School of Health Professions

MSc Advanced Professional Practice in Occupational Therapy

Duration

1 year
Course type

Full-time, Part-time route available
Study location Plymouth
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Are you an occupational therapist wishing to develop your skills and knowledge in critical thinking? This pathway will help you to improve people’s health and well-being by implementing innovative, evidence-based practice in a range of practice settings. You will be able to develop your skills and knowledge in research and scholarly activity around the core principles of occupational therapy. This pathway enables you to explore innovative occupational therapy and occupational science in depth.

Your career as a healthcare professional starts here

The first-class new home for our healthcare teaching and research providing students with skills to meet the needs of 21st century careers.

InterCity Place
InterCity Place
A unique new learning space where undergraduate and postgraduate students from the largest breadth of health disciplines in the South-West learn together under one roof, with expert practitioners.
Medical students using the Anatomage table clinical
Plymouth Integrative Health and Social Care Education Centre (PIHC)
Experience an interprofessional learning environment across our health programmes that will prepare you for life as a healthcare professional.
First choice for health
Become a healthcare professional of the future
Collaboration across the schools helps students to learn with, from and about each other, gaining the real-world experience employers seek.

Key features
  • Study on a programme with a long, esteemed history and join the many hundreds of successful graduates from all over the world. You will learn to apply up-to-date knowledge of research and theory to enhance your creativity and flexibility and develop the academic skills needed to work effectively in modern health and social care settings.
  • Join an enthusiastic team of occupational therapists and undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students who are pushing forward the boundaries of knowledge on occupational science and occupational therapy.
  • Learn within our supportive multi-professional and inter-agency environments on a programme delivered by experts in a setting where innovative thinking regarding advanced professional development is put into practice.
  • Train and practice your professional healthcare skills in an inspiring purpose-built environment, InterCity Place . 
  • Become an evidence-based practitioner, equipped to manage and lead in busy and constantly changing settings and able to reflect on and utilise a range of evidence to support your professional occupational therapy practice.
  • Tailor your learning to your own workplace through module assignments and the occupational therapy practice: supported study module.
  • Choose from one of three different exit awards to suit your own needs – step off the pathway with a postgraduate certificate (three modules) or postgraduate diploma (six modules) if you wish, or you can continue on to a master’s degree where you will carry out your own research project with the support of experienced occupational therapy lecturers and researchers.
  • Complete the programme in one year with the full-time study option or balance work and caring commitments by studying part time over a maximum of six years. The full-time route is suitable for international students, who will be supported to choose optional modules with non-clinical assignments.
Please note that when you enrol on this programme, you always enrol to study the master degree but we offer three exit awards: PgCert, PgDip and MSc.

Course details

  • Programme overview

  • Postgraduate Certificate
    To achieve a postgraduate certificate, you will need to obtain 60 credits. This must include one core module, one pathway specific module and one optional module of your choice. 
    Core module 
    Pathway specific module 
    Optional module 
    Optional module 20 Credits
    Optional modules can be chosen from the masters level modules A-Z list . Please contact the Professional Development Unit Admissions Team to discuss your options.
    Postgraduate Diploma
    To achieve a postgraduate diploma, you will have first completed the PgCert and need to obtain an additional 60 credits (to give 120 credits in total). This must include the core module and two optional modules of your choice. 
    Core module
    ADV715 Project Design for Research 20 Credits
    Optional modules
    Optional modules can be two 20 credit modules or one 40 credit - 40 Credits
    Optional modules can be chosen from the masters level modules A-Z list . Please contact the Professional Development Unit Admissions Team to discuss your options.
    MSc
    To achieve a full master degree, you will have first completed the PgDip and need to obtain an additional 60 credits (to give 180 credits in total). This must include the core module. 
    Core module 
    ADV716 Research Dissertation 60 Credits
The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.

Every postgraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the programme aims, the programme structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest programme structure and may be subject to change:

MSc Advanced Professional Practice in Occupational Therapy 4466

Entry requirements
You’ll normally have a first degree (BSc (Hons) at 2:2 or above or European first cycle equivalent) in Occupational Therapy. If you are a non UK-based candidate you must be recognised as a Occupational Therapist within your own country.You must also provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English in accordance with the University’s Admissions Code of Practice - IELTS requirement is 6.5 average with a minimum of 5.5 in each category. If you need to improve your English language to get onto a degree programme at Plymouth, you can book a pre-sessional academic English course . 
You’ll be assessed individually for your ability to study at this level and therefore an interview may be necessary. You’ll normally be required to submit a short piece of writing as part of the admissions process.
AP(E)L
Claims for credit for prior learning, whether certificated or experiential are accepted and will be assessed following University regulations and faculty procedures.
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)
This programme is equivalent to 90 ECTS credits (second cycle) with 30 ECTS credits at postgraduate certificate, 60 credits at postgraduate diploma and 90 credits at masters degree. Each 20 credit module is the equivalent of 10 ECTS credits and assumes a notional student effort of between 200-300 hours.
Successful completion of this pathway does not lead to eligibility to apply for registration as an Occupational Therapist with the Health and Social Care Professions Council.
We welcome applicants with international qualifications. To view other accepted qualifications please refer to our tariff glossary .

Fees, costs and funding
Student 2024-25 2025-26
Home £11,000 £11,350
International £19,000 £19,550
Part time (Home) £1,220 per 20 credit module £1,260 per 20 credit module

Full time fees shown are per annum. Part time fees shown are per a number of credits. Please note that fees are reviewed on an annual basis. Fees and the conditions that apply to them shown in the prospectus are correct at the time of going to print. Fees shown on the web are the most up to date but are still subject to change in exceptional circumstances. More information about fees and funding . 
Additional costs
Please be aware that there may be additional costs to undertaking your studies relating to printing of course materials, and requirement for an initial outlay for travel and accommodation in respect of practice placement. If you have any questions regarding these costs please contact pduadmissions@plymouth.ac.uk. 
International
If you are studying on a programme where placements are integral to your study there are costs associated with travel and accommodation. Please speak with the programme admissions tutor to find out more.
In order to cater for the needs of the NHS workforce, this full-time programme is also available as a part-time programme, which is flexible in nature and allows up to five years for students to complete the full MSc. For this reason, students on the programme are unable to claim support via the Student Loans Company Postgraduate Loan. The SLC stipulates that only full-time programmes without a part time equivalent can be funded. If you think that you will have trouble funding your place on the programme, we would recommend a discussion with your employer to see whether any financial support can be granted. 

Tuition fee discount for University of Plymouth graduates

If you studied your undergraduate degree at Plymouth, you may be eligible for a fee discount if you complete your postgraduate studies here as well.
  • 10% or 20% discount on tuition fees for home students 
  • For 2024/2025 entry, a 20% discount on tuition fees for international students (International alumni who have applied to the University through an agent are not eligible to receive the discount)

How to apply

Apply online

Applying for this programme
Applications for the full-time programme need to be completed via the online form.
Applicants for the part-time programme need to complete the application via the Postgraduate Application Form . You will also need to provide two Referee Forms completed and signed by your referees, and a copy of your degree (or higher) certificate(s). Please return the forms and certificate copies to PDUAdmissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
The deadline for the receipt of international applications is 30 May 2025 for entry in September 2025. 
Any questions please contact:
Professional Development Unit
4th floor, Rolle Building
University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth, PL4 8AA
What happens after I apply?
After your application is received, it will be processed and sent to the Programme Lead for a decision to be made on your suitability to study. You may be asked to provide additional information or to take part in an interview (for overseas students this may be by telephone or video conference). Once this decision has been made, you will be sent an email either confirming your place on the programme, or rejecting your application and giving the reasons for this decision (you may request further feedback in order to improve your chances of selection at a later date).
Please note that you will be enrolled on the full MSc programme. You may choose to exit with the qualification of PgCert upon completion of an appropriate 60 credits, or a PgDip upon completion of an appropriate 120 credits. More information is contained within the programme specification.
For applicants with disabilities
If you have a disability and would like further information about the support provided by the University of Plymouth, please visit our Disability Services webpage.

Studying MSc Advanced Professional Practice – what's in it for me?

What our graduates say – Miranda Cunningham

“Completing the MSc APP in Occupational Therapy pathway has given me increased confidence in my practice, reaffirmed my belief in occupational therapy philosophy and keys to unlock new career directions.”
Miranda Cunningham

What our graduates say – Sarah Reynolds

“Since achieving my masters I have become a lecturer at the University. Before, I never would have imagined that I would have this opportunity.”
Sarah Reynolds
Signpost in the mountain at sunset

MSc Advanced Professional Practice pathways

Both the School of Health Professions and the School of Nursing and Midwifery offer the MSc Advanced Professional Practice programme; together we offer a wide range of specialist and generic pathways to meet the educational needs of all health and social care professionals.
Plymouth Hoe

English Language Centre

We offer a range of courses to help you develop your academic English language skills.
These include pre-sessional academic English courses for undergraduates, taught postgraduates and research students along with insessional language classes, tutorials and activities to support students who have English as a second language.