Occupational therapy courses
Help me choose a courseIntroduction to Occupational therapy
Ready to take your first step towards a career in occupational therapy (OT)? Compare online health and medical science courses that are available with universities from across Australia.
These courses are ideal for those who want to study allied health at a holistic level before specialising in occupational therapy. They can also help you upskill in areas important to the profession. While these courses alone won’t qualify you to practice as an occupational therapist, they can broaden your career prospects in occupational therapy and beyond.
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No ATAR required. Start with a subject.
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Work as a rehabilitation counsellor, perhaps in government, insurance, private or not-for-profit rehabilitation services. Put your theory into practice through fieldwork, and applied counselling and research methods.
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Graduate Certificate in Exercise Rehabilitation for Sports Injuries
Add rehab to your health science skillset
Build on your health qualification with sports specialist knowledge. You’ll explore how strength and conditioning can manage injury. Aim for prevention. Write exercise prescriptions for active people and get them moving again.
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PostgraduateUOQ-SPM-GCE
Add sports medicine to your general practice
Explore the foundations of sports medicine. You’ll learn how to identify your patients’ acute and overuse sports injuries. Topics include injury prevention, rehabilitation and biomechanics. Treat a range of active people in your general practice.
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Occupational therapy study FAQs
Occupational therapists focus on the physical, social, psychological and environmental issues that prevent someone from performing daily tasks, while physiotherapists focus more on physical movement and exercise. There is some overlap between the two, and the treatment offered by both professionals is also dependent on the individual therapist’s ongoing education and training. Occupational therapists and physiotherapists also often work collaboratively in rehabilitation settings.
You will be able to get into an OT course with an ATAR between 60 and 92—but there are alternative pathways.
If your Year 12 results don’t quite go to plan, don’t panic. You can get into a health science course online through us by enrolling in undergraduate health subjects that don’t have any entry requirements.
Once you successfully complete these subjects, you’ll be able to transition into a Bachelor of Health Science or equivalent course. From there, you should satisfy the requirements to enrol in a Master of Occupational Therapy with the uni of your choice.
Give our student advisors a call to find out more about how this works.
If you enrol directly in a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, it will take at least four years of full-time study to complete your course and the required industry placements. You will then be able to register as an occupational therapist.
If you decide to study a generalist health science degree before completing a Master of Occupational Therapy, it will take you a minimum of three years to earn your undergraduate degree and then two years to earn your postgraduate degree.
Those who study health science online through Open Universities Australia can complete their course at a pace of their choosing.
Occupational therapy courses require students to complete at least 1,000 hours of industry placements and clinical fieldwork. That’s why you won’t find any occupational therapy qualifications available online through Open Universities Australia.
However, you can study your initial health degree online before you specialise in occupational therapy. You can also study postgraduate health courses that focus on enhancing your knowledge of clinical practices online. Explore the options on this page to see what’s available.
Before starting an enrolment, it’s important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you’re eligible to apply. If you don’t quite meet the requirements, we may be able to help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study.
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Postgraduate subjects are different. Most of them are restricted, meaning you’ll have to apply for entry and be accepted before you can start studying online. You’ll find information about the application process on the postgraduate degree page that you’re interested in.
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