MSc Occupational Therapy (February Start)

Key Details

Attendance: Full Time
Award: Degree of Master of Science
Course Length: 2 years
Course Start Date: February 2024

Other Start Dates

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Course Overview

The central theory of occupational therapy is that all humans are occupational beings and we all engage in meaningful activities to live a fulfilling life. As such, activity itself can be used to aid rehabilitation and independent living. Occupational therapists work closely with people who have an illness, injury or disability to help them live their lives to their full potential. You could be helping a child with a learning disability, a young person with anorexia, or an elderly person to recover from a stroke. Occupational therapy is extremely varied and requires ‘out of the box’ thinking alongside professional reasoning. Our course prepares you for an exciting and rewarding career.

You’ll join a community of enthusiastic students, lecturers and educators and a very active Occupational Therapy Society. You will be taught within a multi-professional health school, so you will be well-equipped for working in contemporary healthcare settings once you graduate. Our course will enable you to deliver excellent, person-centred, inter-professional practice.

About

Occupational therapists are qualified to work in a uniquely varied range of settings, and our two-year, full-time course will teach you how to apply professional reasoning, drawing on human sciences, occupational therapy theory, psychology, sociology and creativity. Respectful relationships with service users are at the heart of occupational therapy practice and at the heart of our programme throughout. As a result, we have Experts by Experience sessions where service users speak to you about their experience of their condition.

Our Master’s programme is open to arts, science, healthcare and humanities graduates. If you are hoping to pursue a career in occupational therapy, our enquiry based-style of learning will shape your understanding of the profession, and underpin it with knowledge of human sciences and therapeutic approaches.  

Our active learning approach is designed to engage you cognitively, emotionally and spiritually, so you develop your professional identity as an occupational therapist and gain the skills to use yourself therapeutically within health and social care settings. Throughout the programme, you will have a personal advisor who will help you reflect on your highs and lows, enabling you to learn from both. You will also learn how to use professional development tools to identify your personal learning needs and goals. 

Your time with us will be split between university-based learning and practice-based learning. We have a dedicated placement team, who work closely with our practice partners to set up a balanced range of placement experiences for you. While on placement, you will be allocated a dedicated educational supervisor; a qualified occupational therapist, who will support you as you apply your knowledge and gain skills and confidence. Your practice educator will be experienced in judging your needs and will help you to challenge yourself. 

We also provide the exciting opportunity for you to take ownership of your professional development and arrange your final eight-week placement in a specialist field you are passionate about or haven’t yet experienced.

The course provides four practice placement experiences across the two years. The structure of each year and use of Enquiry Based Learning enables you to develop your core skills prior to Practice Placement 1 and then develop complex therapeutic skills by your final Professional Development placement.

Practice placements are designed to give students the skills to work across NHS, independent, private and third sector settings which reflect the contexts of future health and social care. This range of experiences will develop your flexibility and transferable skills. All students will undertake their placements within the same timeframe, and will be completing a minimum of 37.5 hours assessed practice, including 3.5 hours of portfolio development per week. You will arrange your own final eight-week placement, which could take place in the UK or abroad. However, overseas travel can put additional demands on students, so we ask to be consulted on any such plans and may advise against overseas travel in some circumstances. 

Follow UEA's Occupational Therapy Society on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Entry Requirements

Degree Classification

Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.1 or equivalent from a recognised Higher Education institution. Applicants with a 2.2 or equivalent may be considered if they have strong relevant work experience.

GCSE

Applicants will be required to have a minimum of GCSE Maths and English at Grade 4 / C or equivalent.

English Foreign Language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English or those whose degree was not taught in English.

To ensure such students benefit fully from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English.

Our minimum entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components
Pearson (PTE): 76 overall with a minimum of 67 in all components.

All test scores must be less than two years old.

Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests.

Interviews

The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview. Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your application.

Note that we will not disclose interview questions in advance of the interviews, but in general terms the interviews will explore a range of issues, including your suitability for the profession and the NHS values (as reflected in the NHS constitution). We’ll look to consider your motivation to study this course, as well as whether you have an interest in people and a clear understanding of the profession (ideally with relevant voluntary or paid work in healthcare).

Applicants will be offered an online interview.

Intakes

Please note this course is now closed.

The annual intake for this course is in February each year.

Additional Information or Requirements

You must have graduated within 10 years of the start date of the course, or be able to provide relevant evidence of further study or experience.

You must also have a profile of secondary qualifications in arts and sciences (A-level or equivalent).

You need to have minimum grade C/4 (or equivalent) in GCSE Science, Maths and English.

Our admissions criteria also include requirements such as: a clear understanding of Occupational Therapy; a broad range of relevant work shadowing; an interest in people and a strong academic attainment.

It is normal for undergraduate students to apply for entry to postgraduate programmes in their final year of study. Applicants who have not yet been awarded a degree may be offered a place conditional on their attaining a particular class of degree.

Please note, If you are already a qualified Occupational Therapist this course is not suitable and you may wish to consider our other professional health courses delivered at Degree and Master’s level.

International students

We have a number of places available for students from outside the UK. The School of Health Sciences offers a high quality educational experience for international postgraduates. Potential candidates need to be able to demonstrate the high academic credentials required for the course, as well as good English Language qualifications.

The pre-registration courses offered in the School of Health Sciences are approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and after successfully completing an accredited pre-registration programme such as ours you must apply to register with the HCPC in order to work as a registered healthcare professional in the UK. This course equips you with the skills necessary to practise as an occupational therapist both internationally and in the UK. International students who complete the course will be eligible to apply to the HCPC.

Places on this course are subject to police (DBS) and occupational health checks, including evidence of appropriate immunisations.

PLACEMENTS

As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.

Fees and Funding

Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2023/24 are:

UK Students: £18,500 (Full-time on a two-year basis. Course fee charged £9,250 per academic year)
International Students: £39,600 (Full-time on a two-year basis. Course fee charged £19,800 per academic year. 2022-23 entrants are liable for £18,500 in 2023-24.)

We estimate living expenses at £1,023 per month.

Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.

Scholarships and Bursaries

The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships; please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.

Course Related Costs

Due to the diversity of occupational therapy practice and the broad geographic area, practice placements will be located in a variety of locations around East Anglia. You will be responsible for covering additional costs of transport and accommodation. You will also need to pay for a DBS check and health screening, plus any necessary vaccinations. 

You can find information regarding additional costs associated on our Fees and finance webpages.

Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.

How to Apply

Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.

Applications from International students for February 2024 are closed.
Applications for Home students will close on 1st October 2023.

To apply please use our online application form.

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:

Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk

International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.

Employability

After the Course

Upon successful completion of your programme, you will be eligible to apply to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Once registered, you will be able practice as an occupational therapist.    

A typical first job will consolidate your skills and may offer opportunities to progress into a specialist role or to take on management responsibilities. Alternatively, you may decide to progress your career into clinical research or private practice.  

Careers

A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.

Examples of careers you could enter include:

National Health Service 
Charitable organisations 
Social services departments 
Private health services 
Own start-ups 
Clinical research

See our career pages for more information 