Why choose the School of Society, Community and Health
In the National Student Survey 2025, Our occupational therapy course scored over 80% student satisfaction rates for academic support (87%) and learning resources (81%); it scored a 95% satisfaction rate for freedom of expression.
Accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the Health and Care Professions Council.
This degree includes 1,000 hours on placement over three years, with placements located in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and London.
About the course
This is a practice-based course where you complete over 1,000 hours in placement settings. It gives you the skills and knowledge you need to follow a rewarding career as an occupational therapist. You put your skills and knowledge into practice through managed roleplay and simulation as well as practical sessions where you learn about patient assessments; treatment planning; treatment interventions; and impact evaluations.
Find out if you are eligible for £5,000 a year
Course accreditation
This course is accredited by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). On successful completion, you will be eligible to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and consider a broad range of roles in the NHS; local government; charity sector; government agencies; and private sector.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Fully immersive simulation unit with range of settings, to prepare students for real-life scenarios in a safe and supportive environment
- Occupational therapy simulated ‘flat’ that includes a bedroom, bathroom, living area and moving and handling room
- Simulated ward area
- Opportunities for placements at our Putteridge Bury Wellbeing Garden
Industry links
We collaborate with a wide range of sector-relevant organisations, enabling us to offer placements across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and London as well as the opportunity for placement experiences abroad.
Student experience
Benefit from a course that builds learner competence and confidence through theory and practice-based learning opportunities including placements in a variety of settings, spread across the three years of the degree.
Learn from an experienced academic team using modern facilities that include state-of-the-art simulation suites.
This degree includes 1,000 hours on placement over three years, 40 hours of which can be simulated practice; placements are located across our regions and we can also place students abroad.
ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ alongside other health students - including physiotherapy, nursing, paramedic science, social work and midwifery – so you can explore how areas are connected and develop strong inter-professional skills.
Hear from expert guest speakers from the UK and around the world.
Showcase your skills and knowledge to local employers at our annual Graduate Therapies Conference.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
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with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
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ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ing our Occupational Therapy BSc (Hons) course will provide you with in-depth knowledge and skills in the areas of human sciences, sociology, mental health and learning disabilities. In your first year, our unit in Sciences Supporting Occupation will develop your knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychology and sociology that supports occupation. You will be able to relate this information to our unit in Holistic Factors Affecting Occupation where you will be introduced to the basis of occupational therapy practice. In addition, you will be equipped with the key skills and theories to safely and effectively engage with patients as part of your first practice placement in our Holistic Therapy in Practice unit. Here, you will undertake a 10-week practice placement that will allow you to apply your theoretical knowledge and practice your clinical skills in a real-world setting while receiving feedback. To develop your practice, you will explore professional values, codes of practice and regulation related to occupational therapy in our Professional Identity unit that will inform your practice. Another essential part of your practice is Developing Therapeutic Relationships, and this unit will allow you to develop your communication skills to build and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients.
In your second year, you will engage in more practical work in our Enabling Therapy in Practice unit that will consist of an 8-week placement where you will get to take responsibility for the assessment, planning and treatment of patients. To add to this, you will undertake a further 10-weeks of placement in our Collaboration in Therapy Practice unit where you will focus on intervention in the assessment, planning and delivery of care. Building on your professional skills, Collaborative Therapies will support you with the skills and experience to work within teams of other healthcare professionals to ensure seamless healthcare delivery to patients. Drawing on theory explored in your first year, Enabling Occupation will provide you with the knowledge and skills to support individuals living with long-term health conditions experienced across childhood to adulthood. With a holistic approach, Professional Reasoning in Occupational Therapy will allow you to examine the theories and concepts around disability and barriers to participating in everyday occupations.
You will continue to engage with additional placement work in your final year within our Complexity in Therapy Practice unit that will provide you with the increased responsibility to assess, plan, evaluate and deliver treatment across a period of 8 weeks. Furthermore, you will also have the opportunity to explore working in a different healthcare environment in our Quality in Therapy Practice unit. As you accumulate practical experience, you will also be taught to manage people with complex physical and mental health conditions in our Managing Complexity in Occupational Therapy unit. These cases often have an adverse effect on health status, function, and quality of life and would require complex healthcare management, decision-making and coordination. At the same time, you will add to your list of professional skills in our Growth and Leadership in Therapies unit that will introduce you to the strategies to promote and develop effective leadership qualities to work in diverse teams. Finally, you will complete an Occupational Therapies Project that will allow you to integrate research, policy and practice in the field of occupational therapy. To help you with this, Evidence Informed Therapy will equip you with the skills to conduct research using different research methods, data collection and analysis skills, as well as prompt you to consider the ethical issues involved.
The assessment strategy utilised by the School is rooted in the notions of assuring professionalism, competence and employability described within SOPs. The assessments for these four curriculum themes seek to address your development in key knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities required for each.
All assessments will be communicated to you, via your assessment handbook, with submission dates and times, a clear explanation of the task and the standards of performance against which you will be graded when you undertake the task. Following your assessment, you will be provided with a grade (which will have been moderated, i.e. checked by another marker and/or an external examiner) and individualised feedback and developmental feed-forward comments.
Careers
An occupational therapist is trained to work in both health and social care settings, in the private as well as public sector and is equipped for employment globally. As an occupational therapist, you can take on a broad range of roles in the NHS, local authorities, charities, industry, schools, private practice, voluntary sector
and government agencies. You can specialise in working with children, adults or older people across the lifespan, and pursue a career as a practitioner, researcher, manager, lecturer or consultant.
For further information on careers on occupational therapy, please visit the websites of the (RCOT) and
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
- Safeguarding checks, including an Enhanced DBS, and Occupational Health check are required
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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