Bachelor of Professional Studies Physiotherapist

42 Months On Campus Bachelors Program

University College Absalon Campus Vordingborg

Program Overview

The Professional Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy at University College Absalon is a 3.5-year programme for students who want to understand the human body, movement and rehabilitation while learning how to make a real difference to people’s health and quality of life. The programme combines scientific knowledge with practical physiotherapy skills, preparing you to examine, treat and rehabilitate people across different ages and healthcare settings.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1:
The first year introduces you to the profession and helps you understand how the body moves and responds to physical activity. Through themes such as Physiotherapy, Profession, Science and Learning, Basic Physiotherapeutic Examination and Reasoning, and Physiotherapeutic Intervention with a Focus on Movement Analysis and Adapted Physical Activity, you develop a foundation in anatomy, physiology, movement analysis, communication and basic clinical reasoning.

Year 2:
In the second year, you move deeper into assessment, diagnosis and rehabilitation. You study areas including Basic Physiotherapeutic Examination, Reasoning and Diagnosis, Physiotherapeutic Examination and Clinical Reasoning, Diagnosis, Treatment and Retraining, and Clinical Reasoning and Decision-Making in Treatment, Retraining and Rehabilitation, while beginning more substantial clinical training with patients.

Year 3:
The third year prepares you to deal with more complex patients and take greater responsibility for clinical decisions. Key themes include Physiotherapy in Specialised Areas, covering areas such as psychiatry, psychosomatic conditions and critically or acutely ill patients; Organisation and Management, Health Promotion and Prevention in an Interprofessional Perspective; and Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Assurance in the Profession.

Final Semester:
The final semester centres on Professional Development and Project Work. You complete a 10-ECTS Elective Element that lets you explore an area of physiotherapy in greater depth, followed by a 20-ECTS Bachelor Project where you investigate a practice-based physiotherapy problem using scientific methods and evidence.

Focus areas: Musculoskeletal physiotherapy, pain science, movement science, anatomy, physiology, rehabilitation, clinical reasoning, health promotion and prevention, specialised physiotherapy, research methodology, professional communication and health technology.

Learning outcomes: By graduation, you will be able to assess movement and functional ability, use clinical tests and screening methods, make physiotherapy diagnoses, plan and evaluate treatment and rehabilitation, work with health technology, communicate professionally and collaborate across healthcare disciplines.

Professional alignment: The programme leads to a Professional Bachelor in Physiotherapy and is governed by Denmark’s national regulations for physiotherapy education. After graduating, you must apply for professional authorisation before practising as a physiotherapist in Denmark.

Reputation: Absalon is institutionally accredited and was the first Danish university college to receive positive institutional accreditation in both the first accreditation round in 2015 and the second round in 2021. Its quality system continuously monitors the academic quality and relevance of its programmes.

Official programme link:
University College Absalon – Physiotherapy

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

Practical learning is a major part of Physiotherapy at Absalon, so you are regularly encouraged to turn theory into real clinical skills. You practise examination, movement, treatment and communication during teaching and then apply these skills with different patient groups during supervised clinical placements. Across the degree, clinical education accounts for 42 ECTS, and Absalon guarantees students a placement for each required clinical period.

The programme gives you practical experience through:

28 weeks of placements: You complete approximately 28 weeks of clinical placement across four periods, working in settings such as hospitals, municipal healthcare and private physiotherapy practices.
Guaranteed placements: Absalon guarantees the required placement opportunities throughout the degree, allowing you to work with different patient groups and clinical situations before graduation.
Hands-on physiotherapy teaching: The programme uses practical teaching where movement, exercise, touch and hands-on physiotherapy techniques form an important part of learning.
Simulation: Simulation is one of the official teaching approaches used across Absalon, allowing students to practise professional situations in a controlled environment before dealing with comparable situations in clinical practice.
New Næstved simulation facilities: From September 2026, Physiotherapy students at Campus Næstved study in a new campus environment with simulation rooms, modern teaching spaces and new specialist facilities alongside students from six healthcare programmes.
Laboratories and health facilities: Campus Næstved provides modern laboratories, health-science classrooms, a hospital-room environment and a fitness room, supporting both practical and healthcare-focused learning.
Training facilities at Roskilde: Campus Roskilde provides sports halls and training areas, giving physiotherapy students suitable spaces for practical movement and exercise-based activities.
Group and project work: Absalon uses group work, case-based learning, project work, practical exercises and experiments, helping students solve problems collaboratively rather than relying only on lectures.
Digital and health technology: Technology is integrated into the programme, including tools used to examine, monitor and support movement and physical function. Students also study information technology and health informatics and may contribute to projects developing healthcare and welfare technologies with professional practice and companies.
Innovation projects: Students can take part in innovation and development activities connected to healthcare practice, with Absalon specifically linking welfare-technology projects to collaboration with professional practice and companies.
Study visits: The official curriculum includes study visits among its teaching methods, giving students opportunities to experience professional environments beyond normal classroom teaching.
Research and evidence: Students develop skills in research methodology, evidence-based practice, statistics and quality assurance, culminating in an independent Bachelor Project based on a professional physiotherapy problem.
Library and digital resources: Both campuses provide library support. Students can access electronic journals and databases, borrow technological equipment and receive guidance in literature and information searching for assignments and research.

Absalon does not currently name a specific commercial physiotherapy software package on the programme page, so none has been added here.

Facilities:
Campus Næstved Facilities
Campus Roskilde Facilities

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduating from Absalon gives you a broad professional foundation that can lead into hospitals, rehabilitation, private practice, community healthcare, sport and health promotion. Depending on your interests, you could build your career as a Physiotherapist, Rehabilitation Physiotherapist, Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist or Sports Physiotherapist, with further specialisation possible after gaining professional experience.

Career and professional opportunities include:

Hospital careers: Physiotherapists can work with both patients who have acute conditions and people undergoing rehabilitation after losing physical function.
Private practice: Graduates can work with acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions while also supporting prevention and health-promotion programmes.
Community and rehabilitation roles: Career options include health centres, training centres, municipalities, institutions for children and older people, workplace health services and other community settings.
Sports and private-sector opportunities: Absalon specifically highlights careers in sports organisations, sports clinics, private companies and consultancy/self-employment.
Strong connection with employers through placements: Clinical placements take place across hospitals, municipal healthcare and private practices, allowing students to build professional experience and contacts before they graduate.
Professional authorisation: After completing the degree, graduates apply for Danish professional authorisation. This gives the qualification long-term professional value for practising within Denmark’s regulated healthcare system.
International opportunities: Absalon states that qualified physiotherapists also have good opportunities to work abroad, although graduates must meet the professional registration requirements of the country where they wish to practise.
Research and development skills: Graduates are trained to contribute to research, innovation, quality improvement and evidence-based physiotherapy rather than only delivering established treatments.
Employment statistics and salary: Absalon’s current official Physiotherapy pages do not publish a programme-specific graduate employment percentage or starting salary, so no unofficial figure has been added.
Graduation outcome: The programme prepares graduates to independently plan, deliver and coordinate patient-centred, evidence-based physiotherapy aimed at improving or restoring physical function, health and quality of life.

Further Academic Progression:
After graduating, you can continue into diploma, master’s or university candidate/master’s-level study. Absalon highlights popular progression routes for physiotherapists including a Master’s/Candidate Degree in Physiotherapy, Health Sciences, and Clinical Science and Technology, while diploma programmes become available after relevant professional experience; these routes can eventually lead into research and PhD-level study.

Official programme link:
University College Absalon – Physiotherapy