Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies

Allied health professionals such as occupational therapists and arts therapists make a significant contribution to Scotland’s health and social care sectors. Occupational therapists and arts therapists work in a variety of settings including the NHS, social services, schools, day centres, the voluntary sector and private practice.

At postgraduate level, QMU offers two occupational therapy courses. The first is for graduates who wish to be educated to masters level to become occupational therapists (pre-registration level). The second course is for qualified occupational therapists who wish to attain a Masters’ degree which is now considered to be recommended for entry level advanced practice.

QMU offers three distinct arts therapies courses: Dance Movement Psychotherapy, Music Therapy and Art Therapy. All three pre-registration courses were either the first to be established in Scotland or continue to be the only course of education of their kind in Scotland. Occupational therapists and arts therapists educated to masters level can utilise their qualifications and experience abroad.

Why QMU?

QMU offers pre-registration education to facilitate graduates to become qualified occupational therapists, dance movement psychotherapists, music therapists and art therapists. We also offer qualified occupational therapists the opportunity to explore their own practice in more depth. As a postgraduate student, the opportunities to gain invaluable experience through applying your learning directly to your workplace allow you to contribute to the modernisation of occupational therapy, the arts therapies and healthcare globally. Our staff have many years of experience in occupational therapy or arts therapies, practice education and policy and ensure that there is a real focus on the individual student’s future working needs embedded into their postgraduate study.

Industry links

Occupational therapists and arts therapists at pre-registration level undertake a series of work-based placements as part of the course in their respective fields. We have excellent links with our practice providers ensuring that our courses are current and relevant. We aim to integrate your work-based studies with your academic study to facilitate a deep understanding of the key issues that will affect your chosen profession in a fast, rapidly changing and complex healthcare arena. Qualified occupational therapists undertaking the part-time MSc continuously utilise their daily practice in your studies.

Our approach to learning and teaching

Our learning and teaching approaches for these courses are developed using the following core values in relation to student-centred education:

■ Maximise the potential of our academic and professional communities of learners, working together locally, regionally, nationally and internationally

■ Continuously enhance the student experience through the development of learner-centred educational provision, research and scholarship

■ Enable all of our students to become independent lifelong learners

In addition to the values stated opposite, we employ enquiry-based learning in the majority of our postgraduate courses. Enquiry-based learning is essentially student-centred, with an emphasis on group work and use of library, web and other information resources. Lecturers become facilitators, providing encouragement and support to enable you to take responsibility for what and how you learn. You will reach a point where you are not simply investigating questions posed by others, but can formulate your own research topics and convert that research into useful knowledge. You will gain a deeper understanding of the subject-matter, as well as the knowledge-development and leadership skills required for tackling complex problems that occur in practice. You will be expected to draw on your previous knowledge and skills to inform your postgraduate study and will benefit from a variety of interesting ways to participate and share experiences and opinions with your peers to deepen your understanding of your chosen profession.

Facilities

Occupational therapy and the arts therapies students have access to the Learning Resource Centre (LRC), effective learning service and a range of student support services as a postgraduate student at QMU. Resources available from the LRC include a wide range of resources available electronically for distance learning. Physical resources on campus include an occupational performance suite incorporating activities of daily living facilities with functional appliances /equipment to simulate a home environment.

The Arts Therapies utilise general and custom studio spaces for music therapy, art psychotherapy and dance movement psychotherapy.

Career prospects and guideline salaries

Postgraduate study of MSc Occupational Therapy opens up a multitude of career opportunities as well as facilitating CPD for those already employed within health and social care. It is possible to take individual modules or a PgCert or PgDip as part of your ongoing career and personal development. Previous students have gone on to careers in advanced practice, health, government, education, management, business and research.

We prepare our students for the challenges of the 21st century and actively encourage aspiration to higher levels of the profession.

Our courses:

»MSc Music Therapy (Nordoff-Robbins)

»MSc Occupational Therapy (Post-Registration)

»MSc Transactional Analysis Counselling/MSc Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy

»MSc Dance Movement Psychotherapy

»MSc Art Psychotherapy (International)

»PgDip/MSc Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration)

»Back to full course listing