Why study BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy at BU?

  • Gain the knowledge and practical skills needed to critically assess a service user’s circumstances in order to help them adapt to their environment and maximise their performance potential. 
  • The course maintains small cohort sizes resulting in excellent lecturer-to-student ratio meaning more support, education and resource availability.
  • Get hands-on practice using our purpose-built clinical simulation facilities, which feature a daily living suite and kitchen, plus equipment to tackle a range of situations commonly encountered by occupational therapists.
  • Put your learning into practice with placement experience throughout the course in a variety of settings. 
  • Experiential learning allows you to work on real-life scenarios to gain knowledge and understanding of occupational roles and how health and wellbeing can affect their functioning
  • Within 15 month of finishing the course, 95% of graduates were in work or further study.

Find out more about the content of this course.

New funding: Occupational therapy students may be eligible for a non-repayable government training grant of at least £5,000 a year. Find out more information about the funding. Please note that this funding is not available for students on the foundation year, however you will be able to access it once you complete the foundation year and move onto the degree.

Foundation Year: We have a Foundation Year option for students who do not meet the entry requirements for the degree course. This additional year of study will give you a grounding in the scientific skills needed to prepare you for the Occupational Therapy degree, building your confidence, knowledge and skills for further study. After successful completion of the Foundation Year, you will progress to the full degree and begin your Occupational Therapy study. The Foundation Year will be based at the Talbot Campus, Bournemouth. If you apply to study the full degree and do not meet the academic entry requirements, our admissions team may consider your application for the Foundation Year and notify you accordingly.

Course review: in order to take advantage of new approaches to learning and teaching, as well as developments in practice to benefit our students we regularly review all of our courses. This course is currently going through this process and we will update this page to give you full information about what we will be offering once the review process has concluded.  These changes will come into effect for all new students from September 2025. Applicants will be notified by our admissions team of any changes.

Course accreditation and approval 

The accreditation and approval bodies on our BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy course allow you to work overseas as well as in the UK with your qualification. On successful completion of this course, you can: 

  • Apply to become a registered occupational therapist with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
  • Apply for professional membership with the Royal College of Occupational Therapist (RCOT)

Please note that the Foundation Year part of the course does not have these accreditations. 

Key information

Next start date:

September 2024, September 2025

Location:

Bournemouth University, Lansdowne Campus. Foundation Year: Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus.

Duration:

3 years, including mandatory placements or 4 years with the Foundation Year (1 year, followed by 3 years including mandatory placements)

Accreditations:

Royal College of Occupational Therapists

Entry requirements:

For September 2024 and September 2025 entry: 120 - 136 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of two A-levels or equivalent. BTEC Extended Diploma grade DDM (128 UCAS tariff points). Foundation Year: 48-72 UCAS tariff points. 

For more information check out our full entry requirements.

International entry requirements:

For September 2024 and September 2025 entry: If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 7.0 with minimum 6.5 in each component or equivalent.

For more information check out our international entry requirements.