BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy

Core units

• Science for Physiotherapy Practice: You'll establish core knowledge of human and behavioural sciences needed for therapeutic practice.
• Communication for Physiotherapy Practice: This unit aims to establish foundation communication skills which are at the heart of everything as a Physiotherapist. 
• Foundations for Professional Practice and Research: This unit will set a foundation of professionalism required for working as a life-long, professional learner. In addition foundation research skills will be developed to facilitate the retrieval and interpretation of information.
• Physiotherapy Management of the Inpatient: The aim of this unit is to prepare you to work within the inpatient setting. This unit covers assessment processes and basic management approaches including working with elderly patients and in respiratory and orthopaedic environments.
• Exercise, Movement and Rehabilitation: Here you’ll develop knowledge of normal human movement, biomechanics and movement analysis. This knowledge will be applied to the use of exercise therapy across a variety of rehabilitation areas.
• Physiotherapy Portfolio 1: These practice placements cover Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and the use of critical reflective practice.

Core units

• Research for Professional Practice: This unit aims to raise your awareness of a range of evidence and you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how different forms of evidence can guide practice.
• Acute Rehabilitation: In this unit you will acquire the skills necessary for the management of patients in the acute setting. This includes formulating respiratory and neurology management plans and using appropriate physiotherapy skills.
• Community Rehabilitation: In this unit you will learn to manage patients within the community setting with a variety of problems; including cardiorespiratory, neurological and long term conditions. A problem-solving approach will help you investigate the implications for patients and the required holistic approach to their conditions.
• Outpatient Rehabilitation: The aim of this unit is to develop your reasoning skills of neuromusculoskeletal assessment and management. It will build on the knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics, physiology and pathology. It will provide you with the skills to deliver safe and effective neuromusculoskeletal treatments.
• Physiotherapy Portfolio 2 and 3: These units contain your two placements where your practice skills are developed. The unit also progresses your use of critical reflection to develop important lifelong learning skills.

Core units

• Team Working for Service Improvement: The purpose of this unit is to provide you with the opportunity to undertake interprofessional project work and develop your skills in team working. Collaborative working is considered an essential skill in physiotherapy practice.
• Progressing Physiotherapy Practice: The aim of this unit is for you to revise, build upon and integrate physiotherapy knowledge and skills in order to manage complex case scenarios in a variety of settings.
• Research for Physiotherapy Practice: This unit develops understanding of the research process and ability to undertake a critical literature review. The format of this unit will primarily be through independent study in which you will have the opportunity to undertake an in-depth study of a professional practice topic of your choice.
• Innovations for Physiotherapy Practice: In this unit you will explore the complexity of physiotherapy practice and develop your use of evidence informed practice and leadership skills. Innovative examples of physiotherapy practice will be explored and applied to UK and international practice.
• Physiotherapy Portfolio 4 and 5: These practical units aim to facilitate your progression towards qualifying as a confident and proficient professional, capable of high-quality, autonomous practice within the interprofessional provision of care.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

With practical learning being integral to your degree, we provide practice simulation facilities, including a rehabilitation suite, to mirror both clinical and community workplace settings and provide a safe environment.

We’re continuing to enhance our state-of-the-art facilities too – with a £48 million building which opened in 2020, that houses our Health & Social Care courses.

Visit our facilities page to find out more – you can also take a 360° tour to get a feel for where you’ll be studying while you’re based on our Lansdowne Campus.

Over your three years on the physiotherapy course, you will undertake five practice learning placements, each is six weeks long. The first practice learning placement is at the end of your first year of study. There are two practice learning placements in your second and third year. 

During your five placements you will experience the diversity of physiotherapy such as working in a hospital, the community, an outpatient setting, and new and exciting placement areas such as research and leadership. The skills gained through each practice learning experience are transferable across practice areas and help you develop as a physiotherapist. 

In the first year you will experience your first six-week clinical placement. There are two six-week placements in the second year and two six-week placements in the third year to ensure you gain a minimum of 1,000 hours practice experience.

You'll be supported by practice placement educator (PPE) during your practice placements.

While on placement you normally work the hours and schedule of your practice educator. Some placement areas have evening hours and some areas work on the weekends. The hours you work will be discussed with your practice educator on placement. 

This course contains a significant amount of placement experience, with this often being undertaken in outlying areas rather than solely in towns/cities. You need to consider this when making your application and be clear about what you will be undertaking.

Our geographical footprint for placement is vast – covering Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and sometimes into neighbouring counties. This ensures we are able to provide you with a wealth of clinical experience across a variety of areas of the healthcare service, including opportunities to experience placements in both urban and rural communities.

There is an expectation that all students will have to travel across large areas including some of a more rural nature to reach their placements, and some travel may be outside normal working hours due to the nature of shift work. You must ensure that you have means to travel to your placement location and you may need to use short-term accommodation options in order to participate in your placement.

To help you with this, the NHS learning support fund may be able to support eligible UK students with placement travel expenses and dual accommodation costs.

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

We would normally expect you to have some paid or voluntary experience or shadowing Physiotherapists (PT’s) or clear insight in the field of work being applied for. The longer and more varied that experience, the better. Examples of the sort of experience that candidates often have in a variety of environments such as:

• Hospital wards, physiotherapy departments, community settings, domiciliary care, schools or private practices.

If you’re struggling to achieve the above, we can also consider experience in the following areas:

• A healthcare environment such as nursing home, elderly care home, special needs school, working as a healthcare assistant, supporting individuals with disabilities or supporting vulnerable people in the community.

We may also be able to consider observations such as:

• Your experience when receiving treatment from a PT (or where a relative has).
• Watching documentaries with relation to Physiotherapy and Allied Health Professionals.

We want you to learn from your work experience, so it doesn’t matter how long it was. Use your UCAS application to reflect on your experience:

• What you learnt about the role of the PT from the experience you’ve gained.
• The attributes you identified in PTs.
• How the PT gets patients to follow exercise plans.
• Your understanding of the diversity of the role.

We'll use this information to shortlist applicants so this information must be evidenced clearly on your UCAS application form in the employment history section and in your personal statement. 

Occupational Health (OH) Checks

This course is physically and mentally demanding and you will  need to be mentally and physically able to undertake your chosen course. Places are offered subject to passing an OH check, and this will be carried out by the Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.

Health conditions need to be dealt with on an individual basis e.g. deafness, blindness, eczema (or other dermatological allergic reactions) on exposed areas, epilepsy, back problems, or mental health conditions, eating disorders and other disabilities.

These do not automatically exclude you but please ensure that you fully disclose your condition  to OH. The University can then consider the recommendations made by OH and whether reasonable adjustments can be made to support you on your chosen course. If you require more guidance please contact us for more information.

You will be required to provide a record of your immunity status or be vaccinated or have the required blood tests. You may need to ask your GP or current OH department or find your childhood vaccination record for details of your past immunisation records. You should be aware that there may be charges made (for which you will be liable) relating to your gaining the appropriate immunity required prior to starting your training programme.

Refusing Immunisations

The University has an expectation that all students will comply with the vaccination programme as it is Public Health England requirement for health care workers to have certain immunisations. This ensures that you will be able to undertake the wide range of training placements that your course will require and aims to keep you, as well as the people in your care as safe as possible. Please note that at this time Covid-19 vaccinations are not a mandatory requirement for healthcare workers and so are therefore not a mandatory requirement for healthcare students either. Occasionally some vaccinations are contraindicated in certain medical conditions. Occupational Health (OH) will advise the University in these cases. The University will consider students on an individual basis. Refusal to have immunisations may result in the student not being allowed to attend practice placement and being withdrawn from the course. There is no opportunity to appeal against the requirements of the immunisation policy.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check (previously known as CRB)

All successful applicants will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barred List check; this will be a condition of offer and will need to be completed prior to commencing the course. Please see the Government website for the most up to date information.

Background and experience

Students on this course will typically have an enthusiasm for and insight into the role of a Physiotherapist. Ideally applicants would have some experience shadowing Physiotherapists (PT’s). This could be in a variety of environments such as hospital wards, physiotherapy departments, community settings, domiciliary care, schools or private practices.

We want you to learn from your work experience, so it doesn’t matter how long it was. Use your UCAS application to tell us what you learnt about the role of the PT, their attributes, how the PT gets patients to follow exercise plans, your understanding of the diversity of the job.

If you’re struggling to achieve the above, we also consider experience in a healthcare environment e.g. nursing home, elderly care home, HCA, special needs school, voluntary work as a support worker with individuals with disabilities, as well as conversations with physiotherpists to better understand the profession. 

If you do not have any relevant experience, you will be required to demonstrate that you have a clear insight into the nature of the profession that you will be training to enter.

For Physiotherapy, we are looking for applicants who:

• Have an interest in Physiotherapy as well as the motivation and commitment to undertake the course
• Have insight into the role of a Physiotherapist in the health & social care setting from independent research of the profession or relevant work experience
• Have an appreciation of the diversity of the profession
• Are caring, empathetic and friendly
• Can work in a team
• Have developed independent learning and study skills.

Physiotherapists work with people all the time and must therefore have excellent communication skills to be able to interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds in different situations.

Good written communication skills are very important for completing course work, creating patient records, sharing information with other professionals and developing an on-going record of professional development. You should be able to be comprehensive yet succinct, use correct grammar and present work neatly.

Our courses are built around the NHS’ constitution values, and when assessing your application we will take these values into consideration:

• Working together for patients
• Respect and dignity
• Commitment to quality of care
• Compassion
• Improving lives
• Everyone counts.

Find out more about the NHS Constitution principles.

In the healthcare sector, IT is now a vital tool for accessing and maintaining patient records, accessing literature to client care and conducting clinically-related research. As a student you will receive an introduction to IT near the beginning of your course and you will be provided with computer access and your own email address.

During the course you will be expected to use your developing IT skills to produce assignments, to conduct literature searches, and to use client-related record systems in the clinical setting. Following instruction some of your study will be undertaken through web-based learning tools, for example by participating in online discussions.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU.
 
For our health and social care courses our admissions team use the DRIVE criteria to assess your application and evidence of this must be show in your personal statement. You can also find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

Additional reference

In addition to the reference on your UCAS form, once we’ve received your application we may contact you to ask for a second reference; depending on the course you’ve applied for, this may be an academic reference, or from an employer or person who knows you in a professional capacity.

Interview

Interviews are part of our selection process and you must be able to demonstrate at interview that you show the necessary insight into physiotherapy, as well as the motivation and commitment to become a physiotherapist.

What to expect at interview 

Your interview will take place online, on a free online video communication platform.

A member of the Admissions Team will email you with joining instructions and information about what to expect at interview.

Your individual interview is where you will have the opportunity to tell us a little more about yourself and why you would be a great candidate for the course. You will be scored using a common template and offers will be made based on these scores.

If you are invited to interview, you will also be able to access online on-demand information presentations, course talks, virtual campus tours and more which you can watch before your interview. 

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

If you are unable to meet the entry requirements, we may be able to make you an offer through AccessBU if you meet certain criteria e.g. you have been in care or live in an area where fewer people typically progress to Higher Education. If you don't meet our published tariff, we will accept you at least 8 points below if your personal circumstances match our AccessBU criteria. 

On graduating, you can feel confident to apply for jobs in the NHS or the private sector, or may choose to move into education rather than practice. Among the roles you can apply for are:

• Basic grade – band 5
• Specialisation – band 6
• Specialist practitioner – band 7
• Consultant therapist – band 8
• Lecturer – practitioner.

On successful graduation, you can apply to become a registered physiotherapist with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and you can become a professional member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). These accreditations can be vital when it comes to securing work as a physiotherapist overseas.

Industries worked in

• Healthcare
• Sport
• Education
• Therapy.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity.
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and/or fieldwork and non-financial support whilst on placement.
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills.
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.
• Professional body accreditation of the course.
• Occupational Health Services and checks are included but you will be charged if you do not attend Occupational Health appointments without giving appropriate notice. You are also responsible for travel costs to Occupational Health appointments.
• We will provide you with one standard set of uniform. Additional uniform items must be ordered by students, and this will incur an additional cost. Students will need to purchase their own appropriate footwear.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• You will need to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check as a condition of enrolment, including any Post Office verification charges. 
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
• Travel costs to and from the university campus, and to Occupational Health appointments. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Your placement could be in Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and/or Hampshire and the surrouding areas. You must pay for any secondary accommodation and travel costs (including car parking charges and car insurance). Eligible UK students may claim reimbursement towards travel and accommodation costs from the NHS. Please visit the NHS Business Services Authority website for more information. International students will need to cover these costs in addition to their course fee. 
• You may be able to claim NHS reimbursement for placement travel and secondary accommodation. Visit the NHS Business Services Authority website for details
• There may be an additional charge for replacement uniforms.
• SportBU membership.
• You may need to pay for immunisations if they are not covered by your GP, and you will be charged for missed immunisation appointments.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

UK Physiotherapy students may be eligible for a government training grant of at least £5,000 a year, which you will not need to pay back. The funding will be given to all new and continuing degree-level nursing, midwifery and many allied health students.

Further funding is also available for eligible students, including:

• Parental Support allowance of £1,000, on top of the £1,000 already on offer. 
• Up to £1,000 specialist subject payment for subjects such as mental health nursing. 
• A regional incentive payment in areas of the country which have seen a decrease in people accepted on some nursing, midwifery and allied health courses.

Students will not need to apply for specialist subject or incentive payments as they will be automatically added to their account, if eligible. 

This means that some students could be eligible for up to £8,000 per year, with everyone getting at least £5,000. 

Kathryn graduated as a physiotherapist in 2003 from The Sage Colleges in Troy, New York, USA and then worked as a physiotherapist for nine years in Chicago, USA, specialising in neurology. During this time she enjoyed being a clinical supervisor to physiotherapy students and became interested in research. Kathryn worked on a research trial with stroke survivors; this experience further sparked her interest in pursuing research, which led her to England in 2012 to undertake a PhD. Kathryn graduated with a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of East Anglia in 2016. After finishing her PhD she worked as a researcher and grant writer before joining Bournemouth University in 2017 as a Physiotherapy Lecturer.

Louise joined BU in November 2006. She is Programme Lead and Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy. Louise is also a part time PhD student. Her current PhD research is looking at a home based physiotherapist led intervention using the Nintendo Wii to facilitate people with early stage Multiple Sclerosis to exercise. 

Vikram completed his Bachelor and Master’s degree in Physiotherapy from Annamalai University, India and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Chiang Mai University, Thailand. His PhD focused on Respiratory Characteristics of Individuals with Nonspecific Low Back Pain and the Effect of Therapeutic Exercise.

He worked in a range of physiotherapy settings and locations in India, Malaysia and United Kingdom as a clinician and as a teaching faculty.

He served as a World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) Accreditation Committee Member for Bachelor Degree at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia. Since 2008, he also reviewed cardio-respiratory physiotherapy units as a part of the curriculum review in UiTM. In addition, he was also appointed as a sub-committee member for Malaysian Research Assessment Instrument (MYRA) at the faculty level (2016-2017).

His research interest includes Pain and Breathing, work-related musculoskeletal disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) & musculoskeletal disorders and COPD & pulmonary rehabilitation.

Dr Williams received training both in the UK and Australia and has emerged as a prominent researcher in the field of Physiotherapy and Biomechanics. He enjoys the challenge of experimental measurement and is passionate about the fusion of Physiotherapy with Engineering.

Jon has a keen interest in the use of engineering principles to solve biomechanical and clinical problems. This has been applied to create novel measurement solutions for motion analysis which has been applied to many body regions. Such methods have also been applied to investigate the mechanisms behind movement alterations evident in low back pain sufferers, with a special focus on pain.

This work has led to international conference presentations, publications and being commissioned by an engineering company to work on novel clinical applications for their technology.

Alex Dunford is an experienced physiotherapist specialising in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. Before starting a full-time role at Bournemouth University, she worked as a senior musculoskeletal physiotherapist in Wiltshire. As a physiotherapist Alex’s experience includes working in private practice, acute and community hospitals, GP practices and private schools.

Alex has been working as a part-time lecturer at Bournemouth University since 2018 and in July 2019, took a full-time position as a Physiotherapy lecturer.

Alex interests include lower limb pathologies and persistent pain. Alex is currently working on her PhD in knee pain.

Rachael qualified as a chartered physiotherapist with BSc (Hons) in 1999 and worked extensively in London at basic and senior grade, with a special interest in rehabilitation and intensive care. MSc studies in Rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University developed advanced skills in all aspects of the rehabilitative process and she completed primary research into the assessment of the unstable shoulder. These studies were integrated with neuromusculoskeletal specialist physiotherapy role within Oxfordshire NHS community Trust. Rachael has completed post graduate studies in advancing practice: specialist manipulative physiotherapy at Birmingham University and qualified as a member of the Manipulative Association of Chartered Physiotherapist in 2008. She has worked in private practice in Bournemouth and Southampton since 2007, joining Bournemouth University as a lecturer on the undergraduate BSc(Hons) physiotherapy programme in 2008. She taught widely on the Physiotherapy undergraduate programme, participating in three curriculum reviews. Rchael is currently completing doctoral studies into the role of sensorimotor control in the shoulder.

Prior to physiotherapy Clare achieved a degree in Health Studies and worked in a Head Injury Unit which started her fascination with neurological rehabilitation. Clare qualified from University of East London in 1999 and worked as a Junior physio in London Teaching Hospitals as well as being a football pitch side physio. As a senior physio Clare travelled to South East Asia, South America and worked in Oamaru Hospital, New Zealand. On returning home Clare focused on Learning Disabilities and Stroke rehab around Manchester before settling down in Bournemouth in 2004.

In her NHS clinical role, Clare has moved from neurological rehabilitation and falls prevention to set up a specialist Vestibular Rehabilitation Clinic in Poole and Christchurch Hospitals. Clare has extensive experience supporting students throughout her clinical career. She enjoys seeing them grow in confidence putting the theory into practice. This had led Clare to work at BU since 2016, at first teaching her specialist subject of vestibular rehabilitation and now working as a Lecturer Practitioner across all subjects, levels as well as supporting clinical placements.