Overview
Occupational therapy is a unique career where you can enable people to improve their health and wellbeing and enjoy higher quality of life through preventing and overcoming barriers to participation in the everyday activities they value.
The BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy can be studied full-time over 3 years or part-time over 4 years. It will provide you with an understanding of the science and artistry of occupational therapy. Develop the unique skillset needed to be a successful occupational therapist, including leading activity-based therapy, rehabilitation, communication skills and more. Plus, gain experience and expertise on a variety of practice placements outside of the university, and in our special Occupational Therapy Labs and their simulated living spaces and artistic intervention tools.
Why study Occupational Therapy at LSBU?
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- Ranked 1st in London region and 9th in the UK for Occupational Therapy (Complete University Guide 2023).
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- Our Occupational therapy course is delivered through a hybrid learning approach, using a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods to tailor for diverse learning needs.
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- Professional accreditation: we’re accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists
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- Professional links: this course can enable you to become a registered occupational therapist, approved by the Health and Care Professions Council.
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- Work placements across a variety of clinical settings, such as NHS acute Trusts, community placements and the independent sector.
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- LSBU Health and Social Care graduates are the second highest paid amongst all London Modern university graduates, and the sixth highest in the UK one year after graduating (DfE LEO data 2022).
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- 100% of LSBU Occupational Therapy students said it was easy to contact teaching staff when they needed to (National Student Survey 2023)
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- Students on this course could be eligible to receive a non-repayable amount of up to £11,000 per academic year with the NHS Learning Support Fund.
Student Story
“The tutors are very kind, and I received a lot of support from my personal tutor and the Disability and Dyslexia Service. The range of experience both at university and on the placements has been valuable and I have learnt so much about myself.”
| ModeFull-time | Duration3 years | Start dateSeptember | Application codeB930 | Application method UCAS |
| ModePart-time | Duration4 years | Start dateSeptember | Application code2386 | Application method Direct to LSBU |
Course Accreditations
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RCOT
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HCPC
Location
London South Bank University student union is located at 103 Borough Rd, London SE1 0AA.
If you are visiting our Southwark Campus, you may wish to use our downloadable campus map (PNG File 466 KB). For information on accessibility, see our DisabledGo access guides. See our location page for more details.
Entry Level Requirements
- 120 UCAS tariff points (e.g. 3 A Levels at grades BBB or above), or
- BTEC Level 3 extended diploma (before 2010 known as BTEC national diploma level 3) DMM in a health-related subject, or
- Foundation degree/diploma (or similar), 120 credits, or
- International Baccalaureate (26 points), or
- NVQ Level 3 plus one year relevant work experience, or
- Access to Higher Education course in Science, Health, Social Care or similar (60 credits, of which 45 credits will be at Level 3, including 30 at distinction grade and 30 at merit grade). Plus English and Mathematics GCSE (grade A–C or 4-9) or equivalent.
- Plus English and Mathematics GCSE (grade A–C or 4-9) or equivalent. 7.0 overall or equivalent
- 7.0 in the listening and reading sections
- 7.0 in the writing and speaking sections.
English language
If your first language is not English you must have the following minimum International English Language Test Score (IELTS) results at the time of applying:
Foundation Year
If you have been out of study for a considerable amount of time or have slightly missed the entry requirements this course, you can take your first steps to becoming a registered practitioner with our Health and Social Care Foundation year. Boost your qualifications and confidence for further study with this one-year introductory course and on completion of this course you will be guaranteed entry on to one of our 13 health BSc pre-registration health and social care degrees.
Choose your country
Select country here:
Missing English and Maths qualifications?
If you do not have the required English and Maths qualifications needed to satisfy the entry requirements for this programme, we have courses available at our partner College that you can take to upskill in these areas. Find out more at South Bank College.
Advanced entry
If you have already completed some studies at another university, we may be able to consider you for advanced entry. Please see our advanced entry page for more information.
United Kingdom
£9250
Tuition fees for home students
International
£16900
Tuition fees for international students
Tuition fees are subject to annual inflationary increases. Find out more about tuition fees for Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses.
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Part-time
part-time
BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (PT) - Year 1
UK fee: £6935 International fee: £14083.33 AOS/LSBU code: 2386 Session code: 1PS00 Total course fee: UK: £26203.34 International: £50700 BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (PT) - Year 2
UK fee: £6935 International fee: £14083.33 AOS/LSBU code: 2386 Session code: 2PS00 Total course fee: UK: £26203.34 International: £50700 BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (PT) - Year 3
UK fee: £6166.67 International fee: £11266.66 AOS/LSBU code: 2386 Session code: 3PS00 Total course fee: UK: £26203.34 International: £50700 BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (PT) - Year 4
UK fee: £6166.67 International fee: £11266.66 AOS/LSBU code: 2386 Session code: 4PS00 Total course fee: UK: £26203.34 International: £50700 -
Full-time
full-time
BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (FT) - Year 1
UK fee: £9250 International fee: £16900 AOS/LSBU code: 3769 Session code: 1FS00 Total course fee: UK: £27750 International: £50700 BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (FT) - Year 2
UK fee: £9250 International fee: £16900 AOS/LSBU code: 3769 Session code: 2FS00 Total course fee: UK: £27750 International: £50700 BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (FT) - Year 3
UK fee: £9250 International fee: £16900 AOS/LSBU code: 3769 Session code: 3FS00 Total course fee: UK: £27750 International: £50700
For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.
Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.
See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 391 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).
Possible fee changes
The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.
The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.
Scholarships
We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.
Home
| Mode Full-time | Duration 3 years | Start date September | Application code B930 | Application method UCAS |
| Mode Part-time | Duration 4 years | Start date September | Application code 2386 | Application method Direct to LSBU |
Prepare to start
Personal statement
Please provide a concise personal statement, that provides information about your motivation to become an occupational therapist and the reasons why this is the right career for you.
More guidelines onto how to write your personal statement can be found in the UCAS website: How To Write Your Undergraduate Personal Statement | Undergraduate | UCAS
Interview
If you meet the relevant entry level requirements, you will be invited to attend an interview.
The interview panel will contain two HCPC registered occupational therapists. An additional person may be on the interview panel including current occupational therapy students, and service users.
The second occupational therapist on the interview panel may be present in the interview or, with your consent, they may listen to an audio recording of your interview instead. This is designed to make our interviews more equitable and accessible for candidates. A privacy statement and consent form will be provided to you in advance of the interview to inform your consideration of these options.
Interview Questions
If you are offered an interview, these are the 3 questions that will be asked. Please refer to the NHS values in preparation for these questions.
1. Why do you want to be an occupational therapist?
2. Working with others is an important part of being an occupational therapist. Can you tell us what you have learnt from working with others?
3. A description of equity is that services should be resourced to be able to meet each patient’s individual needs. What are your thoughts regarding equity for patients?
Preparing for your interview
There are different resources you can access to prepare for your interview. Please contact the occupational therapy admissions team at bscotadmissions@lsbu.ac.uk so they can provide you with more information.
The Occupational therapy programmes at LSBU aim to provide an education centred on the meaning and performance of occupations in life. Occupational therapy as a profession is concerned with key concepts such as occupational performance, occupational identity and how the environment and cultural factors together influence the effective participation in unique and individual lives; from childhood through to older age and including end of life. The course begins with modules that introduce the concepts and theory of occupation and occupational therapy practice. Case studies are used to show the diversity and range of people and conditions that an occupational therapist can work with. Relevant anatomy, physiology and psychology are covered. The students get opportunities to apply the theory taught at university to practical placements that occur each academic year. Students will develop their professional identity as the course progresses.
Level 4 modules
- TOT-4-010 Exploring Occupation. 20 credits.
An introduction to the theory of occupation and activity analysis. - TOT-4-011 Occupational Therapy Practice 1. 40 credits.
This module includes the theory of the Occupational Therapy Process and the first practice 6-week placement. - TOT-4-012 Occupational Performance Analysis and Human Function. 20 credits.
This module includes anatomy, physiology, and normal movement patterns. - TOT-4-013 Introduction to Occupation Focused Practice. 20 credits.
This module builds on the previous studies and includes the use of frames of reference and models. - IPL-1. Concepts of Interprofessional and Collaborative Practice. 20 credits.
This is an interprofessional module studied with other allied health care students. - TOT-5-010 Occupational Therapy Practice 2. 40 credits.
This module builds on TOT-4-011 and includes the second practice 7-week placement. - TOT-5-011 Delivering Occupation Focused Practice. 20 credits.
This module builds on TOT-4-013 and develops the concepts further. - TOT-5-012 Occupational Therapy Practice 3. 40 credits.
This module builds on TOT-5-010 and includes the third practice 10-week placement. - IPL-2. Research and Evidence-Based Practice. 20 credits.
This is an interprofessional module studied with other allied health care students. - TOT-6-010 Professional Identity, Autonomy and Accountability. 40 credits.
This module has a focus on accountability, professional behaviours and continual professional development. - TOT-6-011 Research and Evidence-Based Practice. 20 credits.
This module builds on IPL-2. - TOT-6-012 Occupational Therapy Practice 4. 40 credits.
This module builds on TOT-5-012 and includes the fourth and final practice 10-week placement. - IPL-3. Leadership and Service Innovation in Occupational Therapy. 20 credits.
This is an interprofessional module studied with other allied health care students.
Level 5 modules
Level 6 modules
Facilities
Occupational Therapy Laboratories
We have three Occupational Therapy Laboratories, including an Art and Music skills laboratory, Splinting laboratory and Assisted Daily Living (ADL) laboratory. You will carry out a range of activities to practice your skills including using art, music and role-play as interventions. You will practice making hand splints using thermoplastic materials as well as anatomy practicals using anatomy models. The simulated kitchen, bathrooms and bedroom spaces are used to practice patient transfers, wheelchair manoeuvres and planning activities for intervention using activities from daily life. You also practice using a wide range of standardised assessment tools such as assistive devices for dressing, kitchen work and mobility.
The laboratories enable you to practice problem identification, intervention planning, implementation, communication skills, risk assessments, problem solving skills and group work skills; all to learn how best to work with the patient.
Careers
Employability Service
At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:
- An online board where you can see a wide range of placements: part-time, full-time or voluntary. You can also drop in to see our Job Shop advisers, who are always available to help you take the next step in your search.
- Our Careers Gym offering group workshops on CVs, interview techniques and finding work experience, as well as regular presentations from employers across a range of sectors.
Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.
Once you graduate you’ll be eligible to apply for registration as an occupational therapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This allows you to practice within the NHS, community services and local authorities, as well as the private sector. Thanks to this course, you’ll be equipped with the skills you need to work as an occupational therapist with both adults and children who have complex health and social needs. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists have a website Choose OT which explains if this career is right for you and the possible routes your career could take.
There are a range of further study option at postgraduate level. You can find out more about courses in our online CPPD prospectus.
Completion of this course entitles you to become a registered occupational therapist, approved by the Health and Care Professions Council.
This course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council, the regulator of health, Psychological and Social professionals. And it’s accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, the professional association for staff in Occupational Therapy.
The course fulfils the requirements of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, which makes you eligible to apply for international employment. The programme is delivered in partnership with health and social care authorities and University staff. We’re actively involved with Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and endeavour to expand our links with the voluntary and independent sector.
The course is accredited by HCPC and RCOT.
The Health and Care Professions Council is the regulator of health, Psychological and Social professionals.
The Royal College of Occupational Therapists is the professional association for staff in Occupational Therapy.
Teaching and Assessment
The course is taught in the form of lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical sessions.
There are a range of assessments including essays, examinations and presentations. The placements are also assessed by the practice educator at the placement site.
Every student is provided with a professional and personal tutor who supports the student throughout the course.
People profiles
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Mrs Musharrat Ahmed-Landeryou
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Ms Clare Beanlands
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Dr Austin Claffey
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Mrs Debbie Green
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Ms Sarah Prior
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Mr Bijan Kumar Saha
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Dr Paul Sugarhood
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Dr Rebecca Swenson
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Ms Homa Zahedi
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