Why choose the School of Society, Community and Health
This course is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (the registering body) and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the professional body and trade union organisation..
Complete a minimum of 1,000 hours on placements, with five placement units through the course.
Our industry links include Luton Town FC, Stevenage FC, regional NHS trusts and private clinics and practices.
About the course
This course teaches you the core skills you need to assess and diagnose patients’ problems – whether caused by accident, illness or ageing - then to formulate and implement treatment plans involving exercise, physical activity and therapy. Our academic team ensure your learning is informed by research, and you consolidate your knowledge and skills through groupwork, student-led presentations and practical workshops alongside periods on clinical practice placements.
Find out if you are eligible for £5,000 a year NHS learning support funding
Course accreditation
The course is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (the registering body). On successful course completion, you graduate as a professional, able to work collaboratively alongside other members of the multidisciplinary team in the NHS and other sectors.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Dedicated physiotherapy suite
- Simulated hospital ward with ITU
- Simulated living spaces
- Anatomical models and exercise equipment
Industry links
We have partnerships with local NHS acute and community trusts and private physiotherapy providers who support and guide you on clinical placements.
Student experience
Learn from an experienced multidisciplinary team with expertise across a range of fields including neurological, cardio-respiratory and musculoskeletal physiotherapy; occupational therapy; leadership; and research.
Access to specialist clinical practitioners who support with teaching and assessing on the course, to ensure you are learning from experts in practice.
Experience a range of theory and practice-based learning opportunities, completing a minimum of 1,000 hours on placement: part-time placements in Years 1 and 2; full time in Year 3.
Take up opportunities for field trips where you can practise your skills and consider the wider context of physiotherapy as a profession.
Practise your skills in a safe, supportive environment with our ‘real-life’ simulation suites and high-spec equipment.
Train alongside other health professionals preparing you to work collaboratively in health settings across public, voluntary and independent sectors.
Benefit from our annual conference, where you can showcase your knowledge and skills to local employers.
Learn in a supportive setting within a small cohort, where you have access to a personal academic tutor throughout your time at University.
Hear from James and Alex, second-year Physiotherapy students
Hear from Chirag, first-year Physiotherapy student
Hear from Jenny Catchpole, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, about the various facilities used in Physiotherapy
Hear from Jourdain, first-year Physiotherapy student
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Studying our Physiotherapy BSc (Hons) course will equip you with in-depth theoretical knowledge and skills for practice in contemporary physiotherapy. Building on the foundations of your study, you will be introduced to human systems and their functions in relation to anatomy and physiology to understand how they produce movement in our Human Structure, Function and Exercise unit. This theory will inform your study of Holistic Physiotherapy Assessment and Intervention, where you will learn to gather information for physiotherapy assessment and interpret your findings to plan and deliver interventions for patients. You will then begin to gain exposure to practical work in our Holistic Therapy in Practice unit where you will be equipped with the key skills and theories to safely and effectively engage with patients as part of your first practice placement. Here, you will undertake a 10-week practice placement that will allow you to apply your theoretical knowledge and practice your clinical skills in a real-world setting while receiving feedback. To develop your practice, you will explore professional values, codes of practice and regulation related to occupational therapy in our Professional Identity unit that will inform your practice. Another essential part of your practice is Developing Therapeutic Relationships, and this unit will allow you to develop your communication skills to build and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients.
In your second year, you will engage in more practical work in our Enabling Therapy in Practice unit that will consist of an 8-week placement where you will get to take responsibility for the assessment, planning and treatment of patients. To add to this, you will undertake a further 10-weeks of placement in our Collaboration in Therapy Practice unit where you will focus on intervention in the assessment, planning and delivery of care. At the same time, you will build on your theoretical knowledge Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy and Physiotherapeutic Acute Care and Disease Management. These units will allow you to integrate your understanding of human physiology and neuromusculoskeletal function with disease and dysfunction to effectively deliver neuromusculoskeletal care and holistic physiotherapy in a variety of settings. Building on your professional skills, Collaborative Therapies will support you with the skills and experience to work within teams of other healthcare professionals to ensure seamless healthcare delivery to patients.
In your final year, you will continue to develop your knowledge and skills to treat and evaluate more complex cases in our Managing Complexity in Physiotherapy unit. You will be able to apply this to practice in our Complexity in Therapy unit, that will provide you with the increased responsibility to assess, plan, evaluate and deliver treatment across a period of 8 weeks. Furthermore, you will also have the opportunity to explore working in a different healthcare environment in our Quality in Therapy Practice unit. At the same time, you will add to your list of professional skills in our Growth and Leadership in Therapies unit that will introduce you to the strategies to promote and develop effective leadership qualities to work in diverse teams. Finally, you will complete a Physiotherapy Project that will allow you to integrate research, policy and practice that will help define your therapy as a profession. To help you with this, Evidence Informed Therapy will equip you with the skills to conduct research using different research methods, data collection and analysis skills, as well as prompt you to consider the ethical issues involved.
Assessment is on-going throughout the course and takes place towards the end of each term although assessment points may also be staggered throughout the year to spread the load. You will be assessed in their theoretical knowledge through essays oral examinations (discussions with lecturers and mentors) presentations (individual and group presentations) unseen short and long-answer written examinations multiple choice examinations OSCEs (Observed Structured Clinical Examinations) and report writing.
You will also be assessed in practice by your clinical educators on a regular basis against learning outcomes specific to their place in the course.
Assessments will be made alongside a range of themes that test your ability to make clinical judgements act in accordance with the standards of behaviour expected of a professional communicate and work in partnership with service users and other health professionals. Self-assessment is expected at each point of assessment - for both theory and practice assessments and formative assessments that you will also build into every practice based assessments and some theory assessments (e.g. mock examinations; formative essay and opportunity for submission of essay plans at the beginning of the course).
Careers
Physiotherapy offers you many different and flexible employment options. Once you have qualified and gained some clinical experience, you could go on to be employed as:
- a physiotherapist working in the NHS, social care, a private company, charitable organisation or education provider
- a consultant physiotherapist in any of the health provision services described above
- a physiotherapy services manager or healthcare services manager
- a physiotherapist running their own private practice
- a physiotherapist to a sporting team
- a physiotherapy researcher
- a physiotherapy lecturer in a university
- a physiotherapy adviser in industry or business.
As with other Honours degrees, this qualification offers you access to other graduate employment beyond the realms of physiotherapy and also access to postgraduate training including MSc, MRes and PhD studies.
Entry Requirements
- GCSE grade 4/Functional Skills Level 2 Maths
- Safeguarding checks, including an Enhanced DBS, and Occupational Health check are required
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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