Physiotherapy bachelor degree programme

Four people can be seen in a brightly lit physiotherapy practice room at IMC Krems. A woman is lying on a blue couch while a man bends one of her legs and talks. Two other people are sitting at the head of the couch watching - one of them with a notepad in her hand to take notes.

Would you like to help improve people’s quality of life? Our Physiotherapy bachelor programme provides you with the tools you need.

Physiotherapy is a growing profession – especially in industrialised countries, due to the increasing rate of chronic conditions affecting the cardiovascular system, metabolism and the biliary system, for example. In this three-year, German-language programme, you will acquire the knowledge and skills you need to work as a physiotherapy professional.

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Health Studies

Organisational form

full-time / 6 semesters / 180 ECTS

Language

German

Study fee

363.36 EUR

Important dates

Date end
15.03.2025

15.03.2025
Info for non-EU nationals

Videos

The degree programme

You’ll soon come to appreciate what a wide-ranging profession physiotherapy is. During your degree you’ll learn about many different clinical fields, with a special focus on internal medicine, neurology, trauma surgery and orthopaedics.

THE PHYSIOTHERAPY PROFESSION

Physiotherapists deal with improvement and maintenance of as well as restoration after functional disorders of the human body. They are responsible for examination and physiotherapeutic diagnosis and derive therapeutic measures for the musculoskeletal system.

By optimising physical functions, physiotherapists provide personalised treatment designed to bring about long-term improvements in people’s mobility, degree of independence and quality of life.

REAL-WORLD FOCUS

In the early stages of your programme, you'll alternate between lectures and practical training in our Health Labs, ensuring a practical approach from the very beginning.

From the fourth semester onwards, you will apply the knowledge and skills you've gained through placements with various internship hosts.

SPECIALISATIONS

You will dedicate the 5th and 6th semesters to special groups of people, (gender-specific) health promotion, sports for the disabled and research in physiotherapy. By choosing elective subjects in your final study year, you have the opportunity to shape your studies according to your own ideas.

AFTER YOUR STUDIES

The programme will equip you for high-grade physiotherapy positions in the Austrian system or to work as an independent practitioner.

Important: This is a German-speaking programme — please refer to our German site for all the details!

To provide successful therapy you need to be able to build up a complete picture of the patient’s situation. You’ll work towards this with our help. Our case studies, which simulate treatment situations and develop your skills in a controlled environment, are an extremely valuable part of this.
Andreas Lichtenwörther
Studiengangsleitung

Curriculum

A formula for success: theoretical knowledge + practical experience

The programme is built on three pillars.

Semesters 1–3

The basics

You will acquire the theoretical foundations required for your practice placements, which take place later in the programme.

Our primary aim is to tie together the contents of the various courses you take. This means that from the very beginning you’ll learn how to adopt a holistic approach to physiotherapy diagnosis – a skill that will enable you to provide your patients with personalised treatment.

A special feature of the study programme at IMC Krems is the analysis of the so-called red flag screening. Here you will learn how to recognise warning signs in physiotherapy that indicate serious medical conditions and how to react appropriately using a flag system.

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Semesters 4–6

Practical experience

In semester 4 you can apply what you’ve learned – at established practice placement providers in Austria and abroad.

During your placements you’ll gain experience in various specialist areas, such as internal medicine, neurology, trauma surgery and sports medicine, and orthopaedics. During the internship, the focus is on the care and treatment of patients in need of intensive care.

We provide you with support before and during your practice placements: we help you to select the healthcare institutions where you want gain experience and offer you special coaching sessions. During your placements you’ll attend accompanying seminars where you will complete patient records which you then discuss with your lecturers.

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Semesters 5 & 6

Advanced courses

At the end of the programme, you’ll study familiar topics in more depth and choose specialisms.

In the field of health promotion, you choose either corporate health care or gender-specific health promotion in the 5th semester, where you deal with topics such as postnatal regression, training of the pelvic floor or activity-based training after childbirth.

In the 6th semester, you also have a choice: either you dive deeper into the topic of sports for the disabled or deal in depth with research or practice guidance in physiotherapy.

There is also a major focus on interdisciplinary teamwork involving other areas of health science such as occupational therapy, nursing and midwifery, as well as doctors in training.

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What can you expect from your studies?

The curriculum provides an overview. Click on the individual courses for further information.

Course	SWS	ECTS
Anatomie I
Anatomie - Übungen	3	3
Anatomie und Physiologie I	1	3

Funktionsstörungen des menschlichen Körpers I
Klinische Orthopädie I und Unfallchirurgie	2	2

Der Physiotherapeutische Prozess I
Allgemeine Behandlungstechniken	3	3
Befundung und Dokumentation	3.5	4

Intra- und Interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit im Bereich der Physiotherapie I
Physiotherapie im Gesundheitswesen	1	1

Angewandte Human- und Sozialwissenschaften I
Psychosoziale Aspekte in der Physiotherapie I	1	1

Physiotherapeutische Methoden I
Methodik und Didaktik in der Physiotherapie I	2	2
Elektrotherapie I	1	1
Allgemeine Massagetechniken	2	2

Biomedizinische Grundlagen I
Hygiene	1	1
Bewegungslehre und Biomechanik	2	3
Allgemeine Einführung Anatomie und Embryologie	1	2
Clinical Reasoning I und Schmerzwissenschaften	1	1
Pathologie	1	1

Course	SWS	ECTS
Angewandte Human- und Sozialwissenschaften II
Psychosoziale Aspekte in der Physiotherapie II	1	1

Der Physiotherapeutische Prozess II
PT Unfallchirurgie und Allgemeine Chirurgie	3	3
Clinical Reasoning II und Neuro-muskuloskelettale-Physiotherapie	6	6
PT Innere Medizin I und Intensivmedizin	2	2

Funktionsstörungen des menschlichen Körpers II
Klinische Orthopädie II und Chirurgie	2	2
Klinische Sportmedizin und Neurologie I	1	1
Klinische Innere Medizin I und Intensivmedizin	1	1

Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten I
Proseminar für wissenschaftliches Arbeiten	2	2
Quantitative Forschungsmethoden I	1	2

Physiotherapeutische Methoden II
Elektrotherapie II	1	1
Komplementärmedizinische Methoden	1	1
Methodik und Didaktik in der Physiotherapie II	1	1
Spezielle Behandlungstechniken I	3	3

Biomedizinische Grundlagen II
Anatomie und Physiologie II	2	2
Trainingswissenschaften	2	2

Course	SWS	ECTS
Der Physiotherapeutische Prozess III
PT Innere Medizin II	2	2
Sportphysiotherapie	2	2

Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten II
Medical Journal Club	1	1
Quantitative Forschungsmethoden II und Qualitative Forschungsmethoden	2	2

Funktionsstörungen des menschlichen Körpers III
Klinische Neurologie II und Innere Medizin II	2	2

Angewandte Human- und Sozialwissenschaften III
Psychosoziale Aspekte in der Physiotherapie III	1	1

Biomedizinische Grundlagen III
Anatomie und Physiologie III	2	4
Clinical Reasoning III und Red Flag Screening	1	1

Physiotherapeutische Methoden III
Spezielle Massagetechniken	4	5
Spezielle Behandlungstechniken II	2	2
Neurorehabilitation	6	6
Methodik und Didaktik in der Physiotherapie III	2	2

Course	SWS	ECTS
Berufspraktikum I (700 Nettostunden)
Berufspraktikum I (700 Nettostunden)	0	28
Praktikumsbegleitendes Seminar - Berufspraktikum I	2	2

Course	SWS	ECTS
Der Physiotherapeutische Prozess IV
PT Psychiatrie	1	1
PT Geriatrie und Urogynäkologie	3	3
PT Pädiatrie und Neurologie Vertiefung	4	4
PT Innere Medizin III und Rheumatologie	2	2
Fallstudien I	1	1

Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten III
Bachelorseminar I	1	4

Berufspraktikum II (200 Nettostunden)
Berufspraktikum II (200 Nettostunden)	0	8
Praktikusmbegleitendes Seminar - Berufspraktikum II	1	1

Angewandte Human- und Sozialwissenschaften IV
Psychosoziale Aspekte in der Physiotherapie IV	1	1

Physiotherapeutische Methoden IV
Wahlfach A: Gesundheitsförderung*	1	1
Wahlfach B: Genderspezifische Gesundheitsförderung*	1	1
Methodik und Didaktik für Behindertenwintersport	2	2

Funktionsstörungen des menschlichen Körpers IV
Klinische Geriatrie und Psychiatrie	1	1
Klinische Gynäkologie und Pädiatrie	1	1

Course	SWS	ECTS
Physiotherapeutische Methoden V
Wahlfach E: Behindertensport*	3	2
Wahlfach D: Praxisanleitung in der Physiotherapie*	3	2
Wahlfach C: Forschung in der Physiotherapie*	3	2

Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten IV
Bachelorprüfung	0	3
Bachelorseminar II und Bachelorarbeit	1	7

Der Physiotherapeutische Prozess V
Fallstudien II	2	2

Berufspraktikum III (275 Nettostunden)
Berufspraktikum III (275 Nettostunden)	0	11
Praktikumsbegleitendes Seminar - Berufspraktikum III	1	1

Intra- und Interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit im Bereich der Physiotherapie II
Rechtswissenschaften im Gesundheitswesen	1	1
Interdisziplinäre Fallarbeit	1	1
Betriebswirtschaftliche Grundlagen der Freiberuflichkeit	1.5	2