Careers › Health

How to become a Occupational Therapist

Helps people do the everyday activities that matter to them again.

Apply early

Selection programmes like this often close months before the standard application deadline, and marks alone don’t guarantee a place. See the Dates page for the exact closing dates.

What does a Occupational Therapist actually do?

More about this career

Helps people regain the skills for everyday life – dressing, working, going to school – after injury, illness or disability, which is a different focus from physiotherapy’s emphasis on movement itself. OTs work in hospitals, schools, mental health settings, and increasingly in disability and community-based rehabilitation.

Where this degree can take you

  • Paediatric OT
  • Mental Health OT
  • Hand Therapist
  • Community Rehabilitation Worker

This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.

Not from an official source

Subjects that usually help

  • Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy
  • Life Sciences

This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.

Not from an official source

Where to check this yourself

What the degrees we’ve captured actually ask for

  • Mathematics – asked for by 5 of 5 degrees
  • Physical Sciences – asked for by 4 of 5 degrees
  • Life Sciences – asked for by 3 of 5 degrees
  • Mathematical Literacy – asked for by 1 of 5 degrees

Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each degree links to the page it came from.

Degrees that lead here

5 degrees at 5 universities. More are added as we verify them.

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

Partly verified

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy

School of Health Care Sciences

SMU APS 25

  • Life Sciences: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 4 (50% or more)
  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Life Orientation: level 3 (40% or more)
  • Two more subjects – Two further subjects at level 3 or better.

Closes 31 July 2026 for undergraduate programmes (applications open 1 April 2026) - notably earlier than most universities in this batch.

Source: View the official page (smu.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Stellenbosch University

Selection programme

B Occupational Therapy

Medicine & Health Sciences · 4 years

Stellenbosch aggregate 60 %

  • Mathematics: 50%
  • Life Sciences: 50%

Every Stellenbosch programme is a selection programme. The figures shown are the published minimum requirements - the actual selection threshold is usually higher. About 50 students are selected.

Source: View the official page (files.su.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Cape Town

Selection programme

BSc Occupational Therapy

Health Sciences · 4 years

UCT Faculty Points Score 340 out of 600

  • Mathematics: 60% OR Mathematical Literacy: 70%
  • Physical Sciences: 65% OR Life Sciences: 65%
  • English: 65% if it is your Home Language, 65% if it is your First Additional Language
  • Next 3 subjects: 60%
  • NBT – NBTs are compulsory and must be at Intermediate level or above.

The 340 shown is the APS sub-minimum (out of 600). Selection: Band A FPS 730, Band B WPS 782, Band C 565 / 580 / 670. About 70 places.

Source: View the official page (uct.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Pretoria

Selection programme

BOccTher (Occupational Therapy)

Health Sciences

UP APS 30 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 4 (50% or more)

A selection programme. Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results.

Source: View the official page (drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of the Witwatersrand

No cut-off publishedFrom an older document

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy

Health Sciences · 4 years

No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 4 (50% or more)

Wits Health Sciences uses a Composite Index (75% school average across 5 subjects, 25% NBT), not APS, and does not publish the cut-off scores. This figure comes from the Wits schools-liaison Grade 12 guide, which is headed for 2026 entry. We have not yet found a 2027 course-finder page confirming it, so treat it as the most recent official figure rather than a confirmed 2027 one.

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Are your marks enough?

Put your subjects in once and we’ll check them against every degree above – scored each university’s own way.

What do I qualify for?