Overview - HLT

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The QUT Faculty of Health aims to make significant contributions to the improvement of human health and wellbeing and the development of Australia's healthcare policy and services through our teaching, research and service activities.

The Faculty of Health is at the forefront of educating professionals in a range of allied health areas.

The Faculty of Health has a strong research focus and is actively engaged in continuing education and community service. The Faculty has more than 5000 students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programs which are delivered through six discipline-based areas: Human Movement Studies, Nursing, Optometry, Psychology and Counselling, Public Health, and Social Work and Human Services.

Human Movement Studies offers programs that respond to the increasing community awareness of health, exercise, wellbeing, and fitness. A degree in Human Movement Studies equips graduates with the knowledge and skills for an active career in physical education, health education, rehabilitation, weight management, or exercise and sports science. Students apply their knowledge in supervised placements either off-campus or in the purpose-built clinical facility on campus.

QUT's School of Nursing is Queensland's oldest provider of nursing education. Always at the cutting-edge of its field, the School offers the latest in clinical facilities and equipment, and a wide range of local, rural, and overseas opportunities for practical placements. Nursing graduates go on to work in a range of areas, including and beyond the traditional hospital ward. The School offers undergraduate programs in nursing, and nursing and midwifery as well as specialised postgraduate coursework and research programs.

Queensland's only Optometry training facility is located at QUT. The optometry degree prepares graduates for entry into the professional workforce and for Australia-wide registration. Students apply their knowledge through supervised clinical practice both in the School's purpose-built public optometry clinic and in community healthcare settings. A Graduate Certificate in Ocular Therapeutics is available. Postgraduate research programs are offered at Masters and PhD level.

Psychology and Counselling is located on QUT's spacious bushland campus at Carseldine. The School offers excellent teaching, technology and research facilities for its undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Programs provide students with the opportunity to gain practical qualifications that are well regarded in the community. The Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology) is a three-year degree program that prepares graduates for further studies in psychology and for employment in a number of fields. Graduates aiming for professional registration may seek admission to a fourth year of study in either the Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours Psychology) or the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology. Double degree programs are also available with Business and Law, providing students with a dual focus and extended employment opportunities. The School's postgraduate offerings include masters in counselling, clinical psychology and educational and developmental psychology, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. Postgraduate students have the opportunity to practice in the Psychology Clinic and a Family Therapy and Counselling Clinic. Research programs are available at Masters and PhD level. A graduate certificate and graduate diploma in road safety is also available for those seeking qualifications in this specialist area.

Public Health is the most diverse of the Faculty's schools, offering undergraduate majors in podiatry, nutrition and dietetics, health information management, health services management, paramedic and public health. A range of articulated postgraduate programs is also offered in a number of specialised fields such as environmental health, health promotion, occupational health and safety, risk management, health services management, public health and health science.

Staff in the Faculty of Health maintain excellent ties with the health industry and work closely with national and international health and welfare organisations. These industry linkages ensure that the Faculty's programs deliver relevant skills and respond rapidly to emerging needs in health education in an era of advancing health technology.

A suite of Social Work and Human Services courses is available for those seeking employment in service and organisational settings including health and disability agencies, aged services, income support, child protection, juvenile justice, community programs, youth services, corrections, family support, counselling, international aid and development and social policy. The Human Services course is also offered as a double degree with Arts, Justice and Creative Industries to broaden career opportunities for graduates. Postgraduate programs in Human Services include a Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and a Masters degree. Research programs are also available.

The Faculty of Health is headquartered at QUT's Kelvin Grove campus. At Kelvin Grove campus, three purpose-built complexes house state-of-the-art facilities including:

• teaching clinics for podiatry, optometry and human movement studies (children's activity and weight management programs, balance and gait assessment, health and fitness appraisals, and exercise prescriptions)
• a nursing clinical practice unit with operational hospital rooms and a clinical suite
• human movement laboratories for biomechanics, exercise physiology, motor control, and functional anatomy
• student computer laboratories with the latest in general and health-related software
• multimedia lecture theatres and tutorial rooms
• fully equipped research laboratories.

At the Caboolture campus a new nursing centre opens in 2008 to provide clinical practice facilities for nursing students studying at this campus.