Interested in becoming a occupational therapist?
Let’s look at your different study options around Queensland.
But first, what is occupational therapy?
Quite a lot of people are interested in becoming occupational therapists, but they don’t always know a lot about what occupational therapists do.
Before looking at OT degrees, it’s a good idea to research the OT profession quite well. Here are a couple of places to start:
- Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) is a great place to start to better understand what it is that OTs do.
- Check out their This is OT page, which has a great video about what OT work can involve.
- Then have a look at their whole About OT website, which is really helpful for understanding the profession, including the different areas OTs can work in.
- Allied Health Professions Australia also give a great overview of what OTs do here: Occupational Therapy.
Undergraduate OT degrees (ie. Bachelor degrees)
Undergraduate degrees are open to almost anyone. You don’t have to have studied at university before to get in to an undergraduate course.
What you do need to do is meet the entry requirements (like prerequisite subjects) and have a high enough rank to be competitive for entry compared to other applicants.
Here’s a quick overview of each of the undergraduate occupational therapy programs around Queensland, including the university, location, degree name, pre-requisite subjects and rank needed to get in in the 2021/2022 main offer round (13 January 2022).
| University | Location(s) | Degree name | Pre-requisite subjects | Rank cutoff (incl. adjustments) in 2021 |
| Australian Catholic University (ACU) | Banyo (Brisbane) | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy | A General English subject and one of Biology, Chemistry or Physics | 96.00 |
| Central Queensland University (CQU) | Bundaberg or Rockhampton | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) | A General English subject and one of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Health or Physical Education | 75.00 |
| Griffith University | Nathan (Brisbane) or Gold Coast | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) | A General English subject and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Psychology | 95.50 |
| James Cook University (JCU) | Townsville | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) | A General English subject and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Health, Psychology or Physical Education | 72.45 |
| Southern Cross University | Gold Coast | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy | none | 60.00 |
| The University of Queensland (UQ) | St Lucia (Brisbane) | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) | A General English subject and one of Biology, Chemistry or Physics | 95.75 |
| The University of Sunshine Coast | Sippy Downs (Sunshine Coast) | Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) | A General English subject and one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Health or Physical Education | 70.00 |
As you can see, if you want to study occupational therapy in a metro area in Queensland, you’ll usually need a much higher rank than if you’d like to study somewhere like Townsville, Bundaberg or Rockhampton. The Southern Cross University course on the Gold Coast also has a lower rank for entry – at the moment at least!
Post-graduate OT degrees (ie. Masters degrees)
Post-graduate degrees are courses that are only open to people who have already completed a bachelor degree. They are usually faster to complete (2 years instead of 4 years), but can also be more expensive because they are not usually “Commonwealth Supported”.
In Queensland, there is only one post-graduate course that you can do to become an occupational therapist:
| University | Location | Degree name | Pre-requisite studies | GPA cutoff in 2020 |
| The University of Queensland (UQ) | St Lucia (Brisbane) | Master of Occupational Therapy Studies | Relevant bachelor degree, with some study of human anatomy, human physiology, and introductory psychology | 4.52 |
Which Queensland universities don’t offer occupational therapy?
At the moment, the following universities don’t offer occupational therapy courses:
| University | Similar degrees that are offered at this university |
| Queensland University of Technology (QUT) | •Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology •Bachelor of Podiatry •Bachelor of Social Work |
| University of Southern Queensland (USQ) | •Bachelor of Health Sciences, majoring in Clinical Exercise Physiology •Bachelor of Human Services |
Think you’ll apply to study occupational therapy in Queensland?
Then make sure you:
▢ Have a good idea of what the career is like, including day-to-day tasks, job prospects, and salary.
▢ Check you’ll meet the prerequisites for the uni(s) you’re interested in
▢ Check you have a chance of getting a high enough rank to get an offer
▢ Have a back up plan, in case you don’t get an offer on your first try
Then, when QTAC opens in August, you can jump in and apply!
Need any advice?
You might want to talk to:
- The uni(s) you’re interested in
- The Tertiary Admissions Centre (TAC) you’ll apply to (in Queensland, that’s QTAC)
- A Careers Counsellor, like me!
Good luck!
Tom