Bachelor's Degree Programme in Occupational Therapy
Key learning outcomes
An Occupational Therapist is a rehabilitation specialist whose objective is to work together with the customer to enable a meaningful and functional daily life for them. During occupational therapy studies, you learn to examine factors that enable the customer's (individual, group or community) functionality and ways to support their coping in their daily lives through meaningful activity. An activity-centred and multidisciplinary background of theory, multidisciplinary rehabilitation competence and an evidence-based approach are important topics throughout your studies. Recurring themes during the studies include innovative future solutions related to digitalisation and sustainable development.
Education content and professional growth and know-how
In the degree programme in Occupational Therapy, you complete a Bachelor's degree in health care and social services with the degree title Occupational Therapist.
The studies focus on enabling the functionality and participation of customers and families of different ages and supporting independent coping. You learn about building therapeutic interaction, evaluation of functional capacity and goal-oriented use of actions, environmental evaluation, customer-oriented processes, providing advice, and guidance.
In the first year of studies, the focus is on joint studies in the rehabilitation and social services sector, in which you examine the customer relationships of the fields in the changing operating environment. In addition, you learn study and working life skills and theoretical basics of occupational therapy in the first year. The professional core competence of occupational therapy develops thusly: in the first year, you learn about the action-oriented approach and the significance of activities and participation in the individual's lives.
In the next semesters, you learn more about the evaluation and promotion of functionality and participation through occupational therapy. You will also examine the possibilities of occupational therapy in different environments, networks and communities. Knowing the stages of the occupational therapy process and understanding occupational therapy as a discipline based on research evidence are a cross-cutting theme at different stages of the studies.
Flexible studies
Full-time and part-time studies both require an active study approach of about 40 hours a week and motivation to take responsibility for your own learning. In both forms of study, you utilise multidisciplinary co-operation and increasingly more digital learning opportunities, such as e-materials and online interaction.
Full-time studies require attendance on weekdays. A precondition for part-time studies is that you can participate in webinars on weekdays and contact days in Jyväskylä on approximately 2–5 days a month. In your studies, you need IT skills and a desire to develop as an online learner.
Studies in occupational therapy progress flexibly according to the personal learning plan (PLP). For example, you can complete practical training in accordance with your personal plan in different parts of Finland or abroad flexibly at different stages of your studies. If you have previous competence in the social or health care sector, you can find out if the studies can be accredited (more information in the study guide). You can bring flexibility to the studies or possibly graduate faster for example by studying during the summer.
You can deepen your competence according to your interests through complementary studies, practical training periods and thesis topic choices. At Jamk, you have great opportunities to develop entrepreneurial competence or competence related to development work and innovations.
You can choose your alternative or elective studies from EduFutura partner institutions (University of Jyväskylä and Gradia) and international studies from European EUDRES higher education institutions. You can also choose from Finnish and foreign partner universities, such as other universities of applied sciences and universities. You can apply for accreditation of higher education studies that you have completed elsewhere.
Working life oriented learning
The emphasis in the studies is on working life-oriented learning. Approximately one third of the studies consists of practical training or development assignments in workplaces in the field, such as health care and social service units and organisations in the public, private or third sector, and in projects and development projects. The practical training and development tasks are implemented in accordance with your personal career and learning plan at different stages of your studies, and their purpose is to develop the professional and multidisciplinary team work competence needed in future work.
If you work in health care and social services work tasks during your studies, find out about the possibilities of studification.
Career opportunities and employment
As an Occupational Therapist, you can work in the public, private or third sector. Your work environment can be a hospital, health clinic, rehabilitation centre, school or day-care centre. Occupational Therapists also have increasingly more opportunities to work in organisations in the wellness sector, projects and third-sector workplaces. Entrepreneurship competence accumulated in the studies also makes it possible to start your own company.
In fact, the choices made during your studies can support your employment. Examples of these choices include practical training or a thesis based on a development task, learning about a certain activity-oriented assessment method or working method, international experience or learning about digital health care and social services solutions during your studies.
Your international competence improves during the studies, as some of the studies are in English and most of the course material is in English. In addition, it is possible to increase international competence by completing studies or a practical training abroad.
Qualifications
The qualification title of occupational therapist can only be used, and the profession practised, by a graduated licensed occupational therapist. The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health Valvira grants qualified occupational therapists the licence to practise the profession in response to an application to this effect.
Further studies
You may, after graduating and gaining at least two years of work experience, apply for a master's degree level education. You can continue your studies by applying for e.g. Master's degree programmes in universities, vocational teacher education or Master's degree programmes abroad. The university of applied sciences offers opportunities for competence development in various institutes, such as the open university of applied sciences, specialisation training and work-oriented continuing education.
Education planning
In addition to teachers, student and health care and social services representatives have participated in the planning of the education at events which have examined both general competence in the social services and health care sector as well as profession-specific skills, especially from the perspective of future competence needs. The students and alumni have been consulted to better target both the content of the studies and the learning methods.
The degree programme meets the minimum standards set for occupational therapist training as provided by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) and this correspondence is checked in an international audit every five years.
The curriculum utilises future workplace and education surveys and competency frameworks, such as the WFOT Recommendation (Minimum Standards for the Education of Occupational Therapists 2016) and the competence descriptions defined by the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE).
Contact Information
Emmi Ritvos
Senior Lecturer, Rehabilitation and Social Studies
+358504098259
firstname.lastname@jamk.fi