Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapists assist people of all ages improve their ability to perform tasks at home, school or work. They help to develop, improve, sustain, or restore independence to someone with an injury, illness, disability or psychological dysfunction.

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Why ECU?

Good Universities Guide

In the 2019 Good Universities Guide, ECU graduates have given us a 5-star rating for:
- Teaching quality
- Skills development
- Student support
- Learning resources
- Median salary (based on the starting salary for new domestic graduates under age 25, and in their first full-time job.)
The 5-star rating for teaching quality has now been achieved for 12 years in a row. We're one of only two public universities in Australia to have achieved such a consistently high endorsement.
Read more about the Good Universities Guide.
THE Young University Rankings

ECU has been ranked in the world's top 150 universities under 50 years old in the 2019 Times Higher Education (THE) Young Universities Rankings.
Young universities are measured on their teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income.
These are the same performance indicators as measured in the overall THE World University Rankings.
QILT rankings

ECU received the top undergraduate teaching quality ranking of all public universities in the Australian Governments 2019 QILT (Quality Indicators for Learning & Teaching) survey.
We're also the top-ranked Australian public university for skills development and overall educational experience (based on two-year aggregated results).
ECU also ranked best in Australia across these disciplines for teaching quality, skills development, student support, quality of educational experience and overall educational experience:
- Humanities, Culture and Social Sciences
- Rehabilitation
- Creative Arts
- Teacher Education
Read more about the QILT survey.

Courses

Study world ready

As an undergraduate student, you'll waste no time getting into the practical side of this field. In fact, you'll eventually complete a minimum of 1000 hours of practice education/fieldwork to meet the requirements of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.

Download a guide

If you prefer paper over pixels, please download one of our guides.

Study area guide Undergraduate course guide Postgraduate course guide International student guide

Become World Ready

Experience Occupational Therapy at ECU.

Occupational Therapy lab 360 Virtual Tour

View the 360 Degree virtual tour

Reduce your expenses

Scholarships recognise those whose life journey may have been challenging, as well as students who've shown outstanding academic excellence and endeavour.

A scholarship can help you realise your ambitions by paying for fees, text books and living expenses.

Realise your dream with our scholarships

Explore your options

Occupational Therapy at ECU

Science student Tamara Pullella, who is majoring in Occupational Therapy, talks about her course and why she chose to study at ECU.

Student
stories

"ECU offers the opportunity to experience prac from the very beginning"

Tamara PullellaOccupational Therapy graduate

I chose ECU because of the practical components the course offered and also because of the small cohort.
ECU offers occupational therapy (OT) students with the opportunity to experience prac from the very beginning, which gave us the beneficial component of having hands-on experience.
These placements really provided us with the opportunity to experience what occupational therapy was all about and prepared us for the real world.
The staff within the OT department at ECU have experience working in the field, so when we had any questions the answers were just that much more relevant.
Prior to commencing my studies at ECU, I always believed that OT was disability focused, but through the practical experiences it provided me with the opportunity to really get a feel for the different fields within the OT profession.
"The content covered in class has allowed me to better engage with my clients and further develop myself as a clinician"

Andrea FitzGeraldECU postgraduate Neurological Rehabilitation student

I am an Occupational Therapist with a strong background in mental health, sub-acute and community services. Studying Neurological Rehabilitation at ECU really opens my career options in acute environments and provides the opportunity to specialise in an area I am passionate to work in.
Having the flexibility to complete the course online, with only some required face-to-face contact has been fantastic. It has provided me the opportunity to commence studies again by allowing me to fit study around work and other commitments.
ECU has a sound reputation for education and the staff have been supportive and encouraging. They are responsive to queries and continuously provide constructive and supportive feedback.
The content covered in class has allowed me to better engage with my clients and further develop myself as a clinician. It enables online interactions with peers and is a platform to network and share knowledge with one-another.
"I chose to study OT at ECU because of the practical components offered from the beginning of the course"

Suci WardanaOccupational Therapy student

I have been fortunate to have taken part in several placements relating to OT, beginning just a few weeks into starting my course. These placements involved observing practitioners in their specialised fields, which was very beneficial as it gave me a feel for what I'd be doing in the future, and provided learning that can't be taught in the classroom.
I also felt that the small cohort of students in the course would be very beneficial as it allows us to get to know everyone in the course and increases the opportunities that we have to communicate face-to-face with lecturers and tutors. The OT staff at ECU are also working in the field, and they're able to provide students with real-life learning, which is fantastic.