Master of Occupational Therapy (Graduate Entry)

at University of South Australia - City East Campus Australia

Occupational therapists empower people to live full and rewarding lives, every day. With UniSA, you'll learn how to help people overcome constraints caused by injury or illness, as well as emotional, developmental, environmental, societal, age-related and psychological limitations.

What you'll learn

The first year will focus on core health subjects including anatomy, physiology, and an introduction to occupational therapy practice and evidence.

From second and third year, you‘ll focus on the application of your skills in mental health, occupation rehabilitation, chronic conditions, community focus, primary health care and participatory community practice.

In addition to field placements, you‘ll attend workshops in a range of industry settings. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit regional settings in your third year, on the annual Country Road Trip.

Throughout your degree you’ll be exposed to many different hands-on activities, such as:

• Splint making
• Dressing adaptation for people with self-care impairments
• Wheelchair measurement tutorials
• Home modification and assistive technology plans
• Adult neurological rehabilitation techniques
• Completing skill demonstrations to become familiar with real-life occupational therapy scenarios

As the only degree of its kind in South Australia, the Bachelor of Outdoor and Environmental Leadership combines foundational environmental science and outdoor leadership concepts to equip future outdoor education professionals with a unique set of skills and knowledge.

This industry-relevant degree provides the foundational skills and knowledge for a rewarding career in nature-based tourism, environmental interpretation, education, adventure therapy or adventure-based leadership. Develop the reflective, evaluative and critical-thinking skills required to implement and lead culturally aware and environmentally sustainable outdoor experiences.

What you'll learn
This degree explores an integrated range of industry-relevant topics balancing core concepts of bioscience and social science. Through your studies, you’ll develop core knowledge and skills in biodiversity, ecology, coastal environments, earth systems, sustainable ecosystems and caring for Country.

Your final year will strengthen your understanding of professional practice and advanced environmental science, as well as develop your specialised management skills to transition you into the workforce.

As well as placement opportunities within leading industry environments, you can apply your learned skills through intensive fieldwork including:

• Leading an introductory kayaking or canoeing experience for UniSA students
• Planning and implementing a four-day experiential learning program
• Conducting interpretive experiences such as a ‘Water Workshop’ at a primary school
• Undertaking a week-long immersive field trip including a day of service learning in areas such as the Nantawarrina Indigenous Protected Area

This Australian Physiotherapy Association accredited master’s degree is for qualified Physiotherapists who want to gain advanced clinical skills and knowledge in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. This is a critical specialisation within physiotherapy, as the skeleton provides a framework for the muscles and other soft tissues. Together, they support the body’s weight, maintain posture, and help a person to move freely.

What you'll learn

Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists assess and manage a wide range of patient problems within a biopsychosocial framework. With your master’s degree, you'll gain advanced biomedical and psychosocial knowledge, advanced physical and psychosocial examination skills, and advanced clinical reasoning.

You'll learn to communicate effectively with clients, community and industry partners to provide advanced physiotherapy management. This incorporates an appreciation of cultural diversity in promoting health and well-being in diverse clinical environments and among diverse populations – across both patients and peers.

As medicine experts, pharmacists are important members of the healthcare team. Pharmacists provide expert patient care to ensure that medicines are used to enhance health outcomes and minimise harm. Using cutting edge technology in dedicated pharmacy laboratories, you’ll develop skills in pharmaceutical and biological sciences to understand and prepare medicines. As an honour's student, you’ll develop advanced skills in research, focusing on an area of specialisation in pharmacy and related sciences. 

What you'll learn

You’ll learn how to deliver the best patient care, review medications, accurately dispense medicines and provide expert knowledge to consumers and be part of a healthcare team.

As an honour's student, there is a strong focus on research in this degree. You’ll graduate with the skills needed to undertake and manage research projects in a health-related setting. 

Key focuses of this degree include:

• Chemistry and human physiology
• Professional pharmacy practice and patient-centred care
• Providing personalised drug information and expert advice for patients
• Preparing, studying and monitoring medicines and their use
• Inter-professional practice and communication
• Clinical placements in community and hospital pharmacy sectors

Over the first two years you’ll study:

• Foundations in pharmaceutical sciences and clinical skills
• Common diseases and their management
• Understanding healthcare systems and the roles of healthcare professionals
• Collecting and interpreting health information to provide individualised patient care
• Ethical pharmacy practice including responsible and legal control and supply of medicines

During the third and fourth years you’ll study:

• Clinical decision-making principles and interprofessional practice
• Compounding and formulation of medicines
• Advanced pharmacy practice service delivery
• Quality use of medicines
• Research skills and professional communication
• Clinical trials and international regulation of medicines

This master’s degree is for qualified Physiotherapists who want to gain advanced clinical skills and knowledge in the prominent field of sports physiotherapy.

This degree accelerates your skills with an advanced qualification in sports physiotherapy practice, enhancing your sports specific knowledge, reasoning and clinical skills for future work with sporting organisations and in private practice.

Many of our sports physiotherapy graduates work at amateur, elite, national and international levels in a wide range of sports including Australian Rules Football, soccer, tennis, netball, gymnastics, swimming, water polo, dance, circus or acrobatics, skiing, Paralympic sports, softball, baseball, basketball and cricket.

What you'll learn

Sports Physiotherapists assess and treat sports and other injuries in field and outpatient settings. They need quick decision-making skills to triage injuries during events; perform pre-season screening; and develop injury prevention strategies for teams and individuals. When traveling with sports teams, the Sports Physiotherapist needs management, organization, and leadership skills.

This honour's degree is for students who have successfully completed a relevant bachelor’s degree in biomedical science, pharmacy, pharmaceutical science, nutrition and food sciences, natural sciences or laboratory medicine.

You’ll develop and extend your research skills and specialist knowledge. The intensive research experience you’ll get from the Bachelor of Biomedical Research (Honours) will confidently prepare you for a career in research or further studies, such as a PhD.

What you'll learn

You’ll have the opportunity to work closely with researchers and contribute to the development of knowledge in your area of specialisation. You’ll learn transferable skills such as research training, reporting, communication and presentation skills, data analysis and high-level project management skills.

During the first six months you’ll explore research methodologies, research hypotheses and proposals. You’ll also gain an awareness of ethical research practice.

During the final six months you’ll be required to analyse, understand and contextualise your research results. You’ll then prepare a written thesis and present your findings during a research seminar.
 

This unique program will equip you with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage projects and contracts within the Australian legal framework. The skills you learn from this specialist area pair well with the advanced knowledge and skills you will gain in project, program and portfolio management.

Project management is a highly valued discipline, with demand increasing for individuals with project management skills in the Australian workforce¹. Many industries rely on specialist project and program professionals with excellent practical skills and advanced knowledge to plan and deliver projects on time, within budget, objectives, specifications, and outcomes that ultimately deliver value to their organisation and stakeholders.

What you'll learn

Throughout the course, you will gain technical skills and professional knowledge to apply project management methodology, tools and techniques, and strategic expertise necessary for managing complex projects across various industries. The program will prepare you to take charge and lead projects from inception to commissioning, and offer knowledge-based solutions to drive a successful completion. The project management thesis provides an opportunity for students to undertake a practical research project that can focus on an issue within a specialised area or workplace.

Physiotherapists change lives. Start your unstoppable career helping people to reach their full potential, and lead healthy, functional lives. This four-year degree will develop your expertise in the prevention, assessment and management of health conditions across the lifespan.

As a registered physiotherapist you’ll be at the forefront of care, being eligible to work as a first contact professional and sought-after member of allied health care teams in Australia and overseas.

What you'll learn

The Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) will teach you to assess, treat and prevent health conditions across various areas of practice, including sport, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological disciplines.

You’ll start practical courses straight away and will learn foundational medical sciences in courses such as human anatomy and physiology. Social and psychological determinants of human health and function are covered in the inter-professional course Foundations of Health, where you’ll work with students studying podiatry, health sciences, occupational therapy and exercise physiology. You also begin your training in physiotherapy-specific skills from day one, starting with biomechanics and muscle assessment.

You’ll also study important aspects of pharmacology and movement analysis, courses that will challenge your understanding of the mechanisms and management of pain the biomedical model of health, and how to work collaboratively with patients to help them achieve their best outcomes. Experiential teaching is delivered through clinical placements that train you in the prevention and treatment of disease and disability. 

You’ll graduate with qualifications to not only to work as an autonomous practitioner concerned with prevention and management of disability and illness in the workplace or community, but also as a member of a multidisciplinary healthcare team. This holistic view of a patient’s health recovery is critical, especially across the different types of care needed for people of all ages.

In the new Bachelor of Biomedical Science, you’ll explore the complex world of human health and disease under the guidance of industry experts.

In this three-year program, immerse yourself in biomedical research and gain skills to be used in clinical trials. Develop advanced knowledge in physiology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics. You’ll get to learn alongside internationally-recognised researchers in cancer biology, vaccine development, genetics and neuroscience.

What you'll learn
Along with fundamental knowledge in biomedical sciences, you can choose pathways into further study in biomedical research and other health professions. Throughout your degree, you’ll:

• Explore the complex world of human health and disease.
• Learn advanced skills in biochemistry, immunology, genetics, pharmacology, cancer biology.
• Learn skills which can be applied to clinical trials research.
• Study core courses in chemistry, biology and anatomy, and develop advanced knowledge in physiology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics.
• Benefit from a flexible learning environment with face-to-face and online courses.
• Gain research experience, which forms a great foundation for pathways in bioinformatics, genomics, and clinical trials.

In the only degree of its kind in South Australia you’ll learn to diagnose and treat disorders of the foot and lower limb. If you’re interested in working with people and promoting wellbeing, this is the degree for you.

Healthy feet are an important part of the body’s holistic health, and many of us at some point in our lives will experience foot problems. In the Bachelor of Podiatry, there’s a major focus on practical skills for keeping feet healthy every day, as well the ability to diagnose and manage illness and disability. You’ll get the opportunity to practice these skills within a vast range of industry organisations.

What you'll learn

You’ll gain an advanced understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of podiatry, as well as the physical, biological, and social sciences relevant to working in healthcare. The curriculum covers the scope of a podiatrist’s practice, including paediatrics, diabetes, sports injuries, musculoskeletal problems, treatment of the elderly, and general foot care.

During the first year, you’ll cover topics to give you an introduction to health sciences including:

• human anatomy
• human physiology
• biomechanics
• disease groups and conditions

You’ll develop advanced communication skills and explore the assessment and treatment of common problems. The second year will expand your knowledge in clinical sciences, including skills to enable comprehensive and holistic assessment and management of patient conditions. During your third and fourth years, you’ll work on your clinical practice skills, including surgery (and other orthopaedic management), paediatrics, wound management, high-risk foot management, chronic pain and sporting injuries.

Practical learning is a major focus, so your training will take place in our on-campus podiatry clinics, as well as during external placements in metropolitan and rural South Australia. You’ll also get the opportunity to fine-tune your podiatry skills with 3D printed feet, created as part of a world-first podiatry training initiative.