Be extraordinary at creating the everyday
Help make 'everyday life' achievable for people facing difficult challenges. To do so is truly special.

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Occupational therapists help people participate more fully in everyday life. Daily activities such as getting dressed, completing school or work tasks, getting around or making connections with other people can be difficult for a person experiencing challenges.

Occupational therapists take a very practical and individual approach to each person’s needs. This involves close collaboration with clients to find solutions that work for them. This might involve teaching alternative techniques to achieve the task, or working with a person to improve their skills. It’s all about encouraging a ‘can do’ attitude. Occupational therapists also work in conjunction with other people – for example, they could help the parents of a child with a disability, or assist the carers of older people. Occupational therapists frequently work in teams with other health professionals.

Clinical & professional fieldwork
A number of clinical and professional fieldwork opportunities are scheduled as part of your course. This will give you the hands on experience with real clients in a supervised environment to allow you to combine the academic sections of your course with the practical abilities required of the occupational therapy profession. Some of the clinical and professional fieldwork sites that students have attended previously include:

• Active OH&S
• Camperdown Aged Care Assessment Team
• Orange Base Hospital
• Ryde Hospital and Community Health Service
• Skills for Kids
• Southern Sydney Therapy Centre
• St George Mental Health Inpatient Unit
• Sydney Children's Hospital

There are a number of essential requirements that students need to prepare for before attending any site for clinical and professional fieldwork. Further information on these and more is available at our Clinical & Professional Fieldwork website.

Commonwealth Supported Places
The Faculty has a number of Commonwealth Supported Places available for this program. These places offer a considerable reduction in fees and are awarded to applicants who rank highest in their Grade Point Average. You will be notified with your offer if you qualify for a Commonwealth Supported Place.

Course completion requirements

96 credit points: students are to complete as required the core, elective and general elective units of study shown in the Table of units of study for the award as set out in the Faculty of Health Sciences handbook.

On campus attendance pattern

Full time, Part time

End qualification

Master of Occupational Therapy

Professional recognition

The course is accredited by OT Australia (www.ausot.com.au) and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (www.wfot.org). The course qualifies you to practise in Australia and internationally, and is recognised by the Council of Occupational Therapists Registration Boards (Australia and New Zealand). Certain Australian states, including Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, require occupational therapists to register.

Course structure

Course level

Master by Coursework (Undifferentiated)

Honours availability

Additional honours course

Handbook website link

http://www.usyd.edu.au/handbooks/handbooks_admin/health_science.shtml