Kia Ora
Welcome
to the web site for the School of Physiotherapy at the University of
Otago, the original 'National School of Physiotherapy' for New
Zealand; the School was originally established in 1913, making it
one of the oldest physiotherapy schools in the world.
Our website has been designed to provide visitors with the most complete information possible on our School: our staff, our academic programmes, our research activities, and our clinical facilities.
The Otago School of Physiotherapy is based at the University’s main campus at Dunedin, but we also have clinics and centres in Wellington and in Christchurch, and our final year physiotherapy students undertake clinical placement throughout New Zealand. The School is committed to excellence in learning and teaching, and in research, and provides a unique combination of experience and resources for prospective students who wish to pursue a career within the field of physiotherapy, or for those interested in pursuing research and postgraduate study in rehabilitation.
The University has enjoyed a longstanding reputation for innovation and excellence in physiotherapy education: the four year full-time Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty) course offered by the School was the first degree course of its kind in New Zealand, and is accredited by the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand.
At the postgraduate level, the School offers a variety of opportunities for part- or full-time study for physiotherapists (national and international) and other suitably-qualified candidates, including options to study for endorsed ‘advanced practice’ masters (Master of Physiotherapy; MPhty). The delivery of all our papers is designed to facilitate attendance by clinical therapists on a part-time basis, or alternatively via distance learning, and a number of our taught papers are also available as short courses for physiotherapists, including acupuncture, neurorehabilitation, manipulative therapy, and sports physiotherapy. Enrolments on our postgraduate papers have continued to increase significantly over the last several years.
We are proud of all of our students, past and present, and in the contribution they have made, and continue to make, to healthcare in New Zealand and further afield. We are particularly proud of our distinguished alumni (including Robin McKenzie, Brian Mulligan, Stanley Paris, and Joan Walker) who have each made outstanding contributions to the development of the profession of physiotherapy.
Research and knowledge transfer are integral parts of the School's activities, and these areas have developed rapidly over the last five years. The School’s external research funding has more than trebled, and we currently have active research programmes, managed through our dedicated ‘Centre for Physiotherapy Research’, and supported by an International Advisory Board of internationally recognised research collaborators. Supervision for postgraduate research studies (including PhD) is available within the areas of research expertise represented by staff within the School. This is a rapidly developing area of activity: there currently over 20 PhD students at the School, and current research projects include: low back pain, neurorehabilitation, rehabilitation of Multiple Sclerosis, clinical effects of electrophysical agents.
Please take the time to learn more about our School, our course programmes, and our research activities: we hope you will find the website useful and informative.
Professor David Baxter, Dean
