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Degree in Occupational Therapy

2025/2026 · 240 credits

What you learn

Occupational therapy uses occupations for therapeutic purposes. The term occupation refers to activities that "occupy" a person's daily routine; that is, the activities that each person wants and needs to carry out in their daily lives, such as self-care, domestic activities, education, work, leisure/play and social participation. A complete state of health and well-being requires that each person be able to satisfactorily perform these daily activities that he or she values as important (occupations). When, due to an illness, trauma, disability, dependency or age, a person encounters limitations in their occupations, occupational therapists train and adapt their performance and/or the environment, with the aim of developing, improving, maintaining or restoring the highest possible level of functional independence and personal autonomy. 
They also use materials such as thermoplastic and 3D printing to make the splints, orthoses and prostheses that each person needs, so students will learn these practical skills. Another fundamental task is the adaptation of assistive technologies to facilitate their daily life (e.g. wheelchairs, transfer cranes, ICTs and telephone and computer adaptations, etc.). As complementary methods, occupational therapy uses e.g. music therapy and animal-assisted therapies such as therapy dogs. 
The Bachelor's Degree in Occupational Therapy allows students to acquire knowledge on how to promote independence and autonomy in people with dysfunction in the performance of their occupations, caused by a physical disability, alterations in child development or learning difficulties, injuries or pathologies, mental illnesses, brain damage, the aging process, psychosocial dysfunctions, due to the community environment, etc. 

Professional and academic career

In the surroundings of A Coruña, some examples of centres and entities that have occupational therapists are: Public Administrations such as the Hospital Complex Universitario de A Coruña (CHUAC), Xunta de Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) Assessment of Dependency and Health Care Centers), Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO), City Councils or the Galician Consortium for Equality and Welfare; early care clinics and therapeutic care for children; Rehabilitation Centers adults; entities for the promotion of mental health; Residences and day centers for the elderly; Associations (e.g. ENKI ou COGAMI) and other entities present in the community such as the R.C. Deportivo of La Coruña. 


Professional environment

In the health field, the occupational therapist works in hospitals, health centers, rehabilitation clinics, accident insurance companies and others; in the socio-community field, it carries out its functions in town halls, social services, foundations and associations, day centres and homes for the elderly, penitentiary institutions, etc.; in the educational field, he plays his role in General Education centers, Special Education Schools and as a Teaching Teacher in Universities, vocational training cycles and in permanent training courses; This professional also works in orthopaedics and in centres focused on ergonomics, adaptation of workstations or accessibility and universal design for all. 

Professional and academic career

In the surroundings of A Coruña, some examples of centres and entities that have occupational therapists are: Public Administrations such as the Hospital Complex Universitario de A Coruña (CHUAC), Xunta de Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) Assessment of Dependency and Health Care Centers), Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO), City Councils or the Galician Consortium for Equality and Welfare; early care clinics and therapeutic care for children; Rehabilitation Centers adults; entities for the promotion of mental health; Residences and day centers for the elderly; Associations (e.g. ENKI ou COGAMI) and other entities present in the community such as the R.C. Deportivo of La Coruña. 


Planning for teaching

The curriculum was published in the Official State Gazette of 28 April 2009.
One of the main strengths of the degree, at a national level, is the high level of contact of students with the professional practice of occupational therapy, through 60 ECTS credits of external internships, distributed in 8 subjects of Practical Stays throughout all the courses. Students will carry out external internships in all areas of professional practice (childhood and adolescence, adults with physical disabilities, mental health, the elderly and the socio-community field), always with occupational therapists as tutors, totaling more than 1,000 hours of internships. 
The curriculum consists of three levels. At the Basic Level (1st and 2nd years), it includes basic training subjects in occupational therapy and other related disciplines. At the Intermediate Level (2nd and 3rd years), it develops professional skills and the occupational therapy process in the different stages of the life cycle: childhood and adolescence, adulthood I (physical disability), adults II (mental health dysfunction) and the elderly. In the Advanced Level (4th year), the previous levels are integrated, with a greater degree of complexity in the situations and professional reasoning required, ending with the defense of the final degree project. 

Study structure

The degrees are organized by courses. Click on a academic year for more information.

  Guide Type QTR. credits
Statistics Core annual 6 ECTS
Human Anatomy Core annual 9 ECTS
Human Physiology Core annual 9 ECTS
Psychology I Core 1st 6 ECTS
Social and Cultural Anthropology Core 1st 6 ECTS
Historical Review and Documentation in Occupational Therapy Compulsory 1st 7 ECTS
Law, Bioethics and Occupational Therapy Core 2nd 6 ECTS
Occupational Science and Foundations of Occupational Therapy Compulsory 2nd 6.5 ECTS
Work Placement I Compulsory 2nd 4.5 ECTS

 BOE with syllabus (PDF)

Teachers

The study is taught by teachers from the departments of: Computer Science and Information Technologies, Health Sciences, Humanities, Languages and Literatures, Mathematics, Physical and Sports Education, Physiotherapy, Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Private Law, Psychology and Sociology and Communication Sciences

The degrees are organized by courses. Click on a academic year for more information.

Student mobility

UDC holds student mobility agreements with universities and other third-level institutions across four continents. Students are offered several opportunities each year to apply to study abroad in one of these centres (for a single term or for a whole year), with the guarantee that all credits obtained will be duly recognised in their academic record upon their return.

For each round of applications, the University publishes the list of exchange options available to students and, where relevant, the specific conditions associated with each. Students may also apply to the University for funding for international work experience placements and internships.

Work experience placements are accredited in the student's academic record and the European diploma supplement. Students are free to decide in which host company or academic institution within the EHEA they wish to carry out their placement. To assist them in their search, the University has created an online noticeboard with jobs postings and other news.

Work-study placements in A Coruña are arranged by the International Relations Office (ORI) of the UDC in collaboration with the international relations coordinators in the student’s home university. The general entry criteria, rights and obligations of students, and admission and acceptance procedures for the programme, are regulated by the UDC Mobility Policy.