(MSc) Master of Science
Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration)
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Health and Social Care (School of)
Colchester Campus
Masters
Full-time
Health Studies
MSC B93024
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
Accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) for the purpose of ensuring graduates are fit for the profession.
Approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for the purpose of providing eligibility to apply for registration with the HCPC as an occupational therapist.
Admission criteria
You should have:
- An honours degree, at grade 2:2 or above or international equivalent.
- Successful performance at interview
You must also have:
- Two satisfactory references (including an academic reference and a work-based reference).
Don't worry if you cannot provide your references when you make your application, as if we make you an offer you will be able to provide these at a later stage. References should be recent and verifiable, on official institution paper, signed and dated by the referee. If a referee wishes to provide an email reference, it must be sent from the referee’s email account.
You must also have a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (including child and adult barred list check) and a Occupational Health Check - both of these are organised by the University.
For this course, you will be required to register for the DBS Update Service (information relating to this service can be found here). You will need to register for this within 30 days of your DBS certificate being issued. The Update Service costs £13 per year, which the University will reimburse. You will need to keep the subscription to this Service active for the duration of your course.
If you do not register for the Update Service within 30 days, or your registration lapses, and you later attend a placement where this is a requirement, you will have to pay for a new DBS check, which will enable you to sign up to the Update Service. Please contact dbs@essex.ac.uk if you have any questions relating to this.”
A satisfactory Overseas Criminal Record Check/Local Police Certificate is also required, in addition to a DBS check, where you have lived outside of the UK in the last 5 years for 6 months or more. Where it is not possible to obtain an Overseas Check a relevant professional reference may be accepted
The following documents must be submitted with your online application:
- A personal statement
- A current CV
- Academic transcripts
International Students
Applications will be considered from full fee-paying international students for 2023 entry. As an international applicant you will be expected to meet the same minimum entry criteria as all other applicants, including evidence of a satisfactory work health check and enhanced criminal clearance prior to the start of the course – please contact us for further information ipl@essex.ac.uk. If you aim to work as an occupational therapist in a country outside of the UK, you will need to check with the relevant regulatory body of that country to confirm suitability.
NHS Constitution and Values
As part of the selection process, students will be expected to demonstrate good knowledge and a clear understanding of the scope of work that an occupational therapist is required to undertake as well as the significance of the NHS Constitution and its core values (you can find further information on these on the Health Education East of England website and the Gov.UK webpages.
Interviews
Interviews will be via Zoom, details of which will be provided in advance.
Continuing Professional Development
If you are already a registered occupational therapist, please see Continuing Professional Development on our Health and Human Sciences web pages.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 7.0 overall, with a minimum of 6.5 in each component.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels listed above. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications.
If you are an international student requiring a student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Dr Roshni Khatri
Subject Leader
UNiversity of NorthamptonDr Sunny Chan
Senior Lecturer
UWE Bristol
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
- To produce students who are competent occupational therapy practitioners with sound reasoning skills able to work independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team.
- To provide a challenging learning environment including practice placements for students to build on their critical enquiry and independent learning skills in the passage to becoming occupational therapy practitioners who are responsive to current and future health care needs.
- To enable students to construct personal theoretical frameworks for occupational therapy practice drawing on the evolving evidence base.
- To draw on students high level of motivation, their confidence to challenge and pursue learning needs to master complex areas of knowledge.
- To enable students to become creative, autonomous professionals committed to their own and the occupational therapy profession's development.
- To develop students capacity to lead and initiate change within, and on behalf of the occupational therapy profession
- To provide opportunities for shared learning with other pre-registration health care professionals.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A101: Critical understanding of the scientific knowledge base of occupational therapy practice, including its gaps, uncertainties, defining features, contexts and the evolving nature of occupational therapy
A102: Significant understanding of the theories, principles and concepts underpinning activity and occupation as a means of restoring and maintaining function.
A103: A highly developed understanding of the political, cultural and professional issues that hinder and facilitate team working including an understanding of social and cultural diversity and influences along with their implications for practice
A104: Critical understanding of psychological and sociological processes and the role of emotion in personal effectiveness.
A105: Advanced understanding of the theories and practice of reflective learning and its role in personal and professional development.
A106: Extensive, detailed knowledge and understanding of one or more aspects of occupational therapy practice, informed by current research and scholarly activity
A107: A critical understanding of occupational therapy research
Learning methods
Learning methods Lectures, seminars and workshops, which introduce material in a structured manner with opportunity for class discussion.
Individual assignment and group work, utilising inquiry based approaches A5 is further supported by directed personal reflection of critical incidents and through tutorial support and supervision.
A6 & 7 are achieved through group work, course assignment, literature review and research proposal, case studies, placement experience and tutorials.
Assessment methods
A1, 2, 3,4 & 5 are assessed by course work, viva and portfolio.
A6 & 7 are assessed by an extended literature review, a detailed research proposal and case studies.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B101: Critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise occupational therapy practice/education/health and social care issues, informed by current and innovative developments, with recognition of the need to promote equality for all occupational therapy service users
B102: Critically use a range of occupational therapy skills, techniques and approaches thus being able to respond to the individual needs of occupational therapy service users, demonstrating client centred practice
B103: Deal with complex ethical and professional issues, making informed judgements on matters that may not explicitly be addressed within existing codes, standards and protocols
B104: Begin to develop original and creative responses to problems and issues.
B105: Practice in ways that draws heavily on critical reflection of practice and evidence
B106: Pose research questions and develop a research plan.
B107: Reflect and learn in order to identify personal and professional goals for lifelong learning within a framework of continuing professional development
Learning methods
B1-B5 are achieved through a combination of group and individual activities.
Lectures and seminars are used to introduce new material and explore within a group setting.
Workshops and practical sessions are used to integrate the theory and practice of occupational therapy.
Directed personal study time enables the student to deepen and strengthen this learning through enquiry based learning
Assessment methods
B1-B7 are assessed by course work, vivas, DVD, portfolio and research including a substantive literature review, detailed research proposal and case study
C: Practical skills
C101: Demonstrate competence in the core areas of occupational therapy practice
C102: Demonstrate autonomy and initiative in professional activity
C103: Act autonomously in planning, implementing and evaluating the outcomes of professional activity, inviting and using feedback from others to inform this process
C104: Identify and discuss the management of clinical risk in a range of occupational therapy practice settings
C105: Demonstrate originality and creativity in applying knowledge, understanding and approaches in occupational therapy /education/management
C106: Practice in a range of contexts, including those within which there is uncertainty or unpredictability.
Learning methods
C1-C6 are placement based learning supported by clinically based tutorials and portfolio development.
C6 is achieved through reflective learning using portfolio and supported by personal tutorials
Assessment methods
C1-C6 are assessed by practice based assessment forms, media presentations, viva and portfolio
D: Key skills
D101: Use a range of advanced communication skills that are appropriate to occupational therapy and multidisciplinary team working; demonstrate effective and confident communication with a range of different audience
D102: Interpret statistical information; Use statistics to analyse data
D103: Interpret statistical information; use statistics to analyse data; use software packages to support data analysis
D104: Identify and analyse problems emerging from theory and practice.
D105: Motivate and engender partnership working; demonstrate a strong awareness of personal limitations and scope of practice; take responsibility for one's own work and significant responsibility for the work of others
D106: Demonstrate an aptitude for continuing to advance knowledge, understanding and skills in line with identified learning needs; Identify, conceptualise and define new and abstract ideas within professional practice/education/management
Learning methods
D1 is supported in small group discussion and seminars.
Tutorial time is allocated for individual discussion.
D2 commences on the pre-registration induction day and through seminar presentations.
D3 is supported in seminars where students present and analyse work.
Tutorial time is allocated for individual discussion and problem solving.
D4 is practised throughout the course.
Students work through given problems or derived from the student's practice.
D5 is facilitated by the use of collaborative group work and during seminars.
D6 is achieved through feedback on coursework and individual tutorial time.
Assessment methods
D1 is assessed by course work, essay, portfolio, viva presentation, literature review, research proposal and case study.
D2 is assessed through use of word-processing and ability to cite references from internet sources.
Compilation of a multimedia presentation D3 is assessed through course work, essay, portfolio and dissertation.
D4 is assessed through course work, essay, portfolio and dissertation.
D5 & D6 are assessed through course work, oral presentations and clinical assessment forms.