Studying with us in 2021/22
It is possible that the 2021/22 academic year may be affected by the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Any arrangements put in place by the University for the 2021/22 academic year will be in accordance with the latest government public health advice, pandemic-related/health and safety legislation, and the terms and conditions of the student contract.
Underpinned by the latest research, our Sports Therapy with a Foundation Year BSc course is a chance for you to develop specialist skills in the prevention, treatment, management and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries.
We offer the opportunity to undertake a sandwich year, where you'll take on a work placement, providing you with invaluable experience, networking and real-life hands-on learning. These placements could be national or international and could see you working with professional sports teams or private sports injury clinics. Even if you don't decide to opt for the sandwich year, work placements are an integral part of the course throughout all years. We have partnerships with Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Sports Birmingham, providing valuable placements, trips and case studies.
Upon completion of your Foundation Year, if your chosen course is regulated by a professional body such as the National College for Teaching and Leadership, you will be required to successfully complete the University’s selection process for the specific programme which will include an interview in order to proceed onto year one of the full degree programme. Entry onto year one of the degree programme will also be subject to a satisfactory DBS and Occupational Health Assessment.
When you successfully complete your Foundation Year, you will be able to progress onto a range of Undergraduate courses at the Birmingham City School of Health Sciences. These include:
By studying a foundation year in Sport and Physical Activity, your first year will be spent learning a wide range of broad subject areas which then open up opportunities for you to specialise further in your next year – which would be the first year of a full degree programme.
You will study very broad subjects in your foundation year, which is designed to prepare you for a range of courses and not just one particular BSc degree.
So although you are studying a BSc in a specific course – BSc Sports Therapy – the foundation year sets you up for a number of other possible degrees starting the following year. It may be that you don’t end up doing a degree in precisely the same subject as your foundation year.
This flexibility is one of the great things about the foundation year category - Sport and Physical Activity, allowing you to find out more about your interests and talents before focusing on a three year degree. The foundation year also helps us at BCU to make sure we help to match you to the degree that fits you best.
Through the academic study of sports medicine and sport and exercise science, the BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy programme will give you the knowledge and skills to be confident and effective in preventing, assessing and rehabilitating sports injuries.
In the first semester, you will have the opportunity to gain a pitch-side first aid qualification, enabling you to start working pitch-side with the university sports teams. Throughout the first year we will introduce you to the professional and initial practical skills required as a Sports Therapist. You will begin to develop knowledge and an understanding of the signs, symptoms, and mechanisms of musculoskeletal injuries, as well as the practical skills required to effectively assess and treat lower limb sporting injuries. You will also be taught sports massage and soft tissue techniques, which you will then be able to apply to patients within the internal sports injury clinic. You will also be introduced to the fundamentals of human anatomy and movement, physiology and principles of training, as well as research methods.
You will build on your first aid knowledge by acquiring advanced knowledge and practical skills in sports injury trauma management. You will also be introduced to the principles of sports injury rehabilitation and injury prevention, where you will apply your pathophysiology knowledge and stages of healing, to design and implement rehabilitation programmes for the acute stage of injury, through to return to elite sporting performance. You will be exposed to contemporary rehabilitation methods and some sessions will be delivered in a hydrotherapy pool. Your knowledge and practical skills required to effectively assess and treat sporting injuries will focus on the upper limb. You will also be introduced to peripheral joint mobilisations as a treatment option as well as electrotherapeutic modalities. Physiology teaching will become specific and focus on exercise physiology and nutrition. You will also develop your research skills as you prepare for the final year independent research project. Throughout the second year you will have scheduled time to work in the internal sports therapy injury clinic under the guidance of experienced teaching staff.
During the final year, you will acquire a theoretical and practical understanding of strength and conditioning in relation to optimising exercise and sports performance, as well as gaining an insight into musculoskeletal screening. Your knowledge and practical skills required to effectively assess, treat and rehabilitate sporting injuries will focus on the spine, incorporating vertebral mobilisations. You will have scheduled hours to work in the internal sports therapy injury clinic under the guidance of experienced teaching staff, enabling you to apply your knowledge and skills to real patients. You will also have to complete and document 200 supervised placement hours by the end of the final year. This will be comprised of the hours you have obtained from working within the internal sports injury clinic as well as hours gained from working in external sports clubs and private sports injury clinics. You will also complete an independent piece of research within the field of Sports Therapy.
We accept a range of qualifications, the most popular of which are detailed below.
88 UCAS tariff points from A/AS Level |
||
Level 2 Qualifications | ||
---|---|---|
UK Qualification | Requirements 2021/22 | |
GCSE |
|
|
Irish Leaving Certificate (Ordinary Level) |
|
|
Scottish Intermediate 2 |
|
|
Scottish Credit Standard Grade |
|
|
Scottish National 5 |
|
|
IELTS |
|
|
Plus one of the following Level 3 (and above) Qualifications | ||
UK Qualification | Requirements 2021/22 | |
A level and Advanced VCE |
|
|
Access to HE Diploma |
|
|
|
|
|
International Baccalaureate Diploma |
|
|
Irish Leaving Certificate (Highers) |
|
|
Scottish Advanced Higher |
|
|
T-Levels |
|
|
Other qualifications | ||
If you have a qualification that is not listed in the table please refer to our full entry requirements on UCAS. Recent relevant study to GCE A-level standard or above must have been completed within five years of the course intake date the applicant is applying for. Further guidance on tariff points can be found on the UCAS website. Upon completion of your Foundation Year, you will be required to successfully complete the University’s selection process for the specific programme which will include an interview in order to proceed onto year one of the full degree programme. Entry onto year one of the degree programme will also be subject to a satisfactory DBS and Occupational Health Assessment. |
Award: BSc (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2021
Sorry, this course is not available to International students.
The University reserves the right to increase fees in line with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament up to a maximum of five per cent.
For September 2021 entry we will be operating a ‘gathered field’ approach to applications. This is often used where the number of applications far exceeds the number of places available to make the admissions process more manageable – and to ensure places are offered to applicants on merit.
As a result, we will be working to the following timetable:
UK and EU students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.
We offer a wide range of professionally accredited and vocational courses that require the purchase of, among other things, uniforms, equipment, subscriptions, professional body memberships and DBS checks, and may require you to pay to attend conferences or participate in placements.
The link below provides our estimate of the possible costs associated with key activities on specific courses. Please bear in mind that these are only estimates of costs based on past student experience and feedback. The actual costs to you could vary considerably (either greater or lower than these estimates) depending on your choices as you progress through the course. We set out where we can, based on experience, where these indicative costs are for activities that are optional or compulsory.
All our students are provided with 100 free pages of printing each year to a maximum total value of £15.
Find additional costs for your course
The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
You have the flexibility to transfer to a standard undergraduate programme from the School of Health Sciences upon successfully completing your Foundation Year including:
Right from the start you will 'learn by doing' as you work pitch-side as the appointed first aider with the university sports teams. This practice-led approach is evident throughout the whole course as you will have scheduled time working in the internal sports therapy injury clinic, under the guidance of experienced teaching staff.
The course will be a mixture of lectures, seminars and practical study, and you’ll be supported throughout by a personal tutor. As a Sports Therapy student, you will spend a large proportion of your time in the sports therapy suites as the theoretical content is delivered in a practical room, enabling you to immediately apply your knowledge to practice. You will learn exercise rehabilitation in the new sports centre, whilst sports and exercise science modules such as nutrition and physiology will be delivered in laboratories with the very latest sports science equipment. You’ll also work on live injury case studies linked to professional sports teams we have collaboration with, to ensure you can solve problems and develop new skills. As well as contact time with staff in sessions, you will be supported in each module by online activities (such as quizzes and multiple choice questions) to help you learn and gauge your knowledge and understanding.
As part of the Society of Sports Therapists requirements, you will have to complete a series of placements. We will provide internal placement hours within our internal sports injury clinic, but you will also be undertaking external placements. These may be with professional sports teams or private sports injury clinics. External placements are completed in your own time, allowing the flexibility to gain experience during usual working hours, at evenings or weekends, and during University vacations if preferred.
This course offers you the opportunity to study within the UK or abroad during the sandwich year. The sandwich year option is available to all students and takes place after the second year of study. Here you may choose to work with a professional sports team, an overseas collegiate sports team, or a private sports injury clinic.
You’ll have placements built into all three years of your course. Starting with pitch-side first aid in year one, you will progress throughout your time studying with us until you are working in our on-site sports injury clinic, treating and managing complex sporting injuries. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to take a sandwich placement year, which could either be within the UK or abroad, working with professional sports teams or in private sports injury clinics.
OpportUNIty: Student Jobs on Campus ensures that our students are given a first opportunity to fill many part-time temporary positions within the University. This allows you to work while you study with us, fitting the job around your course commitments. By taking part in the scheme, you will gain valuable experiences and employability skills, enhancing your prospects in the job market.
It will also allow you to become more involved in University life by delivering, leading and supporting many aspects of the learning experience, from administration to research and mentoring roles.
Upon completion of this degree, you may wish to continue with further education and study for an MSc or PhD. Other graduates may wish to move into a teaching-based qualification, such as a PGCE.
The creation of our new suite of courses in Sport and Life Sciences is yet another exciting development at Birmingham City University. The 10,500sq metre building at City South Campus will enable us to offer a wide range of new health, nutrition, biomedical science and sports courses, as well as providing a new home for our education programmes.
Not only are we investing £41 million in a new building to house the laboratories and teaching spaces needed, but we also plan to open up these facilities to benefit all students and the wider community. This will complement our existing sports facilities, which already provide a base for students to compete in activities ranging from rugby to .
The courses will reflect the latest developments in our teaching and our focus on practice-led learning with work placements and live industry case studies incorporated into the curriculum. All courses have been co-designed with employers and are endorsed or accredited by professional bodies where appropriate.
By expanding our provision to these new areas, we will be helping to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society today, such as obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, by encouraging and supporting healthy eating and greater physical activity.
In addition, we will be producing graduates who can support elite performers in meeting the UK’s ambitions for sporting success at events such as the Olympics and other world sporting tournaments. We are constantly looking to enhance the range of courses we offer - please check all our courses for the latest additions to our portfolio.
The Seacole library, based at City South Campus, is one of the UK's largest specialist health education libraries. The facility offers an extensive range of range of information and reference materials set out in a relaxing environment, conducive to studying. There are comfortable seating areas, group study areas, a silent study area and private study rooms.
The Seacole building houses a large open access IT Suite which comprises of 96 PCs, printers, photocopiers and scanners. Our PCs utilise the latest Intel i5 core technology, all with:
Our PCs are also designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.
The IT Suite offers extended opening hours and is supported by a specialist Open Access Assistant during term time. In addition to the open access PCs within the IT Suite, there are 12 networked student PCs available within Seacole library.
Our £8.5 million Doug Ellis Sports Centre boasts an 80-station fitness suite, an eight-court sports hall, and workout and spinning studios. The centre offers state-of-the-art fitness training equipment and plenty of room for team sports including five-a-side football and cricket. An all-weather pitch adds the finishing touches to the centre, which is located close to our City North Campus.
Visitors to the gym can choose a personalised fitness programme, instructed by qualified fitness trainers, and take advantage of a selection of classes, such as yoga, salsa or body combat.
Our staff have incredible industry links and a wealth of experience, and often continue to work in their specialist areas. Our staff are PhD-trained and are still research active.
Mark joined the Professional Development Department (PDD) in 2018 as a Professional Navigator and as a Academic Skills tutor. During this time he has been involved in the development and running of the Faculty of Health Education and Life Sciences Foundation Year as both a course leader and module leader. At current there are two iterations of the Foundation Year catering for intakes in September and January. The Foundation Year allows students to progress onto a variety of HELS undergraduate courses.