Updated February 5, 2022
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (BOT) is a 4-5 year long undergraduate course in the healthcare sector that is formulated to produce a competent occupational therapist who can efficiently treat the mentally & physically challenged people. The professionals working in the field are responsible to cure, prevent and rehabilitate the patients. The aspirants seeking admission in the course are required to have some essential qualifications including, excellent grade in 12th board, better communication skills, problem-solving skill, to mention a few. Notwithstanding, the aspirants must have completed their higher secondary examination with science stream from a recognized university. This programme can be availed either on the basis 12th marks or entrance exam.
Under the course, the students are taught various subjects such as Physiology, Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Occupational Therapy in Orthopedics, to name a few. The colleges that provide Bachelor in Occupational Therapy courses in India are HIMSR, New Delhi, IMS BHU, AIIPMR, Mumbai, and many more. These colleges provide course at low cost. The participants on obtaining degree can earn a suitable amount annually.
What is Bachelor of Occupational Therapy?
Bachelor of Education is a 4-5 years undergraduate program in the field of medicine. This program has been structured to provide skill and hands-on experience to the students in curing and preventing abnormalities. To be precise, students are taught to deal with people of all ages who have physical, sensory, or cognitive problems. It is one of the popularly known programme of physiotherapy courses.
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Course Details
Occupational Therapy is a branch of science that focuses on treating and rehabilitating mentally, emotionally, and physically challenged people. Students come to know all of this after getting a bachelor’s degree called Bachelor of Occupational therapy. This program has been structured for 4-years to provide enough skills and practical knowledge to deal with the patients. Aspirants can get admission in the course right after completing their intermediate examination from a recognized institute. This Bachelor of Occupational Therapy syllabus concentrates on how to effectively create the environment according to the requirement of patients. The BOT syllabus also emphasizes educating the students on the essential skills required to do their job. It was also referred to as “Moral Treatment” during its development.
There are various employment areas where students can land their career, such as Rehabilitation Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapy Nurse, Critical Care Nursing In-charge, Private Practitioner, Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapy (OT) Technician, to name a few. Moreover, the BOT course also offers numerous job opportunities to the candidates, including Occupational therapists, Rehabilitation Therapy assistants, Occupational Therapy Nurse, Critical Care Nursing In-charge, Private Practitioners, Speech and Language therapists, Occupational Therapy (OT) Technician, to name a few.
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Course Eligibility
The course demands some basic qualifications that you must possess to get admission to the BOT Programme. Aspirants can access the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy courses either on the basis of merit list or entrance examination. The colleges/universities brought notification of admission to the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy courses mainly in the month of May or June every year. However, the schedule has been distorted due to the Covid pandemic for the last two years. The candidates seeking admission in the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy course must fulfill the essential eligibility criteria written down here.
(a) Aspirants must have completed 10+2 from a recognized educational Board.
(b) Also, the aspirants must have obtained certificate of 10+2 examination with physics, chemistry, Biology, or Mathematics as the main subjects.
(c) Students belonging to unreserved category must have scored a minimum of 50% aggregate marks.
(d) Students belonging to reserved (SC/ST/OBC) category are required to have scored atleast 45% aggregate marks.
(e) Candidates appearing for their final 10+2 examination are also eligible to apply for the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy course on a provisional basis.
Bachelor in Occupational Therapy: Admission Process
The professionals who wish to work in the field should possess certain specific qualities because it is a broad spectrum job. In these job profiles, the therapists are required to efficiently deal with the patients. In doing so, the aspirants must have communication skills, problem-solving abilities, patience, calmness, to mention a few. The students can get access into the course either on the basis of merit list or entrance exam.
Entrance-Based Entry-
(a) Candidates must have made a choice of college. At first, candidates must visit the college website of their choice and check various entry criteria and eligibility criteria.
(b) The candidates are required to register themselves in the respective colleges’ entrance exam.
(c) Now you have to fill the application form correctly. In the process, candidates are required to upload the various essential documents in the correct format and size.
(d) After completing and submitting their application form, they are required to print out a receipt for future reference.
(e) The vital phase of the admission process is to sit in the entrance exam. In this process, candidates must be determined and in a state of calmness. These qualities will increase your percentage of scoring good marks. However, the candidates must score above the cut-off marks to get admission to any college.
(f) On qualifying for the entrance exam, the candidates will be shortlisted for another selection process, and the candidates will be called for a personal interview round.
(g) Based on the personal interview and entrance exam score, the entrance exam authorities will pronounce the finally selected candidates.
Merit-Based Entry-
Several colleges provide admission to the candidates on the basis of marks they secured in their intermediate or higher secondary examination. So, the candidates who are not interested in giving the entrance exam can get admission to the Bachelor in Occupational Therapy program through the merit list.
(a) The candidates must visit the website of college of their choice and check eligibility criteria.
(b) If they are fulfilling the eligibility criteria, they can proceed for further process.
(c) Now the candidates are required fill the application form with appropriate format and size of the documents
(d) Then you can pay the admission fees and submit the application form to the entrance exam authorities.
(e) In case they qualify for the merit list, they can get admission in the respective colleges.
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Syllabus
A Bachelor in Occupational course comprises numerous subjects that the students must study in their course frame. These subjects are taught to the participants to obtain better knowledge and skills that would at last help to reduce the challenges faced by the patients. The demand of professionals in the same field has been increased due to the expansion of healthcare. Now, every patient requires a therapist who can help curtail the functional limitations. It is so the students are trained in the course to help patients restore normal conditions and can easily do his/her daily activities. As this program is a 4-year undergraduate course, it has numerous essential subjects that students have to go through in four years. Some of the important disciplines in the BOT course are-
| First Year | Second Year |
| Physiology | Occupational Therapy-2 (Theory / Practical) |
| Occupational Therapy-1 (Theory / Practical) | Psychology-2 Developmental and Organizational Psychology) |
| Biochemistry | Pharmacology |
| Psychology-1 | Biostatistics and Research Methodology |
| Anatomy (Theory/ Practical) | Microbiology and Pathology |
| Third Year | Fourth Year |
| Bioengineering | General Medicine |
| Occupational Therapy in Orthopedics (Theory/ Practical) | General Surgery |
| Clinical Orthopedic & Rheumatology | Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry |
| Occupational Therapy in Neurology (Theory/ Practical) | Occupational Therapy in Mental Health (Theory/ Practical) |
| Clinical Orthopedic & Rheumatology | Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry |
| Clinical Neurology | Community Medicine and Sociology |
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Fees
Several colleges in India provide admission to the BOT course. The fees of the courses vary from institution to institution. Basically, the fees structure of the course depends on various factors, including infrastructure, faculty, location of the colleges, to mention a few. Also, pursuing the respective course from a central or state university will cost less than pursuing from a private university. Although, the average fees structure of Bachelor of Occupational Therapy ranges from Rs. 15k to 100k for the entire course.
Jobs after Obtaining BOT Degree
People’s stress and various physical impairments have shown a steep inclination in this busy society and the world. Whether working in govt. sectors or the corporate world, people constantly need counseling and advice to lead a better life. Therefore, a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy degree can help you evolve into a professional who can help these challenged people. You can become a part of this quality life supply chain to support the medically, emotionally, and mentally challenged patients to lead a better life. However, the students can make their careers as private practitioners. Various corporate firms also hire therapists to maintain nutritional standards within the organization. Following are some popular job profiles that you can seek after pursuing Bachelor of Occupational Degree:
(1) Occupational Therapist
(2) Rehabilitation Therapy Assistant
(3) Occupational Therapy Nurse
(4) Critical Care Nursing In-charge
(5) Private Practitioner
(6) Speech and language Therapist
(7) Occupational Therapy (OT) Technician
(8) Lab Technician
(9) Service Delivery Manager
(10) Consultant
(11) Occupational Therapy (OT) In-charge
(12) Medical Record Technician
Career Prospects of BOT Course
Students after completing the Bachelor in Occupational Therapy course will be able to find work at rehabilitation clinics, various NGOs, schools, Social welfare departments, sports franchises, to name a few. Moreover, having Occupational therapy degree, students can work in many employment areas like Rehabilitation Centers, Multi-Specialty Hospitals, Mental Hospitals, Geriatric homes/ Old age Homes, Colleges & Universities, Private Practice/Private clinics, and many more. Apart from that, if a student wants to pursue advanced studies in the same field can do Masters and a Doctoral in occupational therapy. A master degree and a Doctoral degree in the field is also a good investment in order to secure good salaries.
Bachelor of occupational therapy salary
As the healthcare area is expanding day by day, employment in the same field is also going parallel. Thus, the demand for therapist professionals has also been increased. Trainee therapists can start their career with salary packages of Rs. 10k to Rs. 20k per annum after their graduation. While working in the field and gaining enough experience, the inclination of salary will be increased.
Moreover, when the therapists become highly skilled, they will charge Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3000 per session, i.e., Rs. 40k to 60k per month. So, experience is of utmost importance in the healthcare field. If the candidates have more than 10 years of experience, the salary can go upto INR 10 Lakh per annum. Despite the wage rewarded in the job, the candidates are allowed other perks such as medical insurance, dental, retirement benefits, to name a few.
Bachelor of occupational therapy colleges in India
(a) Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai
(b) Goa Medical College, Panaji
(c) HIMSR New Delhi – Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
(d) IMS BHU – Institute of Medical Sciences Banaras Hindu University
(e) Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry
(f) Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai
(g) ADN Institute of Paramedical Science and Hospitals, Nagpur, Maharashtra
(h) Aryabhatta Knowledge University – AKU
(i) Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University – BRABU