Occupational Therapy (Pre-registration) MSc (PGDip)

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Course structure

This intensive degree runs over 45 weeks per year for two years, balanced between campus-based study and clinical practice.

Learning is mainly through whole-cohort fixed resource sessions with academics, visiting practitioners and occasionally service-users, and smaller problem-based learning groups, usually with a tutor, examining real-life scenarios.

There are also opportunities to participate in action learning sets where you will explore your thoughts in small, largely self-directed groups. The problem-based learning approach of the course is considered crucial for attainment of knowledge, deep understanding and critical evaluation.

Understanding the relationship between occupation, health and wellbeing is also explored through participation in therapeutic occupations such as cooking, arts and crafts, creative writing, pottery, ‘play’ and a variety of nature-based and sporting activities.

Assessment throughout the course allows for regular feedback relating to professional skills development including critical thinking and writing, assessment and treatment planning, clinical reasoning, teamwork and presentation skills.

As a student on this professional course you’ll be required to adhere to the Health and Care Professions Council Standards of Proficiency for Occupational Therapists and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Professional Standards and Ethics. You will be assessed to meet these standards through a combination of essays, presentations, group work and practice placements. You will also be required to learn about, and critically consider, evidence to inform occupational therapy practice. 

As a student on this course you’ll also get to participate in Schwartz Rounds – hour-long sessions where students come together to listen to stories and share reflections in a supportive and confidential environment. The sessions offer the opportunity to reflect on the emotional aspects of clinical practice and are designed to support students and recent graduates working in complex settings.

Syllabus

Modules

• Beginning Practice Placement

  This module will introduce you to occupational therapy practice and give you the opportunity to develop your assessment skills and increase your confidence in working with service users. Your practice educator will help you transfer your skills into the practice context and there will be a range of placements available – including physical, mental health, paediatrics, social services and learning disability – in a variety of settings, for example in hospitals or the community.

• Assessment in Occupational Therapy

  This module provides an introduction to the course and investigates the concept of humans as occupational beings. You will learn to analyse literature from different sources to explore the link between occupation and health and wellbeing. The module also covers the purpose and process of assessments in occupational therapy, focusing on theories and strategies based on occupational science.

• Diverse Practice Placement

  This eight-week practice placement occurs in year two and gives you the opportunity to promote the role of occupational therapy in a diverse setting that doesn’t traditionally employ an occupational therapist. You will demonstrate to service users, carers, staff and agencies about the role of occupational therapy and the links between occupation and improved health and wellbeing.

• Occupational Therapy in Diverse Settings

  In this module you will deepen your understanding of the occupational needs of wider communities and populations and consider the value of, and opportunities for, occupational therapy in areas not usually associated with the practice. You will revisit your core skills, philosophies and values and consider political and financial changes in health and social care and public health. You’ll also explore key factors shaping the profession.

• Occupation for Change

  Building on your recent practice placement experience which refined your assessment skills, this module focuses on developing occupational therapy treatment plans. Using scenarios based on assessments of people with a range of occupational challenges, you will select daily living, work or leisure occupations to maximise their abilities and promote an improved quality of life and wellbeing.

• Achieving Best Practice

  This module will refine your skills at managing ethical and sustainable practice and professional development in preparation for work. You will further develop previously acquired skills in designing, analysing, justifying and evaluating person-centred, evidence-based occupational therapy. You’ll also explore the unique personal culture of the individuals receiving occupational therapy.

• Intermediate Practice Placement

  This seven-week placement gives you an opportunity to fully participate in the occupational therapy process, with a focus on intervention planning. You will be able to test your therapeutic skills and knowledge and develop your understanding of teams. With guidance, you will begin to evaluate your interventions and develop effective communication skills with both service users and members of the team.

• Final Practice Placement

  This final eight-week placement will see you demonstrate your capabilities as an independent thinker, planner, initiator and organiser. At this point, although there’s still a lot to learn, you should be safe to practice, function without continual occupational therapy support and take an active role in the whole process. This is an opportunity for you to face real-world demands and test out your professional skills within a safe environment.

• Research Foundations for Occupation-centred Practice

  In this module you will develop and enhance your understanding of research methods and processes so you can design a small in-depth research project focusing on either occupational therapy or occupational science. You will employ your professional reasoning, therapeutic and research skills and develop an appreciation of the importance of research for evidence-based and occupation-centred practice.

• Teamworking

  With a focus on interprofessional teamworking, this module will increase your knowledge, critical understanding, value and skills in relation to working as part of a team. Occupational therapists need to appreciate the multi-layered benefits of interprofessional working and this will give you the opportunity to explore the different roles and responsibilities of various health and social care professionals.

• Research Implementation for Occupation-Centred Practice

  In this module you will refine the design of a research project related to evidence-based occupational therapy practice. You will undertake and report on your research and critically reflect upon your engagement in the process to deepen your understanding of research practice. The main purpose of the research project at masters level is to advance your skills in research design and methodology.

Facilities 

Problem-based learning 

Our educational philosophy mirrors the philosophy of occupational therapy. We believe that an individual’s positive engagement in (learning) activity leads to advanced productivity, increased perception of self-worth, improved quality of life and enjoyment (of the course).

Our occupational therapy degrees use problem-based learning (PBL), a technique recommended by authorities around the world. All subjects covered are integrated around problem-solving within a real-life situation. We find that learning in this way significantly increases our students engagement with the subjects.

The pre-registration occupational therapy degree incorporates the experience of doing and making in order to engage with, analyse and develop skills in therapeutic media. We have creativity studios for cooking, ceramics, crafts and performing arts, and we have developed gardens for the practice of horticulture.

Around the world, many academic courses in occupational therapy are losing this aspect of their education, to give over more time to ‘theory’, but here at the University of Brighton we believe that it is vital to retain these embodied learning experiences – which utterly link theory and practice – as they are indeed central to the understanding of the true essence and potential of occupation. Recent research has revealed the connection between skilled hand use and the development of thinking. As one student, who could not imagine a course without these sessions, asked: “How can we learn about doing without doing?” These classes are central to the philosophy of our occupational therapy education at Brighton and they have become one of its hallmarks.

About the profession 

Occupational therapists work with children, young people, adults and their families to identify where change might be beneficial to improve health and wellbeing. Some individuals might experience difficulty with washing and dressing or making a meal, others may find structuring their day challenging or need support to partake in occupations that are meaningful to them.

Skilled and compassionate occupational therapists work closely with people to analyse occupations and devise interventions in partnership with their clients to bring about improvement in such activities. This could involve demonstrating new techniques or adapting participation to support people to do what’s important to them. Alternatively, occupational therapists might introduce new activities such as cooking or pottery to enhance wellbeing and enjoyment or improve communication skills and self-confidence.

Occupational therapists believe that humans are creative, occupational beings who thrive when engaged in a balanced range of enjoyable activities. They seek to understand peoples’ motivations and needs and try to match activities to a person’s existing skills. Activity analysis exposes that although the things people do may seem simple, human occupations are incredibly complicated.

Occupational therapy is the study of what people do, how they do things, the effect these activities have on human health and the reasons why people choose to do what they do (the meaning behind the doing).

The videos here show occupational therapy graduates Rhys Philips and Troy Croxton in the role of occupational therapy support workers explaining how occupational therapy helps people live meaningful lives and carry out activities of importance to them. 

Practice placements 

What are practice placements and why are they necessary?
You will undertake four placements of approximately eight weeks, working alongside an occupational therapist in a practice setting. Placements make up approximately one-third of the course and meet the World Federation of Occupational Therapists requirement that all students complete a minimum of 1,000 hours supervised practice. The placements will therefore be full-time, which will be approximately 37 hours per week. Placements are likely to include school holidays.

Placements provide opportunities for you to develop your professionalism, knowledge and skills under the guidance of an occupational therapist. Your skill development might be related to many areas of practice including group work, creative activities, mobility, communication and the use of technology.

What type of placement?
You will practice in many different settings including the National Health Service, social care organisations, schools, the voluntary sector, hospital in-patient settings, community settings and mental health services.

Diverse practice placement
One of the placements is eight weeks in a non-traditional/diverse setting. This can include collaborative projects with community organisations including homelessness day centres, hostels, residential and nursing homes, physical disability charities and day centres, young peoples projects, sheltered housing facilities and mainstream schools.

Placements have also taken place in traditional hospital in-patient physical settings, focusing on promoting the use of meaningful activity to enhance health and wellbeing, for example via breakfast clubs and supporting internet shopping. 

Where are the placements?
Placements take place across the south-east of England, including Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Medway, and South London. It may be necessary for you to travel up to 90 mins or to stay away from home.

What placement support can I expect?
We provide preparation sessions in advance and a practice educator will support you on placement. 

We will allocate all your placements (except the final one), with the view that you will need to experience a variety of practice settings. Whilst we will take into consideration issues such as travelling time, and carer commitments, a placement close to home cannot be guaranteed and you will need to be aware of this and be flexible in relation to placement provision/allocation. 

You will arrange your own final placement in consultation with your personal tutor to ensure the placement will meet your needs.  Halfway through the placement, a tutor will meet with you and your practice educator online to discuss your progress.

What if I fail a placement?
The majority of students pass their placements. Should you fail, we treat this as a development opportunity and we will provide a second opportunity for you to undergo the placement in a similar, but different, setting.

Should you fail the second attempt you can no longer proceed and will normally be required to leave the course. This is unusual but is possible – in this event we would endeavour to support you through this process and you may be able to leave with an academic award at a lower level than a degree depending on the modules completed.

Meet the team

Course fees

Additional funding support

UK students studying nursing, midwifery and some allied health professions subjects receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each academic year. Find out more on the NHS website.

Funding information

This course is eligible for funding via the Student Loans Company under the same terms and conditions as undergraduate tuition fee and maintenance loans. Find out more.

Where your course includes a placement, travel costs which are over and above your daily journey to university and dual accommodation costs may be reimbursed by the NHS learning support fund. Additional financial support may available from the NHS. Find out more about the learning support fund.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

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