate the unique contribution of Occupational Therapy.
This module builds upon your prior learning gained from your year one modules and practice placements to further develop and integrate your knowledge, skills, behaviours and values with a focus on more specialist and complex, multi-pathological presentations and clinical settings.
There will be a focus on continuing to develop your ability to apply Occupational Therapy theory, processes and a range of approaches as you develop into an autonomous practitioner. You will consolidate your expertise in risk management, case load management, professional reasoning and advanced communications and use of measurement and outcomes whilst adhering to the highest professional standards.
This second inter professional module will consolidate the links between your personal and professional development, whilst encouraging and enhancing a lifelong commitment to the concept of continuous quality improvement in a dynamic and ever-changing health and social care environment.
Through a flexible provision, you are encouraged to reflect critically upon your personal experiences as well and health and social care practice, and to appraise and apply concepts from the literature on best practice to issues of relevance for your profession and the needs of the service user.
This double module forms the final component of your Healthcare Professional MSc. It provides you with the opportunity to complete a piece of work around a topic of interest in order to demonstrate competence in the planning, execution, analysis and evaluation of a Research Project, a Systematic Review, or an Audit or Service Evaluation linked to practice.
This postgraduate, pre-registration occupational therapy degree course will be delivered full-time over two years, with each year comprising 45 weeks of learning – this is required to incorporate your practice-based placements.
There will be a minimum of 1000 hours in practice placements, ensuring that you have sufficient opportunity to achieve the required practice competencies, such that successful completion will ensure you can practice as an autonomous newly qualified practitioner.
We'll embed professional development throughout the course, ensuring that you are committed to the ethos of lifelong learning, and are prepared to meet the continued professional development requirements for the profession.
The development of practical and clinical skills is integral to your development as an occupational therapist. Participation in interactive practical classes (which involves the teaching, learning and practice of such skills) is therefore essential to your education as an occupational therapist.
You may take part in role play scenarios where you might act as either the occupational therapist or the ‘service user’ for these teaching and learning processes, both in the University and during practice placements.
Uniform and Equipment
You may be required to wear a uniform for practice placements. You will receive your uniform on commencement of your course. Given that your programme involves placement opportunities with the National Health Service (NHS), your student uniform is designed to comply with the NHS’s dress code.
For purposes of minimising the spread of infection and of cross contamination, this dress code includes the requirement that a short-sleeved uniform is worn in many hospital and clinic contexts. Should you wish to discuss any concerns in connection to this prior to starting the course, please contact the programme lead in the first instance.
Employability
Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as an Occupational Therapist. This will enable you to pursue careers within the NHS and private sector. Opportunities exist in hospitals, community settings as well as sports teams, uniformed services and the public or voluntary sectors.
Facilities & Staff
We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.
Mock Wards
These are set up to look like typical hospital wards, with four-six bays. Depending on the topic in hand, different manikins can be used as patients and relevant equipment is provided to practise clinical skills. Some of the manikins are interactive and can simulate different scenarios e.g. some allow you to cannulate, check pulses, intubate etc, and some can talk to you. One ward is often used as an adult ward, and the other as a child ward.
These rooms also allow for scenarios to be set up for other professions such as dietetics, paramedic science and social work.
The Operating Theatre and Recovery Suites
The operating theatre and recovery suite gives you the sense of what it would be like in a real surgical environment.
These spaces emulate the full surgical journey from anaesthetics, through surgery and into recovery. ODP students can practice a range of skills including gowning, hand washing, preparing instrument trays, and working with a patient. Nurses and midwives may experience a surgical placement and need to go to theatre or be part of the midwifery team involved with caesarean sections. Many other Allied Health Professionals may also see patients in recovery if necessary.
Home Environment Room
This space is used to simulate non-clinical settings, as not everything health professionals deal with is hospital based. This is used for simulations of home visits and home births. It also houses soft matting and a bubble machine that are used by the Learning Disability Nursing team.
Assisted Living Space
This space replicates a flat and is used for scenarios such as home visits. The sitting room area provides a different space to practise skills and simulations and work with service users and other students.
Assisted Kitchen
This specially designed kitchen has different areas where you can practice cooking, cleaning, boiling the kettle etc., with someone who has actual or simulated visual impairments. There are adapted devices to help, and simulation glasses for you to wear to experience visual impairments.
Physiotherapy Room
This is a space for physiotherapy students to use, with various equipment to practise client meetings.
Radiotherapy Planning Computer Suite
Our computers allow you to plan hypothetical treatments, in terms of angles and directions, ensuring that radiotherapy reaches where it is needed on a patient’s body.
Radiography Image Interpretation and Reporting Stations Computer Suite
These facilities allow you to view and analyse x-rays.
VERT - Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training
This room contains 3D technology to view virtual patients and look at trajectories for treatment.
Radiotherapy
This room contains the same bed/couch used when patients are given radiotherapy treatment. While students of course do not administer radiotherapy in this room, it does allow them to practise adjusting the equipment to make sure both it and a patient would be in the correct position to receive treatment.
Telehealth Room
This room allows for small group teaching in a central area (large boardroom type table) with five small telehealth booths down either side. These are to allow all our health professions students to practise delivering healthcare and advice remotely, either over the phone or on a video call. This addition to our teaching reflects moves in the sector to offer more flexible access to healthcare services, particularly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Imaging Academy
This new facility is a larger version of our existing image interpretation computer facilities and forms part of the Midlands Imaging Training Academy, funded by Health Education England. These expanded facilities will mean we can further develop our courses and expertise in radiography and imaging.
Speech and Language Therapy Resource Room
Our Speech and Language Therapy Team have developed a collection of tools, books and resources to help you learn and understand the implications of a speech or swallowing limitation. You can practise one to one client meetings and clinics and use the video recording equipment to review role play scenarios.
Ultrasound simulation suite
You have access to a wide range of Ultrasound simulation equipment to develop your clinical skills and aid in training. The equipment includes two ultrasound machines with a range of phantoms, scan training stations and eve body works.