MSc Occupational Therapy

This course is now closed for 2026 entry.

What is the MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration)?

Our MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) is a two-year accelerated postgraduate course designed for graduates who want to qualify as an occupational therapist.

This pre-registration course enables you to take advantage of interprofessional learning (IPL), encouraging professionals to learn with and from each other – an understanding that helps to ensure you have the expertise to respond adequately and effectively to the complexity of your clients' needs, and ensures that care is safe, seamless and of a high standard.

There's never been a better time to train as you can now apply for a £5000 grant that you won't need to pay back! There is also an extra £3000 funding available depending on your personal circumstances. You can find more information about eligibility and how to apply on the HSC Scholarships and Funding page.

Why study MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) at Essex?

• Prepare for a professional career: Successful completion of the course makes you eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as an occupational therapist.
• Professional accreditation: The course is accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and approved by the HCPC.
• Extensive placement experience: You’ll complete more than 1,000 hours of practice education across a range of health, social care and community settings.
• Specialist facilities: Develop your practical skills using our dedicated occupational therapy facilities, Simulation Wards and Community Living Spaces at our Colchester Campus.
• Interprofessional learning: Learn alongside students from other health professions, helping you develop the skills needed to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
• Learn from experienced professionals: Many of our academic staff are registered health professionals with current or previous clinical experience.
• Service-user involvement: Our Service User Reference Group helps shape our teaching, recruitment and research, giving you valuable insight into lived experiences of health and social care.

Who should apply

This course may be suitable for you if you:

• Already hold an undergraduate degree and want to qualify as an occupational therapist.
• Have relevant experience within health, social care, community, education or another people-focused environment.
• Want a career where you can support people to improve their independence, health and quality of life.
• Are interested in working with people across a range of physical health, mental health, learning disability and social care settings.
• Want to combine academic study with extensive practical experience.

Your learning experience

Central to occupational therapy is the understanding that meaningful occupation and activity can have a significant impact on a person’s health, wellbeing and quality of life.

Throughout the course, you’ll explore how occupational therapists work with individuals to identify their goals, understand the challenges they face and develop approaches that enable them to participate more fully in everyday life.

You’ll also benefit from interprofessional learning, where students from different health disciplines learn with and from one another. This helps prepare you for working effectively as part of multidisciplinary health and social care teams.

Our School of Health and Social Care works closely with its Service User Reference Group (SURG), made up of service users, carers and volunteers who share their first-hand experiences of health and social care.

SURG members contribute to course design, teaching, research and student recruitment. Their involvement helps you develop not only your clinical knowledge, but also your empathy, communication, compassion and ability to advocate for the people you support.

What you will learn

Throughout the course, you’ll develop knowledge and skills in areas including:

• Occupational therapy theory and practice.
• How physical, mental health, learning and social needs can affect participation in everyday life.
• Assessment, intervention and person-centred approaches.
• Professional communication and multidisciplinary working.
• Evidence-based practice and research.
• Supporting people to achieve greater independence and wellbeing.
• Applying occupational therapy theory within real practice environments.

Placement opportunities

In order to prepare you for the workplace and enrich your learning, we organise the practice placement education for you with multi-professional health care teams in a wide range of settings. You will gain experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team with people who have physical, mental health, learning difficulties or social needs.

Over a thousand hours will be spent in the practice environment, where you will apply the theory and practice of occupational therapy.

Whilst on placement you will have an educator allocated to you, and contact with a member of the academic team.

Placements encompass a variety of multidisciplinary health and social care settings based within the NHS, the Private Sector, Social Services, Voluntary Organisations and Primary Health Care Services.

If you are already a registered occupational therapist, please see Continuing Professional Development on our Health and Social Care web pages.

The cost of required uniform will be fully covered by the School.

Funding

Eligible students may be able to access financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund, including a non-repayable annual training grant and additional funding depending on individual circumstances.

Find out more about available support through the NHS Learning Support Fund and our HSC Scholarships and Funding page.

Accreditation and Professional Recognition

Completing our course enables you to become an occupational therapist, and makes you eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and professional membership of the College of Occupational Therapists (COT).

HCPC registration is required to work as an occupational therapist in the UK, and once you are registered you are able to practise in a wide variety of clinical settings.

We are committed to embedding the NHS Constitution Values (which are strongly reflected in our University values) into everything we do. They define the behaviours and expectations of all our staff and students, underpinning the work we do in the University, clinical arena and other workplaces.

We understand that not all of our students and staff are employed within the NHS, but these values uphold the underlying principles of excellent care as a standard and, as such, we expect that anyone who has any aspect of their work which ultimately cares for others will aspire to uphold these values.

For us, involving not only our students but service users, experts by experience, carers and NHS/non-NHS professionals in the creation and delivery of all programmes is vital.

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.

Our expert staff

A unique feature of our School is that most of our staff work or have worked within clinical practice. This enhances our grasp of the contemporary links between academic research, the major issues of the day and real-life practice.

Occupational Therapy is taught by registered experienced staff with a variety of different backgrounds. We have expertise in the areas of dementia, psychoanalytic thinking ion occupational therapy, acute care, hand therapy, neurological conditions and green care. Specialist guest lecturers additionally lend external expertise to our academic staff. Full details of our staff can be found on our HSC Staff Profiles.

We are delighted to be the first department in the University to have obtained the Athena Swan Silver Award for gender equality. This award recognises initiatives we have in place such as our mentorship system, our additional promotion of flexible work and study options, and our work to recognise the barriers to opportunity for BAME and LGBT members of our community.

“Studying to be an occupational therapist was, in some ways, the most difficult but easiest decision I ever made! At 42 years of age, with a well-paid job and young children, giving up our family security seemed rather risky. Nevertheless, I knew I needed to work with people and do something purposeful, that made a difference."

Susan McGill, MSc Occupational Therapy

Course structure

Please note that our MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) programme is an intensive two year course based at our Colchester campus.

Postgraduate study is the chance to take your education to the next level. These carefully selected modules will give you the chance to explore, question, and create powerful ideas. Picked to give you an extensive and in-depth education, they'll equip you with the specialist knowledge, vital transferrable skills, and the confidence to make a genuine difference to the world around you.

We're reactive, we're pioneering, we never stand still, so modules might change from year to year in response to new developments and innovation. Those listed below show how a typical course might look, but more detail on course structure, including details of all optional modules, is available on our Programme Specification.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Teaching

Occupational Therapy students generally have 20 hours of teaching time per week, split across four days. You may be timetabled within the Autumn term to attend mandatory training in addition to the four days. On placement, Occupational Therapy students will be expected to commit to 5 days per week, Monday- Friday and within office hours (e.g. between 8am-6pm).

• Teaching staff include clinically qualified lecturers in adult and mental health nursing, physiotherapy and pharmacy, as well as health psychologists, medical sociologists, social policy, informatics and management specialists
• The multidisciplinary nature of our School and its rapid growth has fostered a dynamic and innovative learning environment
• Half of your study time is spent on the University campus and half working in clinical settings – for example, a ward, a health centre, in clients' homes

Assessment

• You are assessed through coursework, presentations, essays, case studies/portfolios, reflective accounts, OSCEs, examinations and direct observation of practice by the mentor in clinical settings
• You also conduct a research dissertation

UK entry requirements

A 2:2 honours degree in any subject, or international equivalent.

AND

• Successful performance at interview
• A personal statement, at least 500 words in length
• A satisfactory CV
• One satisfactory reference (either an academic reference or a work-based reference)

We will also consider applicants with a lower level degree on a case by case basis where the applicant has significant work experience in relevant field (please provide your CV in your application).

Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (DBS)

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. Registration with the DBS Update Service incurs a small annual cost 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

Interviews

Interviews will be via Zoom, details of which will be provided in advance.

Interviews and offers are made on a first-come-first-served basis until the available number of places are filled. After this, offers will be made for a place on the waiting list.

References

Don't worry if you cannot provide your reference when you make your application, as if we make you an offer you will be able to provide this at a later stage. Your reference should be recent and verifiable.

Continuing Professional Development

If you are already a registered Occupational therapist, please see Continuing Professional Development on our Health and Social Care webpages.

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum component score of 6.5

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.