Occupational Therapy BSc (Hons) at University of Liverpool

The Occupational Therapy programme at Liverpool will equip you with a range of both academic and practical skills for a rewarding career that enhances the quality of life for a variety of people encountering physical, emotional and social difficulties.

You will be taught by respected academics with a breadth of clinical and research experience and will graduate with up-to-date knowledge. You will learn about the human body and use the impressive Human Anatomy Resource Centre. This knowledge will help you learn about disease and disability and how they impact on the ability to engage in everyday meaningful occupation.

Throughout the three years you will undertake clinical placements. We have extensive connections with a diverse range of clinical specialties in physical and mental health and learning difficulties, for all age groups from young children to the elderly, in our student placements. There are also opportunities for you to study abroad.

More than 1,000 hours of clinical experience, together with the theoretical knowledge gained from the programme, will enable the Liverpool graduate occupational therapist to competently analyse the psychosocial, physical and environmental factors in the lives of the people in their care and devise appropriate interventions to help them.

The programme is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and is accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT). The programme also has approval from the World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT). Recognition of the programme by the RCOT and WFOT are important for graduates seeking international job opportunities.

Programme in detail

During your three years you will engage in modules which are framed within four themes. These themes explore the person, occupation and environment relationship, which is a core underpinning philosophy for the practice of occupational therapy. They are:

• Core concepts and skills
• Professional identity
• Society and well-being
• Evidence for practice.

As a requirement for qualification you will experience a minimum of 1,000 hours practice placement education. Placements are integrated within each of the three years of the programme and are undertaken in a variety of health and social care settings.

It may be possible to undertake a placement overseas as an elective personal choice in Year Three or as part of international agreements with other universities. Studying abroad has huge personal and academic benefits, as well as giving you a head start in the graduate job market. For more information, visit liverpool.ac.uk/goabroad

Career prospects

As a graduate of the School of Health Sciences you’ll be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). You can look forward to a career in the National Health Service, Social Services or the private sector.

You will have gained a qualification that meets the Government’s criteria for ‘fitness for purpose’ and ‘fitness for practice’ as well as developing transferable skills such as communication, information technology, problem solving and teamwork.

Occupational Therapy graduates are eligible to apply for membership of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and the World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) to work outside the UK. Your qualification allows opportunities to build a career in the NHS, Social Services, and independent third sector employers. Successful completion of the programme will allow you to work in a range of specialist services with people of all ages to support them to address the psychological, physical, cognitive, social and environmental challenges which impact on their day to day functioning.

Qualifying you for life

Students will develop skills including:

• Information gathering and analysis
• Problem solving
• Communication (written and oral)
• Numeracy
• Information and communication technology
• Working with others
• Time management
• Self-directed learning.