This course requires 128–144 UCAS tariff points, including a minimum of two A-levels or equivalent and 32 points in a required subject. We are happy to consider a combination of qualifications and grades to meet the overall tariff, for example A-levels A*A*C, AAA, A*BC or ABB, BTECs DDD or DDM in a required subject. You can use the UCAS calculator to see how your qualifications equate to UCAS tariff points.
If you do not meet these you may want to consider our foundation year, a one-year course that will prepare you for degree-level study.
If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 7.0 with minimum 6.5 in each component or equivalent.
Why study BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy at BU?
Gain the knowledge and practical skills needed to critically assess a service user’s circumstances in order to help them adapt to their environment and maximise their performance potential.
The course maintains small cohort sizes resulting in excellent lecturer-to-student ratio meaning more support, education and resource availability.
Get hands-on practice using our newly-built clinical simulation facilities, which feature a daily living suite and kitchen, plus equipment to tackle a range of situations commonly encountered by occupational therapists.
Put your learning into practice with placement experience throughout the course in a variety of settings.
Experiential learning allows you to work on real-life scenarios to gain knowledge and understanding of occupational roles and how health and wellbeing can affect their functioning.
New funding: Occupational therapy students may be eligible for a non-repayable government training grant of at least £5,000 a year. Find out more information about the funding.
Foundation Year: We have a Foundation Year option for UK students who do not meet the entry requirements for the degree course. This additional year of study will give you a grounding in the scientific skills needed to prepare you for the Occupational Therapy degree, building your confidence, knowledge and skills for further study. After successful completion of the Foundation Year, you will progress to the full degree and begin your Occupational Therapy study. The Foundation Year will be based at the Talbot Campus, Bournemouth.
UCAS Code: B930
With foundation year: B931
More info: Click here
Foundation year
Core units
Academic Study Skills: You will gain the fundamental academic and research skills required for degree level study. The unit will introduce you to a broad grounding in literature searching, literature review, data collection, methodological approach, data analysis and interpretation and ethical practice. It will also support you to begin to develop a critical and analytical approach to your work and identify areas for personal development.
Applied Sciences: You'll gain a basic understanding of some fundamental aspects of science underpinning more specific disciplines, and an appreciation of how various scientific disciplines impact human life. You'll understand the differences between pure and applied science, as well as the roles of different ways applied science can be funded, and implications of these funding mechanisms.
Introduction to Biology: Biology is the study of life and hence knowledge of plant and animal cell biology is fundamental to understanding wider concepts in biology. This unit also introduces key themes in human, environmental and ecological sciences to provide a sound underpinning in knowledge for future studies.
Introduction to Psychology: This unit is designed to prepare you for advanced coursework in psychology. You will complete the unit with a good understanding of the various areas of psychology and how they seek to explain behaviour.
Mathematics in Science: You will build your confidence in mathematics, in order to perform calculations on a range of scientific data from biology, chemistry and psychology and to be able to represent the findings in an appropriate format, including graphs. In order to carry this out, it is essential to be able to convert the data between systems of units and to understand how to present very large and very small numbers in standard form. Basic statistical analysis of tabulated data will be carried out to introduce the concept of confidence limits and familiarisation of statistical testing.
Foundation Year Project: You will carry out a research task on scientific topics chosen by the unit leader which you will be able to conduct a scientific investigation on. You will devise your own investigation and produce a literature review as a final scientific report.
Year 1
Core units
Foundations for Professional Practice & Research: This interprofessional unit gives you an opportunity to work with students from other disciplines in exploring what influences health and well-being. There will be an emphasis on ethical, person-centred practice and an exploration of how research impacts on positive outcomes for service users.
Becoming an Occupational Therapist: This introductory unit explores occupational science concepts, theory of humans as occupational beings, key occupational therapy concepts and stages in the occupational therapy process.
Skills for Occupational Therapy Practice: During this unit you will develop effective and transferable communication skills that promote and value diversity.
Occupational Therapy in Action 1: You will discover how to implement occupational therapy practice with diverse service users in a variety of settings, as well as learn how to gather information through assessment, collaboratively set goals and identify appropriate occupation-focused approaches to intervention.
Analysing Occupation: During this unit you will gain an understanding of human anatomy, physiology, psychology, sociology and occupational functioning and analysis.
Practice Placement BU 1: This first, six week, practice placement enables you to apply the theoretical skills you have learnt in your first year to practical environments.
Year 2
Core units
Research for Professional Practice: This unit is another where you will be studying with students from other programmes. You will be building your research and problem-solving skills so that you can engage critically with evidence informed practice.
Professional Reasoning for Occupational Therapy Practice: During this unit you will explore the relevance of professional reasoning and best evidence in relation to decision-making and intervention planning.
Occupational Therapy in Action 2: Developing your skills of implementing occupational therapy practice, you will be able to select, apply and critique a broad range of assessment and intervention approaches to a diverse range of situations.
Promoting Health and Wellbeing (Option): This unit investigates the development and delivery of non-judgmental, sensitive health promotion, and evidence informed practice which promotes wellbeing.
Community Engagement in Occupational Therapy (Option): In this unit you will explore the occupational needs of individuals, groups and communities and identify opportunities to work in partnership with them using occupation to promote participation, health and wellbeing.
Practice Placement BU2: This ten week practice placement unit will help you plan, analyse and apply occupational therapy theories, knowledge, legislation and clinical governance in practice.
Year 3
Core units
Research for Occupational Therapy Practice: You will investigate the role of research in occupational therapy practice by searching for research literature, analysing the quality and outcomes of the research and then relating those research findings to a specific area of practice. In addition, you will put together a proposal for research in your chosen area.
Innovation in Occupational Therapy Practice: Drawing on experiences of different sectors and wider economic and socio-political issues, you will evaluate an occupational therapy innovation of your choice.
Team Working for Service Improvement: Working with students from other professions, you will work collaboratively to explore an area of service where you can enhance the experience of people using the service.
Practice Placement BU3: This final ten week practice placement will ensure you qualify as a confident and proficient professional, capable of providing high quality, safe and autonomous practice. In this unit you will also consolidate your understanding of the expectations of a newly qualified occupational therapist enabling you to make a smooth transition into professional practice.
There are a wide range of roles open to you once you qualify as an occupational therapist, not just in the NHS but also within local authorities, social services, schools and the private sector. Every role is rewarding in its own way and this course will prepare you to work as an OT in a variety of environments, helping people from all walks of life.
You can specialise in paediatrics, mental illness and learning disabilities, among others, or you can go into teaching or research.
OSHC: 624 ($) GBP per year
