Apply for Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy) (Honours)

OT student in ball pit with child
BH-OCCT

Occupational Therapy

Bachelor honours degree

Help people who have experienced injury, illness or disability to engage in occupations and activities.

This offering version is phasing out and no longer taking applications. You may be able to apply for a later version.

Course outline
  • ATAR

    ATAR

    Minimum ATAR 83
  • Qualification
    Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy) (Honours)
  • Duration

    Duration

    4 years full-time
  • Credit

    Credit

    800
  • CRICOS

    CRICOS

    094933K
  • Fieldwork
    See requirements
Course outline
Occupational Therapy

Outline

Outline

Take a Google Maps virtual tour of our occupational performance skills laboratory.

As an occupational therapist you will work with people of all ages who may have experienced injury, illness or disability. You can help people to engage in occupations or activities that are meaningful to them and achieve independence, better health, wellbeing and satisfaction in their lives. 

In this course you will learn to identify physical, psychosocial, cognitive, behavioural and environmental factors that can help or hinder a person’s participation in everyday activities. You’ll learn to collaborate with other health professionals to provide cross-discipline care that is focused around the client and their needs.

You will study in laboratories, learning spaces and resource rooms that are tailored for learning the skills required to work in occupational therapy.

More than 1,000 hours of fieldwork practice is undertaken throughout the course in a variety of environments within Western Australia, and overseas if desired.

Please refer to the handbook for additional course overview information.

 

How this course will make you industry ready

As an occupational therapist, you can work across a range of industries in different roles.

Working with children: Help children achieve their developmental milestones such as fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Educate and involve parents, carers and others to facilitate the normal development and learning of children.

Rehabilitation and aged care: Help clients regain or enhance their daily lives after an event such as hip replacement or stroke. Assess and modify clients’ home and community environments to improve their safety and independence.

Acute care: Assess clients’ cognition, function and psychosocial needs. Monitor clients’ function and progress, prescribing adaptive equipment to ensure safety upon discharge from hospitals.

Injury management: Use specialised assessments to determine the functional requirements of various jobs, and clients’ capacity to return to work. Design and coordinate graded return to work programs. Educate clients in safe work practices. Modify the work environment to suit the needs of individuals to prevent or minimise injuries.

Mental health: Design individual and group programs and activities to enhance clients’ independence in everyday activities. Develop coping strategies for clients in overcoming their mental health issues.

What jobs can the Occupational Therapy lead to?

Careers

  • Occupational therapist.

Industries

  • Acute care
  • Injury management
  • Mental health
  • Rehabilitation and aged care
  • Working with children.

What you'll learn

  • apply occupational therapy knowledge, principles and practice to achieve client-centred and evidence-based outcomes
  • demonstrate critical and professional reasoning to create innovative and effective solutions for occupational therapy practice
  • use credible sources to locate, evaluate and synthesise information, including theoretical concepts and technical knowledge to support clinical decision-making in contemporary occupational therapy and research
  • communicate effectively and appropriately to ensure active client participation; accurate documentation and reporting; and the sharing of professional and research outcomes to academic, industry and community stakeholders
  • evaluate contemporary occupational therapy practice and research and incorporate appropriate technologies to enable participation in meaningful occupations
  • actively seek and engage in opportunities for ongoing learning that builds the body of occupational therapy knowledge and research, and facilitates personal and professional aspirations
  • demonstrate practice that reflects an understanding and appreciation of the influences and relationships between local and global occupational therapy professional standards and interprofesional practice
  • undertake occupational therapy practice and research in a culturally safe and respectful manner incorporating perspectives of multiple stake-holders
  • work in a professional and collaborative manner to meet ethical and legal responsibilities

Professional recognition

This course is recognised by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.

You can also gain professional membership with the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Australia and WA Occupational Therapy Association.

You must be registered with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (national) to use the title: registered health practitioner or occupational therapist. 

Admission criteria

What you need in order to get into this course. There are different pathway options depending on your level of work and education experience.

Select an option that best suits you:

You’re considered a high school leaver if you:

  • Completed year 12 in Australia or overseas in the past two years, or
  • Completed TAFE or VET studies in the past two years.

ATAR pathway

  • Minimum ATAR 83

    This course has a minimum ATAR of 83

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    At least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

     Human Biology, Physics and Mathematics Applications are desireable.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

StepUp Entry

StepUp Entry

Successful StepUp Entry and StepUp Equity Adjustment Admission Pathway (StepUp Bonus) applicants will be eligible to be considered for admission into this course.

Alternative pathways

  • Indigenous applicant

    If you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant who hasn’t met Curtin’s minimum admissions criteria, the Centre for Aboriginal Studies offers bridging courses that are tailored to help you gain entry into this course.

  • STAT entry

    Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

    Not accepted. May be used to demonstrate English competence

English requirements

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are outlined in the IELTS table below.

You may demonstrate English proficiency using the following tests and qualifications.

IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System)

Writing

7.0

Speaking

7.0

Reading

7.0

Listening

7.0

Overall band score

7.0

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

How others gained admission

View the ATAR breakdown to see the low, median and high ATAR scores of students who started studying this course recently.

To see the other pathways students have taken, see the pathway breakdown.

Other requirements and notes for this course

You must pass all units in a year before being allowed to proceed to the next year.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

A current Essential First Aid Certificate is required within four weeks of entry into the first semester.

You’re considered someone with work and life experience if:

You have left secondary education more than two years ago (i.e. who are not classified as recent secondary education applicants) and have not undertaken vocational education training (VET) or higher education study since then.

How we define ‘experience’
‘Experience’ includes a combination of factors sufficient to demonstrate readiness for higher education such as mature-age entry, professional experience whether completion of the Special Tertiary Admission Test (STAT) is required or not, community involvement or work experience. Applicants may have undertaken non-formal programs that have helped prepare them for tertiary education or are relevant to the proposed higher education field of study.

Pathways

  • STAT entry

    Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

    Not accepted. May be used to demonstrate English competence

ATAR pathway

  • Minimum ATAR 83

    This course has a minimum ATAR of 83

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    At least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

     Human Biology, Physics and Mathematics Applications are desireable.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

English requirements

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are outlined in the IELTS table below.

You may demonstrate English proficiency using the following tests and qualifications.

IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System)

Writing

7.0

Speaking

7.0

Reading

7.0

Listening

7.0

Overall band score

7.0

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

Other requirements and notes for this course

You must pass all units in a year before being allowed to proceed to the next year.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

A current Essential First Aid Certificate is required within four weeks of entry into the first semester.

You’re considered someone who studied at TAFE or have done an apprenticeship if:

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a VET course. This includes study at a public TAFE or other VET provider, whether a qualification was completed or not. Applicants with VET study may have other qualifications such as a Year 10 or Year 12 secondary school certificate.

Pathways

  • TAFE entry

    Not accepted. VET study cannot meet the equivalent ATAR requirement.

  • STAT entry

    Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

    Not accepted. May be used to demonstrate English competence

ATAR pathway

  • Minimum ATAR 83

    This course has a minimum ATAR of 83

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    At least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

     Human Biology, Physics and Mathematics Applications are desireable.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

English requirements

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are outlined in the IELTS table below.

You may demonstrate English proficiency using the following tests and qualifications.

IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System)

Writing

7.0

Speaking

7.0

Reading

7.0

Listening

7.0

Overall band score

7.0

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

Other requirements and notes for this course

You must pass all units in a year before being allowed to proceed to the next year.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

A current Essential First Aid Certificate is required within four weeks of entry into the first semester.

You’re considered someone who has recently left university if:

Applicants with higher education are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a higher education course, such as a university degree. This may include applicants who are currently studying a higher education course at another education provider and want to transfer to Curtin University, or applicants who are currently studying at Curtin but want to switch to a different course. It may also include applicants who have completed past study with university and non-university higher education providers.

Curtin course switcher criteria

To switch into this course in semester one, you need to have:

  • a course weighted average (CWA) of 65% or higher, and
  • an academic status of Good Standing; and
  • met the Science prerequisite.

The Science prerequisite can be met with:

  • At least one of the essential ATAR science courses, or
  • HUMB1002 Functional Anatomy
  • CHEM1001 Biological Chemistry
  • CHEM1003 Introduction to Chemistry
  • HUMB1006 Human Physiology for Exercise Science
  • HUMB1000 Human Structure and Function
  • MEDI1000 Foundations of Biomedical Science
  • MHYS1006 Foundations of Physics.

To switch into this course in semester two, you need to have:

  • an academic status of Good standing; and
  • have completed the following units:
    • CMHL1000 Foundations for Professional Health Practice; and
    • HUMB1000 Human Structure and Function; and
    • PSYC1000 introduction to Psychology; and
    • OCCT1001 Introduction to Occupational Therapy, and
  • have achieved an average of 70% or higher for the four listed units.

Higher education course switcher criteria

This course has a semester one intake only. Please refer to the TISC website for more information.

ATAR pathway

  • Minimum ATAR 83

    This course has a minimum ATAR of 83

  • Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites)

    At least one ATAR science course from the following list: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics or Psychology.

  • Desirable WACE subjects

    Desirable WACE subjects

     Human Biology, Physics and Mathematics Applications are desireable.

Please see our correlation comparability for previous TEE subjects, WACE courses and WACE ATAR courses.

English requirements

Curtin requires all applicants to demonstrate proficiency in English. Specific English requirements for this course are outlined in the IELTS table below.

You may demonstrate English proficiency using the following tests and qualifications.

IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System)

Writing

7.0

Speaking

7.0

Reading

7.0

Listening

7.0

Overall band score

7.0

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool

Other requirements and notes for this course

You must pass all units in a year before being allowed to proceed to the next year.

In addition to the course-specific admission criteria listed above, please read our general admission criteria. Our general admission criteria apply to all courses at Curtin University.

A current Essential First Aid Certificate is required within four weeks of entry into the first semester.

Unsure what option suits you?

We’re here to help you navigate the complexities of university admission. Choose the support you need from the options below.

Find your pathway to Curtin

Think you don’t have the marks or qualifications to study at Curtin? We have several pathways to help you meet admission. Use our pathway finder to find your best way to studying with us.

Pathway finder tool
Credit for recognised learning (CRL)

Use your experience to get credit towards your degree

Finish your course sooner with credit for your previous study or work experience.

Essential requirements for admission (including fieldwork requirements)

Many of our courses require students to comply with additional essential requirements. Failure to comply with any of the essential requirements may potentially prevent the successful completion of the course and/or achieving professional registration.

Fieldwork requirements during the course

Please refer to the following statements on the fieldwork component of this course:

Fees and charges

Fee information is not available for this course at this time. Find estimated course fees.

Looking for more detail on the course structure?

View course structure

Frequently asked questions

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  • The offering information on this website applies only to future students. Current students should refer to faculty handbooks for current or past course information.

    The information on this page may be subject to change. In particular, Curtin University may change the content, method or location of delivery or tuition fees of courses.

    While Curtin uses reasonable efforts to ensure that the information provided on this page is accurate and up to date, errors and omissions sometimes occur. Curtin makes no warranty, representation or undertaking (expressed or implied) nor does it assume any legal liability (direct or indirect) for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information.

    View courses information disclaimer.

  • Curtin course code: BH-OCCT
  • CRICOS code: 094933K
  • Last updated on: 28 March 2024

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