To graduate from BH001 Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours), a student is required to:

1. Successfully complete 384 units as outlined in the program structure
2. Complete a clinical or research pathway
3. Achieve at least 50% in practical assessments (e.g. objective structured clinical examinations) that screen student readiness to safely assess and treat clients under supervision on clinical placement. These assessements are embedded within:

• PTY101 Introduction to Physiotherapy Practice B
• PTY201 Core Physiotherapy Skills B
• PTY300 Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy
• PTY301 Neurological Physiotherapy
• PTY302 Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy A
• PTY303 Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy B
• PTY304 Paediatric Physiotherapy

4. Students must submit clinical experience logs and reflections associated with clinical placements and fieldwork. These requirements are embedded within:

• PTY200 Core Physiotherapy Skills A
• PTY201 Core Physiotherapy Skills B
• PTY304 Paediatric Physiotherapy
• PTY305 Physiotherapy for Aging and Disability
• PTY400 Physiotherapy Practicum A
• PTY401 Physiotherapy Practicum B
• PTY402 Physiotherapy Practicum C
• PTY403 Physiotherapy Practicum D
• PTY404 Physiotherapy Practicum E (clinical pathway students only)

5. Students in the clinical and research pathway must participate in journal club and successfully complete the ethical, legal and professional practice quiz. These requirements are embedded within

• PTY408 Evidence Based Practice and Innovation in Physiotherapy B (clinical pathway)
• HLT400 Research Dissertation A- Literature Review and Research Questions in Health (research pathway)
• PTY405 Graduate Work Readiness and Professional Issues in Physiotherapy (clinical pathway)
• HLT404 Research Dissertation D – Completing Your Thesis and Communicating Research Findings in Health  (research pathway)

Physiotherapy Clinical Pathway and Research Pathways

At the end of second year of physiotherapy study at UniSC, high achieving students (with a minimum GPA of 5.0) will have the option of applying to transfer into the research pathway within the Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) and undertake a supervised individualised honours project over years 3 and 4. Otherwise students will undertake the clinical pathway.

Honours Classification and Calculation

Physiotherapy graduates on the research pathway will be eligible to receive a classified honours qualification calculated on the marks acheived across research dissertation courses.

The determination of the class of honours received is based on the following: 

• Class I: overall grade in the range 80% - 100% 
• Class IIA: overall grade in the range 70% - 79% 
• Class IIB: overall grade in the range 60% - 69% 

Graduates in the research pathway who score less than 60% across research dissertation courses, and graduates in the clinical pathway will receive an unclassified honours award. This means that physiotherapy gradutes who undertake the research pathway may be eligible for direct entry into a Doctor of Philosophy program (AQF10), while all other students would be eligible for entry into Masters of Philosophy research program (or similar) (AQF9).

WIL notes

Clinical placements

Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) students will undertake 1000+ hours of supervised clinical placements over the four years of the program. Close monitoring of student experiences on clinical placement will be undertaken so that students have adequate clinical experience across core domains of physiotherapy practice (e.g. musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiorespiratory) with different age groups (i.e. children to older adults) and in different contexts (e.g. hospital, private practice, aged care facilities, community settings). Student competency on placement in years 3 and 4 will be assessed using the standardised assessment tool for physiotherapy – Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP). A modified clinical placement assessment will be utilised in second year. Clinical placements may be sourced anywhere in Australia, although the predominant focus will be on sourcing placements in Queensland, Sunshine Coast and regional areas in Australia.

Academic and Clinical Calendar

Second year physiotherapy students will undertake 120 hours of clinical placement (i.e. equivalent to 3 weeks full time) which will be scheduled in a flexible manner across the year according to clinical partner and student availability. This may include part time placement during semester around classes, or else full time placement blocks scheduled within semester breaks. Clinical placement in second year is embedded within PTY200 Core Physiotherapy Skills A and PTY201 Core Physiotherapy Skills B.

In third year physiotherapy students will undertake their first graduate level placement – a 5-week full time placement in Trimester 3 or Session 1 (PTY400 Physiotherapy Practicum A). In fourth year, physiotherapy students will undertake another 15-20 weeks of clinical placements in 5-week full time placement blocks (PTY401 Physiotherapy Practicum B, PTY402 Physiotherapy Practicum C, PTY403 Physiotherapy Practicum D, PTY404 Physiotherapy Practicum E). The timing of 5-week clincal placement blocks will align with the national physiotherapy placement calendar (ie across 9 blocks).

Teaching in Year 4 

Students will be allocated to placements based on clinical partner availability therefore academic courses in fourth year will be taught flexibly around clinical placement allocations. Academic courses in fourth year will therefore have a blended learning design with flexible online learning modules and intensive on-campus workshops. Intensive on-campus workshops will be scheduled across the semester within different clinical placement blocks to accomodate variable student placement allocations.

Fit for placement requirements

To maintain their enrolment in the Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) and to be able to access mandatory  clinical placements, physiotherapy students will need to meet “Fit for Placement” requirements by the end of first-year and maintain currency throughout their study. Associated documentation needs to be uploaded to SONIA to enable enrolment into PTY200 Core Physiotherapy Skills A – the first clinical placement is embedded in this course.

Prospective students must consider the Inherent Academic Requirements before applying to study this program.

Refer to Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) - Inherent Academic Requirements

UniSC strongly supports the rights of all people to pursue studies. The University embraces diversity and endeavours to accommodate all students.

What are Inherent Academic Requirements (IARs)?

The IARs of a program are those fundamental skills, capabilities and knowledge that students must be able to demonstrate in order to achieve the essential learning outcomes of the program, while maintaining the academic integrity of that program.

Students with a disability or chronic health condition may be able to have reasonable adjustments made to enable them to meet these requirements.

UniSC is committed to making reasonable adjustments to teaching and learning, assessment, placement and other activities to enable students to participate in their program.

Reasonable adjustments must not fundamentally change the nature of the IAR.

Consideration is given to a student's cultural and religious background/beliefs, which may impact on participation in their program or course. For further information contact Student Support.

Why are Inherent Academic Requirements (IARs) important?

IARs ensure the academic integrity of a program is maintained and preserves the University's learning, assessment and accreditation processes. They must be met by all students.

How does this affect you?

To successfully complete a program at UniSC, you need to be able to meet all the Inherent Academic Requirements.

If you are applying for a program, you should read the IAR statement carefully to ensure you are able to meet them.

If you have a disability or chronic health condition, contact a UniSC Disability Advisor to talk about the adjustments that may be put in place so you can meet the requirements.