Curious about studying Occupational Therapy - BSc (Hons)at University of Essex? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
University of Essex
Full Time
Oct 2026
3 Year
Our BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy course helps you to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to enable you to work with clients of all ages who may have physical, mental health, learning difficulties or social challenges to address. There's never been a better time to train as you can now apply for a £5000 grant that you won't need to pay back! There is also an extra £3000 funding available depending on your personal circumstances. You can find more information about eligibility and how to apply on the HSC Scholarships and Funding page. This three-year programme enables you to take advantage of interprofessional learning (IPL), encouraging professionals to learn with and from one another - an understanding that helps to ensure you have the expertise to respond adequately and effectively to the complexity of your clients’ needs, and ensures that care is safe, seamless and of a high standard. Central to the philosophy of our programme is the value attached to ‘occupation’ and ‘activity’ as a means to achieving the health and wellbeing of individuals, which enhances their quality of life, thus enabling them to achieve their desired goals. We combine a number of teaching styles such as lectures, seminars, enquiry-based and blended learning, as well as enabling you to undertake practice placements in the workplace. The use of peer support and self-directed learning enables you to take control of the learning experience and manage your development of knowledge and skills. Successful completion of this course provides you with an opportunity to access a professional qualification in occupational therapy. The cost of required uniform will be fully covered by the school.
Placement OpportunitiesIn order to prepare you for the work-place and enrich your learning, we organise the practice placement education for you with multi-professional health care teams in a wide range of settings. You will gain experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team with people who have physical, mental health, learning difficulties or social needs. Over a thousand hours will be spent in the practice environment, where you will apply the theory and practice of occupational therapy. Whilst on placement you will have an educator allocated to you, and contact with a member of the academic team.
LocationPlacements encompass a variety of multidisciplinary health and social care settings based within the NHS, the Private Sector, Social Services, Voluntary Organisations and Primary Health Care Services.
Making your applicationBefore you make your application, take a look at our frequently asked questions section at the bottom of our undergraduate department pages. Here you will find hints and tips on what we are looking for.
The aim of the module is to introduce the concepts of professional and inter-professional practice and provide opportunities to develop understanding of the role of continuing professional development for health professionals.
This module is designed to introduce students to the basic sciences that inform professional practice, including anatomy, physiology, psychology and sociology. You will develop applied knowledge to advance your understanding of anatomy, physiology, psychology and sociology, to understand health, ill health and wellbeing.
Using students’ experiences from their first exploratory placement, this module will develop understanding of the occupational nature of human beings and explore how people engage in their occupations and identify the influences on their performance. Students will develop an understanding of occupational therapy theoretical framework through lectures, independent study, small-group activity and online support and resources.
This module is designed to focus specifically on the practice and skills required for occupational therapy. It will enable you to develop an understanding of the relative role, value, and impact of therapy. You will complete required online and practical mandatory training sessions to prepare for and undertake your first practice placement. This module will support you to develop your understanding of and application of skills in an area specific to occupational therapy practice.
All health professionals are required to demonstrate sound decision-making skills in the process of developing appropriate outcomes. This module is designed to introduce and further develop your understanding of the concepts of reasoning, problem-solving and decision-making, in preparation for placement. You will develop your professional reasoning within this module and will have opportunities to further develop this reasoning within placement.
This module is designed to focus specifically on the practice and skills required for occupational therapy. You will draw on previous learning and undertake two practice placements, to further develop your understanding and apply skills in areas specific to occupational therapy practice.
With a mixture of interactive and practical classroom-based lectures, this module focuses on literature searching, synthesising literature within a critical review and identifying a topic for further professional enquiry. Students will gain practical experience of collecting and handling a variety of data and developing analytical skills to gain an understanding of evidence in its widest sense.
This module is designed to enable students to develop effective leadership skills through the identification and development of an idea to enhance services drawn from practice placement experiences. Students will extend their understanding of the considerations required to positively affect change to enhance service delivery and benefit service users.
This module will enable you to draw upon previous learning and placement experiences to extend your understanding of the national and international influences upon occupational therapy practice. You will apply your learning by identifying and developing a critical occupational perspective for an innovative sustainable community project to address the impact of occupational disruption. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
This module (including the final placement) will require you to manage your own learning and consolidate skills for practice.Practice placement requires demonstration of a highly professional level of skills and the use of critical evaluation and reflection to continually develop practice from a robust evidence base fully engaging with the practice setting and its broader context. You will: - be required to demonstrate evidence of competent practice and readiness for transition from student to therapist. - share your knowledge and skills reflecting on areas for further development. - demonstrate your learning as you progress through the placement using the placement assessment document and summarise your achievements using a continuing professional development activity which has been agreed and negotiated with your educator.
This module will develop evidence-based practice and research through self-directed learning. This autonomous working method will help to prepare students as pro-active professionals once qualified. Learners will work towards preparing and submitting an in-depth literature review and research proposal.
This final module provides opportunities to explore the concepts of the transformative process from competent student to novice occupational therapy practitioner. You will consolidate your learning over the duration of the programme, from both a theoretical and practical perspective, in order to prepare for employment as an Occupational Therapist.?
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