Master's Programme in Health Sciences - specialisation in Psychomotor Physiotherapy Programme description

The programme was established under the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

Candidates who pass the programme will be awarded the degree Master of Health Sciences (Norwegian: Master i helsevitenskap) in accordance with Section 3 of the Regulations concerning Requirements for the Master's Degrees. A specialisation in one of the following 15 specialisations forms part of the master’s degree programme:

Specialisations for applicants with backgrounds in health or social care:

• Health Sciences
• Empowerment and Health Promotion
• Mental Health and Addiction
• Rehabilitation and Habilitation

Specialisations for applicants who are authorised health personnel in the specified professional fields:

• Nutrition for Health Personnel
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy for Children and Adolescents
• Physiotherapy for the Older Adult
• Physiotherapy for Musculoskeletal Health
• Psychomotor Physiotherapy
• Advanced Nursing Practice
• Public Health Nursing
• Cancer Nursing
• Nursing – Clinical Research and Professional Development

Specialisations for applicants from the professional field of nutrition:

• Public Health Nutrition

The specialisation will also be stated on the diploma alongside the name of the degree: Master of Health Sciences.

The master’s degree programme has a scope of 120 ECTS credits. Some of the specialisations are taken full-time over two years, while others are taken part-time over three or four years.

The programme comprises compulsory common courses, compulsory specialisation courses and elective courses, in addition to the master’s thesis. A more detailed overview of the programme’s structure for each specialisation is given under the section Content and structure.

According to the UN Agenda 2030, a prerequisite for achieving sustainable development is that everyone is able to live healthy lives. The Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences is primarily aimed at the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, Good Health and Well-being, while SDGs 4, 5 and 10 on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, and achieving gender equality and reducing inequality, are also relevant. The 17 SDGs must be seen as a whole, however, where each goal is seen in conjunction with the others. The purpose of the programme is therefore to educate candidates who are qualified to help to ensure good health and promote quality of life for everyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, education, sexuality and functional ability, while also attempting to address considerations relating to sustainability, including life-long learning.

The students taking the programme can choose a specialisation in health promotion, illness prevention, treatment, palliative care and (re)habilitation work. The programme teaches the students to handle professional problems at the individual, group and system level in close cooperation with other professions, patients, users, next of kin and other services. The candidates should also be able to contribute to safe, effective, holistic and integrated services with good use of resources, and to innovation, improvement work and systematic user involvement.

Relevance to working life

Possible fields of work and careers after completing the programme include:

• research and development in the health sciences
• teaching, development and advisory functions in the guidance, administration and dissemination of knowledge in the health professions
• clinical work that is based on specialised expertise
• health and social care management positions

Relevance to further education

Students taking the Master's Degree Programme in Health Sciences who choose to write a master’s thesis worth 50 ECTS credits can apply for admission to the research programme for health sciences while taking the master’s programme. This is taken in parallel to and as an extension of the master’s programme. The research programme develops researcher expertise over and above that provided during the master’s programme and results in a research work that can later form part of a PhD-level work.

Candidates with a Master's Degree in Health Sciences are qualified to apply for admission to PhD programmes, including the PhD Programme in Health Sciences at OsloMet.

Specialisations

The Master's Degree Programme in Health Sciences has a number of specialisations that candidates can choose. Applicants must choose and apply directly for the specialisation they wish to take when applying for the master’s programme. The specialisations are subject to different admission requirements. However, the students will take a significant part of the programme together with students from the other specialisations, partly through compulsory common courses and partly through elective courses across the specialisations. More information about this is found in the section Content and structure.

MAPFY: Psychomotor Physiotherapy

The Specialisation in Psychomotor Physiotherapy is based on an understanding of the body as both concrete and biomedical, as well as relational and communicative. Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy (NPMP) forms the core of the specialisation. In this approach of physiotherapy, physical problems and symptoms are assessed in relation to the overall muscle tensions and mobility in the body. The goal of the treatment is to give the patient new insights into themselves, their body and physical habits, and in this way help to make changes in the patient’s life that can lead to improvement. The specialisation forms part of the basis for the right to increase fees for psychomotor physiotherapy through the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (Helfo) (helsedirektoratetet.no). The specialisation includes practical training with access to patients who are going to receive psychomotor physiotherapy. The students will perform 200 patient treatments and 72 hours’ of group guidance in their practical training throughout the programme.

The Higher Education Entrance Qualification/prior learning and work experience.

Reference is made to the Regulations concerning Admission to Higher Education:

https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2005-04-01-15?q=forskrift_opptak_høyere_utdanning

Admission takes place directly to the chosen specialisation. The requirement for admission to the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences is a bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree within a specified field, with an average grade of at least C. However, an average grade of C does not guarantee admission. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of places on the programme, the applicants will be ranked according to the applicable ranking rules.

Admission to individual courses

For admission to individual courses, the admission requirements are described in the course description. The grade C requirement does not apply to admission to individual courses. More information about admission to individual courses can be found on the programme’s website.

Reference is made to the Regulations relating to Admission to Studies at OsloMet. The specialisations and individual courses will only be run if a sufficient number of qualified candidates apply.

Admission requirements for the Specialisation in Psychomotor Physiotherapy

A bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree in physiotherapy. Applicants must also hold Norwegian authorisation as a physiotherapist. Applicants with an internship license can also be admitted.

A maximum of one additional point is awarded for further education within psychomotor physiotherapy.

Applicants who accept an offer for a place on the programme must submit a transcript of police records.

After completing and passing the three-year bachelor’s degree programme in Applied Computer Technology, the candidate is expected to have achieved the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate

• is familiar with the principles of universal design of IT
• is familiar with programming techniques, especially for the presentation layer
• has insight into and an understanding of their own role as a technologist and the role of information technology in society
• is capable of updating their knowledge through studying literature, searching for information, having contact with professional environments and user groups, and through experience
• is familiar with relevant new ideas, techniques, methods and principles in the field that have emerged in national and international development and research

Skills

The candidate:

• is capable of planning, developing, testing and evaluating IT systems
• is capable of Java programming
• is capable of using selected programming tools and development environments
• is capable of communicating with and presenting solutions to clients
• is capable of conducting program, system and user tests
• is capable of complying with applicable standards and developing solutions accordingly
• masters the methods, tools and techniques necessary for working in a systematic and innovative manner
• is capable of identifying, analysing, planning and carrying out various information technology assignments and projects, both independently and as part of a team
• is capable of applying new ideas and new knowledge from development and research to solve theoretical, technical and practical information technology tasks
• is capable of seeking out specialist literature and critically assessing the quality of sources
• is capable of compiling reference lists in accordance with the applicable template

General competence

The candidate:

• has insight into the interaction between people, technology and enterprises
• is familiar with the effects of the use of IT systems on an enterprise and the working environment
• is capable of communicating and assessing the needs and requirements of different user groups in relation to technology and of making decisions on the choice of solutions adapted to different needs
• is capable of helping to ensure that, as far as possible, users with disabilities are able to use IT services without special adaptations
• is capable of communicating with and disseminating knowledge about information technology and its applications, importance and consequences to relevant groups
• has insight into and an understanding of the potential consequences of information technology for an organisation, society and the working environment
• has information literacy skills; knows why it is necessary to search for quality-assured sources of knowledge, why sources must be cited, and is familiar with what is defined as plagiarism and cheating in student work

The master’s programme is designed to be comprehensive, and the academic content and educational tools are interlinked, showing a clear context between learning outcome descriptions, learning activities and forms of assessment.

The Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences has three or four compulsory common courses, depending on the chosen specialisation. In addition to these, there are at least two compulsory specialisation courses for each specific specialisation, and a master’s thesis worth either 30 or 50 ECTS credits, depending on the specialisation. The students can also choose one or more elective courses depending on their chosen specialisation. This does not apply to the specialisations cancer nursing, public health nursing and nursing and mental health and addiction as they only have compulsory courses in their programme structures.

The courses in the programme description build to some extent on each other to ensure progress, with increasing requirements for knowledge and understanding within each specialisation. The courses are mainly taken over the course of the semester, with start-up at the start of the semester and examinations towards the end. The exceptions are certain compulsory specialisation courses that include external supervised practical training.

The academic year is 40 weeks long, and the expected workload for a full-time student is 40 hours per week. This includes scheduled activities, students’ own study activity and examinations. The course descriptions provide more details about learning outcomes, work methods, coursework requirements and examinations.

Content of compulsory common courses

The programme includes a compulsory common course MAVIT4100 Quality Improvement and Implementation of Evidence-based Practice, 10 ECTS credits. The purpose of this course is to enable students to actively contribute to promoting safe and high-quality health and care services. By health and care services is meant both public and approved private services, as well as health promoting work in the public and private sectors. . The course introduces students to the organisation and management of health and care services, and prepares for interprofessional quality improvement work. It also gives students experience of interprofessional quality improvement cooperation. Through the course, the students will learn about different quality improvement models and the interaction between user knowledge, experience-based knowledge and research-based knowledge in clinical decision-making processes.

There are also three common courses in the theory of science and research methods: MAVIT4050 Theory of Science and Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits, MAVIT4060 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits and MAVIT4070/MAPFY4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits. These courses aim to help the student to read, understand and critically assess research literature, to critically assess various sources of knowledge that form part of clinical decision-making processes, to acquire in-depth knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and lead up to the development of a project description for their master’s thesis.

In the first course, MAVIT4050, the students are introduced to theory of science and research methods and research ethics.

The second course, MAVIT4060, provides students with a deeper understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The third course, MAVIT4070/MAPFY4070, the students will work more thoroughly with their chosen method and develop a project description for their master’s thesis. This is to ensure that the students get to grips with work on their master’s thesis at an early stage.

Master’s thesis – 30 and 50 ECTS credits

The master’s thesis in the programme is worth 50 ECTS credits (MAVIT5900) or 30 ECTS credits (MAVIT5910/MAPFY5910), respectively. Whether the students are able to choose the scope of their master’s thesis depends on the specialisation they have been admitted to. Normally students will develop a project description as part of the course MAVIT4070/MAPFY4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits. The project description is developed with the support of the lecturer, who quality assures the project with respect to scope and degree of difficulty.

The same requirements apply to scientific and research-related work regardless of the length of the thesis. Students can choose to write the master’s thesis individually or in pairs. Students can also apply to write the master’s thesis with students from other specialisations, provided that the scope of the master’s thesis is the same. On application, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students. Students are encouraged to contact potential supervisors about possible project ideas.

Elective courses

In the course of the master’s programme, the students can choose one or more elective courses depending on their chosen specialisation. This does not apply to the specialisations cancer nursing, public health nursing and and mental health and addiction as they only have compulsory courses in their programme structures. Which elective courses that are available will vary. These elective courses cover a broad area of the health sciences. Students must apply for a place on elective courses no later than the semester before, subject to specific deadlines. More information about the elective courses can be found here. More information about the elective courses

There will be an upper limit for places on each elective course. Elective courses could be cancelled by the Faculty if enrolment is below the minimum of 20 students.

The following courses are elective for all students taking the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences:

MAFAR4100 Innovation within Healthcare, 10 ECTS credits.

MAVIT4600 Supervision / Counselling, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT4700 Food, Health and Sustainability, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT4800 Personalised Nutrition, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT4900 Quality of Life, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT5100 Health communication 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT5300 Knowledge Translation, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT5500 Adolescent Health, 10 ECTS credits.

MAVIT5600 Physical Activity and Exercise in a Life Course Perspective and with a Special Focus on Aging, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT5700 Pain – Multidimensional Assessment and Health Professional Interventions, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT5800 Introduction to Clinical Studies for Healthcare Personnel, 10 ECTS credits

MAPSY4400 Mental Health of Migrants and Minorities, 10 ECTS credits

MSLV4200 Collaboration and collaborative management, 10 ECTS credits

MAVIT4400 Clinical Neurophysiology, 10 ECTS credits

VSHSO6000 Sexual Abuse - Prevention, Detection and Follow up, 10 ECTS credits

VSHFS6000 The Impacts of Disability and Illness on Sexual Health, 10 ECTS credits

HETEK4300 Bacteriology and Antimicrobial Resistance, 10 ECTS credits

Students can also choose some compulsory specialisation courses from other specialisations as elective courses. This is on condition that the student meets the prerequisite requirements given in the relevant course description and that there is a place on the course. This applies to:

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences.

MAEMP4100 Public Health, Empowerment and Health Promotion, 10 ECTS credits

MAEMP4200 Health Pedagogy, 10 ECTS credits

MAHAB4100 Coping and Participation in the Rehabilitation Process, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as healthcare personnel.

MAERN4100 Energy and Nutrients, 10 ECTS credits

MERG4200 Complex Interventions in Work and Everyday Life, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and have 20 ECTS credits in nutrition

MAPHN4100 National and Global Nutrition Challenges, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as a general nurse.

MAKLI4200 Practical Ethics, 10 ECTS credits

MAKRE4100 Nursing and Treatment for Patients with Cancer, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as an occupational therapist.

MERG4100 The Knowledge Base for Occupation and Participation, 10 ECTS credits

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as a physiotherapist.

MABU4100 Physiotherapy for Children and Adolescents - Part 1, 10 ECTS credits

MAELD4100 Physiotherapy for Home-dwelling Older Adults, 10 ECTS credits

Study progress

The following progress requirements apply to the programme:

MAVIT4070/MAPFY4070 must be passed before the student can start working on the master's thesis.

All compulsory courses in the programme must be passed before the student can submit their master's thesis for assessment.

Some courses may have separate progress requirements; see the individual course descriptions.

See the course descriptions for MAPFY4100, MAPFY4200, MAPFY4300 and MAPFY4400 for a more detailed description of the content of the specialisation courses.

Information technology is an international subject area. Most of the course literature is in English, and most of the systems, work tools and development environments use English as their working language. Some of the teaching may be in English. The individual course descriptions will state the courses this concerns. The students will thereby gain experience and knowledge of both general and computer-related English.

The programme does not contain special courses with multicultural or general international perspectives. The students are a diverse group as regards their ethnic and cultural backgrounds, however. This means that the students will gain experience of cooperating across cultural and language barriers.

The programme is adapted for internationalisation in that the students can take courses abroad, mainly from the fourth semester. See https://student.oslomet.no/retningslinjer-sensorer

In addition, OsloMet collaborates with institutions in several European countries on an English-language course called European Project Semester (EPS). It is worth 30 credits and is mainly intended for incoming exchange students, but can also be relevant for OsloMet’s own third-year students in the sixth semester. Admission to the course is based on individual application.

Required coursework means compulsory assignments/activities that must be approved by a given deadline in order for students to be able to sit the exam. Coursework can be written work, project work, oral presentations, lab courses, compulsory attendance at lectures etc. Required coursework can be done individually or in groups.

The required coursework is intended to ensure the students’ progress and development and that they participate in necessary elements of the programme. Coursework requirements can also be set to ensure that students achieve a learning outcome that cannot be tested in an exam.

Previously approved coursework can be valid for two years after it is approved, provided that the course has not changed.

Required coursework is assessed as ‘approved’ or ‘not approved’.

The coursework requirements for each course are described in the course description. The number and type of coursework requirements, the rules for meeting the coursework requirements, deadlines and other details are set out in the course descriptions and teaching plans that are announced at the start of the semester.

Not approved coursework

Valid absence documented by, for example, a medical certificate does not exempt students from meeting the coursework requirements. Students who have valid grounds for absence, or who have submitted coursework that is not approved, should as far as possible be given a new chance to resubmit it before the exam. This must be agreed with the lecturer in question on a case-to-case basis. If another attempt at meeting a coursework requirement is not possible because of the nature of the subject/course, the student must be prepared to meet the coursework requirement on the next possible occasion. This can result in delayed progress in the programme.

The examination regulations are specified in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet. See OsloMet’s website www.oslomet.no

Oral and practical exams are assessed by two examiners, as these forms of exams cannot be appealed. Formal errors can nonetheless be appealed.

One overall grade is given for the portfolio. It is only possible to appeal the exam result for the portfolio assessment as a whole. Any information provided about weighting is only considered additional information in relation to the final grade. If parts of the portfolio contain elements such as an oral presentation, practical assignments etc., the exam result cannot be appealed. The rules concerning right of appeal are described in each individual course description.

Exams that are only assessed by internal examiners shall be regularly selected for external assessment.

Assessment

The grades pass/fail or a grade scale with grades from A to E for pass and F for fail are used for exam assessment.

Prerequisite knowledge and study progress

Prerequisite knowledge over and above the admission requirements is described in the course descriptions.

Even if no specific requirements for prior knowledge are defined, the students should take courses worth at least 50 credits each year to be able to complete the programme within the nominal length of study.

• From the first to the second year of the programme – courses worth 50 credits should be completed
• From the first and second years to the third year of the programme – courses worth 100 credits should be completed

Students must be registered in the third year of the programme and have completed at least 100 credits from the first and second years of the programme by 1 October before they can write their bachelor’s thesis.

Programme supervisor scheme

The programme supervisor scheme is part of the quality assurance of each individual study programme. A programme supervisor is not an examiner, but someone who supervises the quality of the study programmes. All study programmes at OsloMet shall be subject to supervision by a programme supervisor, but there are different ways of practising the scheme. Reference is made to the Guidelines for Appointment and Use of Examiners at OsloMet: https://student.oslomet.no/retningslinjer-sensorer

Rescheduled/resit exams

Students must register for resit/rescheduled exams themselves. Resit/rescheduled exams are normally organised together early in the following semester. Resit exams are for students who have taken the exam and failed. Rescheduled exams are for students who did not take the ordinary exam. The conditions for taking resit/rescheduled exams are set out in the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet.

Diploma

The final assessment for each course will be included on the diploma for the bachelor’s degree in Applied Computer Technology. The title of the bachelor’s thesis will also be included on the diploma.

The purpose of OsloMet’s quality assurance system is to strengthen students’ learning outcomes and development by raising the quality at all levels. OsloMet wishes to cooperate with the students, and their participation in quality assurance work is crucial. The overall goals for the quality assurance system include:

• ensuring that the educational activities, including practical training and the learning and study environment, maintain a high level of quality
• ensuring that the study programmes are relevant to the professional fields
• ensuring that the quality continues to improve

For the students, this entails, among other things, student evaluations:

• course evaluations
• annual student surveys for all of OsloMet

More information about the quality assurance system is available here: https://student.oslomet.no/regelverk#etablering-studium-evaluering-kvalitetssystem

Different forms of assessment are used on the programme that are adapted to the learning outcomes of the various courses. The forms of assessment used are intended to support learning and document the students’ level of competence in relation to the expected learning outcomes. All examinations taken that are part of the specialisation will appear on the diploma, as well as the title of the student’s master’s thesis. Students who take additional elective courses in excess of 120 credits get these on their transcript, and must choose which elective courses are to be included on the diploma. In general, the following forms of assessment are used in the programme:

Supervised individual examination

Taken at the university’s examination premises over a set number of hours.

Home examination

Taken over a set period of time at the end of the course, normally with a set question/assignment text unless otherwise stated in the course description.

Project examination

Taken over the whole or large parts of the course, normally with a topic decided by the students themselves unless otherwise stated in the course description.

Oral examination

Can take place individually or in groups. It can either be an independent form of assessment or used to adjust the grade awarded for another examination.

Practical examination

The assessment of specific practical skills either at the university or in the field of practice.

Assessment of practical training

Supervised practical training, assessed in accordance with the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

The assessment of examinations and practical training is carried out in accordance with the applicable rules set out in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet and the Guidelines for Appointment and Use of examiners at OsloMet. The forms of assessment and criteria are described in each course description.

Examinations

All courses conclude with an examination. The assessment is based on the learning outcomes for the course, and the degree to which the student has achieved the stipulated learning outcomes is assessed. In theoretical courses, the grades used are pass/fail or letter grades from A to F, with A being the highest grade and E the poorest pass grade. The grade F means that the student has failed the examination. The grades pass/fail are used for the assessment of practical training.

Resit and rescheduled examinations are carried out in the same manner as the ordinary examination unless otherwise specified in the course description. In special cases, resit and rescheduled examinations in courses with group examinations may be held as individual examinations.

For examinations where a percentage of the examination papers are selected for assessment by an external examiner, the external examiner's assessment should benefit all the students.

The grade awarded for a written examination can be appealed, cf. Section 11-10 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet. It is not possible to appeal the grades awarded for oral and practical examinations. In connection with group examinations, the result of an appeal will only have consequences for the candidate(s) who submitted the appeal. The other students will keep their original grade.

External programme supervisor

An external programme supervisor scheme is in place for the programme as required by the Guidelines for Appointment and Use of Examiners at OsloMet. The external supervisor will write an annual report on their work that will be included in the faculty’s area of the university’s quality assurance system.

Suitability assessment

The suitability assessment is a continuous overall assessment that takes place throughout the study programme. A student must be suitable for professional practice in order to receive diploma/certificate for the study programme.

If it appears that a student may pose a potential danger to the lives, physical and mental health, rights or safety of patients, clients and users during practical training or in future professional practice, it should be asked whether the student is suitable for the profession. University staff, personnel in practical training establishment, as well as students can submit a notification of doubt. The students concerned should be informed as soon as possible if such a notification of doubt has been sent. They should receive guidance and advice on how they can improve or be advised to withdraw from the programme.

https://student.oslomet.no/en/suitability-assessment

Suitability assessment is used in specialisation in Public Health Nursing, specialisation in Cancer Nursing and in Interdisciplinary Specialisation in Mental Health and Addiction.

Programme description considered by the Academic Affairs Committee at the Faculty of Health Sciences on 12 February 2020 and finally approved by the vice-dean on 13 March 2025.

Adopted by the University Board 9 september 2020

Faculty of Health Sciences

The programme description applies to students starting the programme in 2025