Studying Occupational Therapy

Course Content
To qualify as an occupational therapist a four year undergraduate degree or graduate entry maters degree is required. Qualifications must be awarded from an institution with a course which has World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) accreditation.

Professional Subjects for example: Occupational role lifestyle and lifespan development, occupational performance, professional experience, occupational therapy theory and process, inter professional studies, occupational therapy project, issues in occupational therapy practice, selected studies. Social Sciences - Psychology, sociology, epidemiology, research methods Biological Sciences - Anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, neurobiology, applied physiology, applied biomechanics.

Admission Requirements
The following information is offered as a guided only. Please contact the Universities directly for further information.

The University of Sydney: Students are accepted on the basis of the University Admission Index (UAI) or as a mature age student or as a post graduate student. The minimum UAI for acceptance in 2009 was 85.20

The University of Newcastle: Students are accepted on the basis of the UAI or as non-school leavers (interview and previous experience) or based on overseas qualifications (exam results and English mastery). The minimum UAI for acceptance in 2009 was 85.10

Charles Sturt University: Accepts students through both the NSW and Victorian Tertiary admission systems on the basis of the Universities Admissions Index (UAI) or for mature aged applicants, based on relevant experience and qualifications. The minimum UAI for acceptance in 2009 was 73.80

The University of Western Sydney: Accepts students on the basis of the UAI or based on the mature age entry criteria or on the basis of overseas qualifications(educational background and English mastery) and special entry programs such as the regional entry test. The minimum UAI for acceptance in 2009 was 78.10

Universities Admissions Index (UAI)
The following information is given as a guide only. For school leavers in 2008, the minimum UAI accepted into the following universities for 2009 courses were:

Charles Sturt University - B Health Sc (Occ Therapy) 73.80
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University of Newcastle - B Occupational Therapy 85.10
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University of Sydney - B App Sc (Occup Therapy) 85.20
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University of Western Sydney - B App Science (Occ Therapy) 78.10
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Educational Requirements
It is recommended that students have a background in sciences - biology or chemistry. This is not essential but very useful for students.

Salaries
For more information on Salaries/awards, go to here

Employment Opportunities
Job opportunities are fair at present for new graduates but excellent for experienced graduates.

University Contacts

Charles Sturt University
Faculty of Health Studies
PO Box 789
ALBURY NSW 2640
Phone - 02 6051 6820

The University of Newcastle
Faculty of Health
School of Health Sciences
Discipline of Occupational Therapy
University Drive
CALLAGHAN NSW 2308
Phone - 02 4921 7036

The University of Sydney
Faculty of Health Sciences
School of Occupational and Leisure Sciences
PO Box 170
LIDCOMBE NSW 1825
Phone - 02 9351 9174

The University of Western Sydney
The School of Biomedical Health Science
Phone - 02 4620 3789

Other Australian universities offering occupational therapy studies
Queensland - James Cook University
Queensland - University of Queensland
South Australia - University of South Australia
Victoria - Deakin University
Victoria - La Trobe University
Western Australia - Curtin University of Technology