Occupational therapists support their clients in being able to actively participate in social life and independently overcome the challenges they meet in their everyday activities.
Profession and career prospects
What does a career as an occupational therapist entail?
Occupational therapists support their clients in being able to actively participate in social life and independently overcome the challenges they meet in their everyday activities. Such challenges may arise while performing tasks that a healthy person most likely would not consider difficult (e.g. tooth brushing, dressing, meal preparation, taking the bus, maintaining social contacts, and other challenges experienced at work or in school). However, for someone who has had an accident, or suffers from an illness or a developmental disorder (e.g. among children) these seemingly simple, everyday tasks can pose a challenge or be impossible to cope with.
Each Occupational Therapy intervention starts with gathering information about the client's current life situation. Everyday life with routines and activities is focused on, in order to identify limited or impaired performance as well as skills and abilities actively used. An intervention plan is developed together with the client with regard to his or her existing resources as well as the client's lifesituation. An intervention may include consultation, targeted assignments to be put into practice in everyday life, specific exercises, the application of various assistive devices or the modification of the client's environment (e.g. their living environment).
Career prospects for occupational therapists are diverse and promising, and recent developments in the health care sector will offer further interesting fields of work in the future.
Curriculum
What can you expect from the study programme?
The study programme initially covers the basics of human sciences relevant to occupational therapy. It then introduces to all relevant topics regarding occupational therapy and occupational science: occupation and activity as a therapeutic means, intervention planning, consultation, coaching, and therapeutic intervention. Various topics related to health promotion and prevention are important content of the study programme.
During your studies you will attend several lectures with students from other study programmes to prepare you for working in an interprofessional team in the future. Such experience substantiates the importance of collaboration across all disciplines in order to expand your horizon beyond your own professional focus
During your practical training, you will be working directly with clients and their relatives while being supervised by experienced occupational therapists. This will allow you to get to know the various fields of occupational therapy in health care and society and how they relate to other health professions (e.g. physiotherapists, speech therapists, health care and nursing experts, doctors, social workers, psychologists,paedagogic staff).
During the course of your studies you will be required to write your bachelor thesis as a (pre)scientific assignment, answering research questions regarding occupational therapy based on relevant academic and professional literature.
Practical Training
What can you expect from the practical training?
The practical training consists of several blocks that comprise a total of 45 ECTS or 1.125 hours, which can be completed in various health care and social facilities such as hospitals, rehabilitation centres, health centres, group practices, social districts, schools, kindergartens, vocational preparation institutions, work places or nursing homes.
Duration and extent of the practical trainings
- 4th semester / 10 ECTS / 250 hours
- 5th semester / 20 ECTS / 500 hours
- 6th semester / 15 ECTS / 375 hours
Take the opportunity to do your practical training abroad with the Erasmus+ Programme.
Degree Programme - an overview
| Profession Occupational Therapist Degree Bachelor of Science in Health Studies (BSc) Organisational form 6 semester, full-time, 180 ECTS Language of instruction German Number of study places 24 per admission cycle | Tuition fees € 363,36 per semester + contribution to study materials € 88,00 per academic year + Austrian Students´ Union fee ÖH-Beitrag Admission cycle Yearly | Contact Studien-Service-Center Office 3rd floor/room 326 Beate Tholema T +43 512 5322-76710 Send E-Mail Verena Schaffenrath-Mayrhofer T +43 512 5322-76712 Send E-Mail Barbara Harrich T +43 512 5322-76716 Send E-Mail |