Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration) MSc (PGCert PGDip)

Intro

This course (previously known as Health Through Occupation) gives you license to register and practice as an occupational therapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

It is ideal for graduates of any subject who wish to gain both a professional and academic qualification and start a career in this challenging and highly rewarding field.

You will explore occupational therapy through our innovative problem-based learning approach, with an emphasis on practical application of skills and knowledge. Through this balance of theory and practice experience you will graduate a capable and confident occupational therapist.

Our high quality teaching and research are renowned, and have an applied focus. We have established strong links with specialist practice educators to ensure the provision of support and guidance both within the university and in practice.

Successful completion of the professional elements of the programme leads to the award of a postgraduate diploma in Occupational Therapy.

Key facts

Location Eastbourne

Full-time 2 years (accelerated)

Deadline for applications 6 April for September start

We are a top 10 university for world-leading research impact in allied health professions, nursing and pharmacy (REF 2014)

Accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Book on a subject open day

Apply online

Please make sure that you meet the entry requirements before applying. If you have any questions the course team will be happy to help.

Apply now for your place

Course content

Course structure

This intensive programme runs over 45 weeks per year, for two years. Your time on the course will be balanced between campus-based study and clinical practice.

Sessions are held in small groups, they are interactive, integrated, self-directed, and focus on problem-solving, to examine real-life situations. The use of problem-based learning is considered crucial to students' fast attainment of masters-level standards, and for critical evaluation.

Other learning experiences are arranged according to the need of the problem; these may be lectures, practical sessions, skills classes, debates or seminars. Most importantly, all subjects are integrated around the problems.

Our postgraduate programmes are taught by a wide variety of methods – small active learning groups, seminars, action learning sets, PBL, lectures, self-directed literature searches.

Understanding the relationship between occupation and human health and wellbeing is also explored through student participation in a variety of activities such as cooking, craft, horticulture, performing arts and pottery.

Assessments allow for individual feedback in essential professional skills including written critique, report writing, team working, presentation skills, and verbal/written presentation of intervention.

Areas of study

You will examine topics such as:

theories of occupation and occupational science (causes of occupational problems)
occupation related to population health
clinical reasoning
occupational therapy process (assessment, treatment, and evaluation)
occupational therapy skills (creative, productive, leisure and daily living)
research methods and professional issues.

Syllabus

Year 1 modules

Human Occupation (including two-week beginner practitioner placement)
Assessing Occupational Capacities
Novice Practitioner (practice placement)
Maximising Occupational Capacities
Intermediate Practitioner (practice placement)
Evaluating Occupational Therapy

Year 2 modules

Occupational Therapy: Teams
Diverse Practice (practice placement)
Occupational Therapy: Settings
Competent Student Practitioner (practice placement)
Occupational Therapy: Consumers
Achieving Best Practice
Research project

Facilities

Practical skills rooms and Daily Living Suite

Practical skills rooms are equipped so that students can learn and practise practical skills with each other before working with patients and clients.

As an occupational therapy student, you will make full use of our Daily Living Suite. This room is furnished like a flat with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom facilities, allowing you to practice activities of daily living in a realistic environment. In addition the kitchen area is used for cookery skills and other specialist rooms are equipped for the creative arts and crafts taught as part of the occupational therapy curriculum with its focus on health through occupation.

occupational therapy facilities

Occupational therapy students

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 courses 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 programmes incorporate the experience of doing and making, in order to engage with, analyse and develop skill 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, said “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.

Exchange visits

The student exchange programme is for occupational therapy students registered on the Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration) MSc at the University of Brighton, Occupational Therapy MSc students at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse (UWC) and Occupational Therapy BSc students at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen (RGU).

There are two options.

Host option (year one)
Travel option (year two)

First year students host visiting students during their Maximising Occupational Capacities module which runs from February to April each year. During the second year students have the option of visiting either UWC or RGU during their spring break.

The programme offers students the opportunity to see firsthand similarities and differences in occupational therapy practice and experience life in the USA, if taking this travel option. Exchange experiences will also enhance your CV and give you a wider experience base to refer to and draw upon in your future practice.

Students participate in various learning activities while in the USA or Scotland including attending classes with the occupational therapy students, completing job shadowing in the community and participating in cultural events such as visiting castles, museums and socialising with their host students.

While in either the USA or Scotland, Brighton students are hosted by UWC or RGU students which provide an insight into the daily life of a university student. First year University of Brighton students can choose to host a UWC or RGU occupational therapy student. These students travel to the University of Brighton during their spring break and join in classes, as well as completing job shadowing and participating in cultural activities.

University of Wisconsin La Crosse

Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

Our philosophy

The pre-registration occupational therapy programmes incorporate the experience of doing and making, in order to engage analyse and develop skill 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 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, said “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 individuals and their families to identify where change is needed. The individual might not be able to feed or dress himself independently if he can only use one hand following a stroke, or they may be too depressed to get out of bed to go to work.

They try to discover what the impediments are, and how the person might be able to resolve them practically.This often involves demonstrating new techniques that allow the individual to undertake everyday activities independently again.

Alternatively, occupational therapists might introduce new activities, such as cooking or pottery, for the individual to find enjoyment or improve their self-confidence.

Occupational therapists believe that humans are creative 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 deceptively simple, human occupations are actually 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 students 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.

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Two students explain how they mix practical experience with their degree in occupational therapy.

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One of our students explains how she became interested in occupational therapy.

Practice placements

What are practice placements and why are they necessary?
You will undertake five placements of between two and 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 1000 hours supervised practice. This enables you to acquire an understanding of the centrality of occupation in human life and the possibility of transformation through occupation. 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.

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

What support can students expect?
We provide preparation sessions in advance and a practice educator will support you on placement. We select your first two-week placement, than you can provide your preferred options (not guaranteed). If you have commitments outside of university, such as childcare, we will try and accommodate (not guaranteed). A tutor will visit or call you and your practice educator half way through the placement to discuss your progress.

What is the role of the practice educator?
The practice educator decides if you meet the required competency level in order to pass the placement. Practice educators are experienced occupational therapists that are trained with specialist knowledge in order to prepare and provide a positive placement for our students.

What if a student fails a placement?
The majority 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.

Diverse practice placements

Occupational therapy in diverse settings placement

Our diverse placements include both non-traditional and role- emerging placements (those which occur at a site where there is not an established occupational therapy role (COT 2006)).

One of the placements you undertake is an eight-week placement in a non-traditional/ diverse setting. This can include collaborative projects with community organisations including homeless day centres and hostels; residential and nursing homes; physical disability charities and day centres; young people’s projects and schools; mental health hostels; sheltered housing facilities; a podiatry clinic; mother and baby services; a prison; an inter-generational dementia project; critical care unit; mainstream primary 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 well-being on the wards, for example breakfast clubs, Ipad internet shopping.

Research carried out at the university has identified that these placements are significant in helping you to develop your professional identity and confidence to practice and there is a national trend for this development in Occupational Therapy education (COT 2006). You normally go on these placement in pairs for seven weeks preceded by an induction day a week over five weeks. This provides the opportunity for you to complete your induction and negotiate your plan for the placement with your on-site supervisor. During this time you have the opportunity to attend university based action teaching groups to discuss assessment and intervention issues. You will receive an hour’s supervision each week from both an onsite supervisor and an Occupational Therapist who is normally a clinician, or a university Occupational Therapy tutor.

There has been much success with these placements; specific feedback from the placements has included a decrease in evictions and challenging behaviour in homeless projects and a decrease in falls in nursing homes. Since this placement has become compulsory students have received very positive feedback from their final traditional placements and when going for ‘traditional’ job interviews regarding their ability to articulate their professional skills and identity. In addition some students have been confident to apply for jobs in emerging role settings for their first post. Examples of this include a mental health hostel; a young people’s charity; a special school; an elderly carers’ project; a vocational service.

Staff profiles

Channine Clarke – Academic lead

"I am the Academic Lead for our Occupational Therapy courses. As a University of Brighton Occupational Therapy BSc(Hons) graduate myself I can say that doing my training was the best thing I ever did. Occupational therapy is such a diverse career and there really is an area of practice for everyone, whether your interest lies in physical, mental health, learning disabilities, paediatrics or diverse settings.

"Once qualified (in 1998) I started my career in a forensic mental health team, helping to set up and run a rehabilitation hostel. I spent 10 years in the service, developing my career to become a Head Occupational Therapist before coming to the university in 2007 as part of the teaching team and taking on the role of practice placement tutor. I have also worked at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists helping to develop occupational therapists’ knowledge, understanding and practice related to clinical audit and effectiveness. I completed my PhD here at Brighton in 2013 and my areas of interest are occupational therapy in diverse settings, problem-based learning, practice-based education and professional development of our students.

"I know that the occupation focused and self-directed nature of my training enabled me to work passionately and autonomously from the start of my career and I use the knowledge, skills and attributes I learnt every day and am now able to share these with, and hopefully inspire, the next generation of therapists.

"Many of the staff team here are also Brighton graduates, which is a testament to what a great place it is to study and work. It is a very supportive team and a lovely campus where you get the opportunity to train alongside other health students with a variety of inter-professional learning events. We are all highly committed to working with you to ensure that you become the occupational therapist that you want to be."

You can read Channine's full academic profile.

Tania Wiseman – Course leader

“I am the Course leader for the two year accelerated MSc/PgDip Occupational Therapy (pre-registration). I am proud to be a University of Brighton MSc Occupational Therapy graduate myself. After graduation with a Post Graduate Diploma in Occupational Therapy in 1996 I worked in the fields of physical and mental health with adults of all ages, this was complemented by a Master’s degree in occupational therapy in 1999. I am currently completing a PhD about leisure in 21st century later life.

"I enjoy my role as course leader and also enjoy being a problem-based learning tutor. I teach the gardening skills option undertaken by course participants, and facilitate a small community gardening group on the university site. I have also created a community volunteering opportunity in partnership with Active Student.

"Research interests are focused on the occupation of gardening, and leisure in later life. I lead a leisure in later life research group, with several of our Masters students presenting at national conferences and some producing peer reviewed publications. I co-lead the health sciences Sustainability Specialist Interest group, which holds annual conferences attracting an international audience, and our own students.”

You can read Tania's full academic profile.

Meet the team

Dr Channine Clarke (Academic lead), Heidi Von Kurthy (Admissions tutor) and Audrey Yong (Placement tutor).

Additional teaching team: Dr Jon Wright, Victoria Lovell, Dr Lee Price, Tracy Szekely, Dr Josh Cameron, Sue Wheatley, Paul Boyle and Dr Tara Sims.

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Careers

After professional registration with the HCPC graduates are eligible to take up opportunities in health and social care, in the NHS, social services, and the private sector. There are now many new and exciting possibilities for occupational therapists nationally and worldwide.

Occupational therapists work in an ever-widening range of mental health and physical disability settings including acute hospitals, long-term rehabilitation, social care, local communities, schools, factories, residential homes, institutions for older or more profoundly disabled people, voluntary organisations and prisons.Completion of the Occupational Therapy (pre-Registratoin) MSc will also prepare you for further study at MPhil and PhD level if you wish to continue pursuing an academic path.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2019. They should be used as a general guide.

We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that you could receive a lower conditional offer than the typical offer, informed by our assessment of your complementary non-academic achievements and experiences. For courses that require interview or portfolio review, this may also be considered in the level of any conditional offer that follows if your application is successful.

Degree and experience

Degree 2:2 or above in any subject, obtained in the last 10 years. You need to supply a copy of the original certificate.
Work experience in health or social care preferred but not essential.

Other

Two academic/professional references.
On entry to the programme, successful applicants will be also required to undertake basic life support training.
Incomplete applications without the additional entry criteria will not be considered.
Two separate 500-word reports on visits to occupational therapy settings, to include a mental health and physical health setting, one of which should be with adults. These reports should be in addition to the personal statement and separate from the application form. Each applicant is responsible for gaining the experience required to write the reports; this may be through talking to an occupational therapist, or visiting an occupational therapy department or attending an organised open day. What you decide to include in your reports is up to you, but it could include the sort of problems the patients/clients have, the assessments used, who the occupational therapist works with and what interventions are used. Local NHS Trusts and social services departments organise events to help applicants gather information relevant to the writing of the two 500-word reports.

For full details and to book a place, visit our subject open days page or contact Lisa Harford.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 7.0 overall with no element below 6.5 (to meet requirements of the Health and Care Professions Council).

If you do not meet these entry requirements, you could apply for our Occupational Therapy BSc(Hons) course. It is ideal if you wish to start a career in this challenging and highly rewarding field.

2019 application deadline
Complete applications (including the two reports and two written references) need to be received before Friday 5 April 2019. We strongly advise that applications are submitted well in advance of the deadline.

2018 applications
Applications for September 2018 entry closed on 13 April 2018.

International equivalencies

International equivalencies by country

Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For degree preparation courses.

Other requirements and interview

Writing the Reports: events to help applicants

Local trusts and social services departments organise events to help applicants with the writing of the two 500 word reports. You will only need to attend one physical and one mental health. These events do get booked up very quickly so I would advise you to book a place as soon as possible. There will be no other events available after these dates.

For full details and to book a place, visit our subject open days page or contact Lisa Harford at on l.e.harford@brighton.ac.uk.

Selection events

Interviews are held in May each year. Applicants will be interviewed individually within a group to allow them to demonstrate their communication skills as these are so important both during the course, and for future practice. The interview is an opportunity for applicants to find out more about the course, see the campus, meet some of the existing students and staff, and to meet other applicants.

We are looking for students who have a very good understanding of the profession, are highly motivated, have excellent communication skills and are able to accurately evaluate their own performance.

All candidates must be able to demonstrate (in both application form and at interview) a sound knowledge of occupational therapy as a profession. This could come from, for example, experience of working in occupational therapy departments, talking to qualified occupational therapists, visits to departments, open days/ other events and reading relevant material.

Fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,250 GBP

International (full-time) 16,128 GBP

Funding arrangements for students starting this course from September 2018

From 1 August 2018, new students from England starting this course will have access to the standard government student finance support package which consists of loans to meet the cost of tuition fees (up to £9,250) and a means-tested loan for living costs. In addition, supplementary funding that is means tested as appropriate includes: travel costs for practice and clinical placements, dual accommodation costs during practice and clinical placements, childcare allowances and exceptional hardship fund.

Students can apply for a loan if this is their second degree providing it is not in the same profession/subject.

Closing date

The closing date for September applications is 6 April 2018.

Suitable international applicants will be offered a skype interview.

Please note we do not make any decisions before the closing date. Closing dates are final and we are unable to consider any late applications.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

Location

About Eastbourne

Sunny, friendly and relaxed, there’s lots to do and enjoy in Eastbourne – music and arts festivals, theatre, galleries and sports – and all against the backdrop of the beach and the beautiful South Downs.

Eastbourne hosts some major sporting events, from Eastbourne Extreme – one of the biggest extreme sports festivals in the UK – to Eastbourne International, an annual tennis tournament where some of the world’s finest players prepare for Wimbledon.

Eastbourne has a close-knit community feel. From where ever you are on campus every place you need to go is around 15 minutes away on foot – the beach, the town centre and the South Downs. There is a great selection of clubs, pubs, restaurants and shops and always plenty of student-friendly deals on offer.

Campus where this course is taught

Eastbourne campus

Located in one of the sunniest towns in the UK, our Eastbourne campus sits between the hills of the South Downs National Park and the south coast.

The campus has extensive sporting facilities, including a sports hall, fitness suite, climbing wall, swimming pool, three gyms, a dance studio and an artificial training pitch. For sport and exercise students, there are also exercise physiology labs, a human movement laboratory and an environmental chamber.

Professional-standard facilities on this campus include the Leaf Hospital Clinic, specialist practical skills rooms, culinary arts studio and accredited sports science laboratories.

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Accommodation

Eastbourne

All eligible 2019-entry firm and insurance offer holders are guaranteed an offer of university-managed accommodation.

Welkin halls
Located in the Meads area of Eastbourne, right next to the Students' Union and Student Services, Welkin halls are a short walk or bike ride to other areas of the campus.

Ensuite halls with a choice of room and flat sizes.
Breakfast and an evening meal are provided from Monday to Friday during term-time, this is included in your rent. You have access to shared, fully equipped kitchen facilities.
Rent also includes all utilities, 24/7 staff cover, contents insurance, cleaning of communal areas and off-peak access to university fitness facilities including a 25m pool.

Find out more about our accommodation in Eastbourne.

Unihomes
A unihome is a student house which the university manages on behalf of a private landlord. This option can work particularly well when you’re balancing learning with placements and other life commitments.

Rent includes all utilities, broadband, contents insurance, cleaning of communal areas.
Generally shared bathroom with a variety of locations, room and house sizes. Some unihomes offer off-road parking.

Find out more about unihomes.

Private renting
Eastbourne offers good choice when it comes to student accommodation.

There’s a good supply of affordable, high quality private rented accommodation and plenty of support and advice from us if you choose this option. Your first stop should be our studenthomes database. This lists accommodation offered by landlords who have signed up to our code of standards.

Every summer we provide online events and resources, as well as other advice services, for students looking for a place to live and people to share with.

Student accommodation in Eastbourne

Student bedroom in Welkin halls

Modern kitchen in Welkin Halls

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Eastbourne campus map

Student views

Luci Carnall-Moore

"I completed my Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) training at Brighton University and I could not have comprehended at the time how much this would change and enrich my life. I was engaged and motivated in the learning process through varied and stimulating placements, dynamic Problem-Based Learning sessions and inspiring Fixed Resource Sessions with people coming in to share their lived experiences.

"Upon graduating I immediately gained employment as the only OT in a Community Mental Health Team. The learning curve was steep, but I felt equipped and confident in consolidating my role due to the skills that I had developed on the course. These skills then took me beyond my traditional NHS OT role as I was able to apply and transfer them to Community Development. I was successful in securing funding to set up a Community hub which aims to promote social inclusion and cohesion. The funding proposal was based on OT evidence and research and the recognition of my skills, knowledge and experience.

"Four years on and the project continues to grow with the development of a regular Intergenerational Supper Club, the planting of a community orchard and sustaining strong links with other community projects. I am also a Placement Educator in this Diverse Setting, I deliver Fixed Resource Sessions at the University and facilitate problem Based Learning Sessions.

"I could not recommend this course at Brighton University more to begin an exciting journey into Occupational Therapy and beyond!"

Jamie Liddell

"I loved training to be an occupational therapist at the University of Brighton! The MSc course strikes the perfect balance between practical and academic learning, and really promotes effective team-working.

"The problem-based learning approach really suited my learning style and the placements were invaluable in preparing me for clinical practice. I have since had the opportunity to take on students of my own and am even back studying part-time at Brighton to complete a clinical research Master’s degree.

"The tutors have been so supportive right through my occupational therapy journey. I would thoroughly recommend studying here!"

Alice McGarvie

“I really enjoyed the Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) MSc course at the University of Brighton. The mixture of problem-based learning, lectures, interactive sessions, patient expert sessions and placements gave a really broad understanding of the variety of applications for occupational therapy.

“I particularity enjoyed the Diverse Settings module, which enabled me to learn about the range of diverse roles in occupational therapy and experience a placement in a setting that did not have an occupational therapist. This enabled me to think about the occupational therapy process and how to apply it in a new setting. This experience and my learning from it has helped me to set up my occupational therapy and harp service ‘From the Harp’.”

Mark Anderson

"The course was a great mixture of so many elements from PBL to potter, critiquing the literature to adjusting equipment to height!

"And, especially I think a fab and passionate approach to appreciating the myriad benefits of human occupation to health and well-being.

"Thank you so much for all your guidance and encouragement on the journey to becoming an occupational therapist."

Mark_Anderson_MSc_Occupatioan_Therapy_(pre-registration)

Rachel Tobelem

"After schooling in Gibraltar I went on to have an amazing experience in university in the UK. I completed my degree, a BA in community management and then decided to specialise and gain a professional qualification so I completed my postgraduate diploma in Occupational Therapy (OT) and MSc in Health Through Occupation. This took five years and I loved every minute of it.

"I obtained my PGDip and MSc at the University of Brighton's Eastbourne campus. I was so comfortable there because of the friendly atmosphere of the university itself and the town. The course was challenging in all the right ways – we experienced a mixture of theory-based learning in the campus and practical-based on a wide range of fieldwork placements. The course mainly centred on the problem based learning (PBL) approach, which seemed to be a very modern way of learning. We were also well supported there. The course was tough – I had my moments! It was however well worth the hard work. Without it, I wouldn't be where I am today.

"Eastbourne was such a convenient place to live – I used to pop to London whenever I wanted, shop in the cute town, or in Brighton, walk down to the beach, and visit the stunning surrounding countryside and villages. I lived with three other OT students (one of them – Hannah – is coming out to stay with me here in Gibraltar next week for some sunshine!) in the best student accommodation I had ever lived in! I couldn't believe my luck when I arrived. I met wonderful people, enjoyed exciting times and learned so much. People ask me if I recommend people to go to study at the University of Brighton and be based at Eastbourne, and I say 'absolutely!'

"Having qualified, I lived in Dublin for a year with friendly people, great city life and beautiful Irish countryside nearby. There I worked in an adult psychiatric in-patient hospital and a psychiatric day hospital. I assessed and treated the needs of patients with acute to moderate mental health illnesses and specialised in anxiety management. This was a challenging and valued learning experience as a professional.

"I then decided to live in Singapore. I did not know anyone there and had never stepped foot in Asia! Still, I felt the urge to go. There I worked in a mainstream school within the special needs department. I ran the occupational therapy department and treated children of all ages and disabilities, from mild learning difficulties to severe disabilities. I lived a fantastic life, with a dream job and luxury life style. When not at work I was a lady of leisure!

"After a couple of years in Asia I decided to return home to Gibraltar. I started private work for local clinics and for the Ministry of Defence, mainly working with learning disabilities. I was also employed as a part-time assistant special educational needs coordinator for a middle school. In addition to this I was a part-time ChildLine Gibraltar manager. I now work with ChildLine as a helpline volunteer. The variety involved in the nature of the work I did helped me to continue to develop my management skills and broaden my experience of working with people with a diverse range of needs.

"As with any health care profession, OT is challenging. Some therapists find it difficult to 'switch off' when out of work but it is so important to have balance in your life. Ultimately for the client's sake, it is essential to look after our general well being, to avoid stress and the pressures of work. We must practise what we preach!

"I absolutely love what I do and one of the main reasons I became involved in this line of work is because I worked voluntarily at a centre for adults with learning disabilities, St. Bernadette's OT Centre, since I was about 14 years old and continued to help out when I was home in Gibraltar from university doing my degree. I then realised that I loved this type of work and thought why not go into a health care profession and do it full-time?! So I moved on from the management focus of my degree and qualified in a profession that is interesting, rewarding and something that I am passionate about.

"I am now the occupational therapist/strategy coordinator for the Gibraltar social services agency and I'm based at St. Bernadette's – so my career has come around in a full circle! It was meant to be!

"I manage a staff of around 35 people but I try to be as hands on as possible and still work with service users in groups running sessions and in 1:1 sessions. I can be working with a kid with autism helping him manage his behaviour to an adult with profound developmental delay providing the appropriate stimulation, equipment etc. I also provide a consultation service to families and staff. The job is a huge challenge but, so far, I wouldn't change it for the world!"

Nick Walker

“As a Health through Occupation MSc student, I was based at the Eastbourne campus. The campus is situated in a beautiful location at the best end of Eastbourne beach, practically a stone’s throw from the beach and right next to the most lovely walks on the South Downs. You would have to search hard to find a better place to be a student.”

Rosemary Leaver

"Before studying occupational therapy I worked as a support worker for young adults with autistic spectrum disorders. I also volunteered abroad in Peru and Kenya and completed a BA in English, before deciding to go back to university. I'm currently working in children's social care as an occupational therapist.

"After qualifying as an occupational therapist, I spent 2 months developing an occupational therapy service for a small charity in rural India. I had always been interested in working abroad, and the more I learnt about occupational therapy the more I saw how useful the skills and knowledge I was learning could be in a developing part of the world. In the rural village, where I was based, there was very limited access to allied health professionals. I worked in a residential school for children and young people with a range of physical and learning disabilities, many of whom had never had access to occupational therapy before. I was able to use skills I'd learnt on my occupational therapy degree, especially during a paediatric placement for a charity in London to run groups and 1:1 sessions at the school in India. The charity staff were very pleased with the work I did, and I'm now working with the charity to encourage more occupational therapists to volunteer. This included going back to the University of Brighton to give a lecture on cross cultural practice, and after giving the lecture two of this year's graduates decided to volunteer at the same charity.

"When I was working as support worker I was really impressed with how practical and effective occupational therapy can be. I was keen to progress my career and I knew becoming qualified as an OT would open a lot of doors for me. I'd heard great things about the course at Brighton from people who had already completed it, and I was really impressed with the tutors and facilities when I came for an interview

"I really valued the opportunity to carry out an original research project, and I'm currently working with my research supervisor towards getting this published in a research journal. The opportunity to do five placements was also extremely valuable for gaining experience in very different areas, from paediatric charity work to forensic mental health.

"The tutors on the course are all very knowledgeable and experienced, and having regular contact with a named personal tutor made me feel very supported throughout the course. This course allowed me to become a qualified occupational therapist with the opportunity to work across a huge range of health and social care settings in the world. I'm currently at the beginning of what I hope will be an exciting and varied career.

"If you're interested in a career in occupational therapy, this course will give you the skills, experience and confidence to make it happen."

Rosemary Leaver occupational therapy graduate

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