Master of Physiotherapy (Graduate Entry)

This Master’s degree enables students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a health-related area to meet the registration requirements to practice as a physiotherapist with just two years of extra study.

Your studies will develop your capability to assess, treat and prevent human movement disorders, enabling people to lead healthy and functional lives.

Throughout your studies you will undertake supervised clinical practice with patients within a vast range of industry organisations.

Some of your placements will also take place in our very own state-of-the-art Physiotherapy Clinics, located on-campus.

This practical experience is a great way for you to apply what you have learnt during your studies and encourages you to build industry networks and relationships.

What you'll need Students who undertake activities where interaction with patients/the public is required for their degree, such as field or clinical placements/visits and in University clinics and gyms, must demonstrate they meet mandatory pre-placement conditional requirements.

These include criminal history clearance, child related employment clearance and immunisation requirements.

Please visit the Clinical Placement Unit for information on key requirements, and to access the full student checklists.

Students must also be registered to practice physiotherapy in Australia.

Applicants who are overseas trained physiotherapists and are eligible to apply for Australian registration with the Australian Physiotherapy Council are not eligible to apply for this degree.

All students enrolled in a program leading to professional registration must be registered with the relevant National Board.

The registration process is undertaken by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) with the University providing notification to AHPRA following enrolment in the program.

Entry requirements

Applicants must:

• Have completed a Bachelor Degree or higher from an Australian or New Zealand institution within the past 10 years with a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.0
• Have completed the prerequisite courses at a Bachelor level or higher within the last 10 years

All applicants are required to demonstrate their eligibility by completing the Additional Information Form and providing supporting evidence. Prerequisite courses Applicants are required to provide evidence of satisfactory completion of the following prerequisite courses:

• 0.125 EFTSL of Statistics and Research Methods; AND
• 0.250 EFTSL of Human Anatomy, which includes detailed musculoskeletal anatomy, neuroanatomy and systems anatomy; AND
• 0.250 EFTSL of Human Physiology, which includes detailed human musculoskeletal physiology, neurophysiology and systems physiology

Note: Applicants who are overseas trained physiotherapists and are eligible to apply for assessment by the Australian Physiotherapy Council to meet the qualification requirements for registration by the Physiotherapy Board of Australia are not eligible to apply for this program.

Students who undertake activities where interaction with patients/the public is required for their degree, such as field or clinical placements/visits and in University clinics and gyms, must demonstrate they meet mandatory pre-placement conditional requirements. These include criminal history clearance, child related employment clearance and immunisation requirements. Please visit the Clinical Placement Unit for information on key requirements, and to access the full student checklists.

Students must also be registered to practice physiotherapy in Australia. Applicants who are overseas trained physiotherapists and are eligible to apply for Australian registration with the Australian Physiotherapy Council are not eligible to apply for this degree.

All students enrolled in a program leading to professional registration must be registered with the relevant National Board. The registration process is undertaken by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) with the University providing notification to AHPRA following enrolment in the program.

Physiotherapists assess, treat and prevent human movement disorders across various areas of practice, including sport, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological conditions in people of all ages.

At the beginning of the program you will cover topics in evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning skills, professional practice skills, the theory and science behind pain and the theory, assessment and management for cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. A central component of this Master’s degree is clinical placements, which commence in the second half of your first year of study, in the area of acute care.

Your second year will focus on ethics and communication skills along with developing clinical competence in a range of clinical settings including rehabilitation and community clinics. You will learn to work with people of all ages including working with children.

For each course you study, you will need to allocate time for various classes such as lectures, tutorials, workshops, seminars and practicals. Plus you will need additional hours to study in your own time to complete assignments, readings and projects and contribute to online discussion forums. So as a general rule, if you are studying full-time you would need to allocate 12 – 26 hours of study when at university and 14 – 28 hours of independent study per week.

Your studies will incorporate practical, professionally focused and research-based learning, so assessment types will vary. You can expect them to include:

You will benefit from our strong industry links when you complete clinical placements in a variety of metropolitan, rural, regional or overseas health settings. This offers you the opportunity to build important industry networks as you work alongside expert physiotherapists in hospitals, rehabilitation centres and community clinic and aged care organisations.

This affiliation not only provides exceptional learning opportunities, but is also an important network opportunity.

We host regular University-wide employee master classes and employment expos, and alumni events in Australia and overseas.

Your career

In Australia, growth in the physiotherapy industry has been on the rise with career prospects continuing to look very strong, with a projected total of 13,000 job openings for physiotherapists by May 2024.1

As a Registered physiotherapist you can work with people with a diverse range of injuries and conditions related to sport, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, and neurological in a variety of settings including:

• private practice
• clinics
• sport and exercise services
• rehabilitation centres
• hospitals
• home and community services
• disability services
• aged care facilities
• women's health and paediatric services
• occupational and health promotion units
• research.

Physiotherapists also work in management, administration, education, research, policy development, advisory contexts, and regulatory contexts

Use your qualification as a pathway to further learning, including Masters by Research and doctoral studies.

1Australian Government Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Occupational Projections 2019.

Applying to study with us:

• check you meet the full entry requirements for this program
• go to the top of this page and make note of the SATAC code, then click Apply
• you will be redirected through to the SATAC website to continue your application

Our campuses have fantastic facilities including modern lecture theatres, libraries, workshops, laboratories, tech zones, and areas that simulate real work environments. You’ll also find student gyms and campus sport activities to keep you active. We also offer flexible study options, with online resources available for accessing lecture recordings, virtual classrooms, library resources and learning support.

Adelaide has a variety of accommodation options to suit different requirements and budgets. Options include dedicated student accommodation or private rentals. See our long-term accommodation pages for plenty of options. If you need somewhere to live, our new student accommodation by urbanest is on Bank Street in Adelaide’s lively cultural precinct, a perfect location for students. It is within easy reach of UniSA’s city and metropolitan campuses, Rundle Mall shopping, the Central Market, Chinatown, and the West End’s vibrant nightlife. It is also across the road from the Adelaide train station, and on bus and tram routes.

Our student support services can make your life at university easier. We provide a full range of support services including academic and personal counselling. You can also access a range of services through our students association, USASA. When you become a UniSA student you can contact Campus Central for help with anything related to your degree. They will help you with your enrolment, ID cards, fees, timetables and any other questions you might have.

We have six campuses in metropolitan and regional areas, each with advanced facilities including modern lecture theatres, libraries, laboratories, and areas that simulate real work environments.

As a physiotherapy student you will have access to:

• Physiotherapy Clinics
• Physiotherapy laboratories
• Simulation clinic
• Anatomy laboratories
• Physiology laboratories