MSc Physiotherapy (February Start)
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Science
- Course Length
- 2 years
- Course Start Date
- February 2025
Course Overview
Gain a Master’s in Physiotherapy and you could have an incredibly positive impact on people’s lives, helping them overcome physical setbacks and get back on their feet – often literally. It’s a career ideally suited to great listeners – able to piece together the physical with the emotional to build a complete picture of a person’s situation– and to those who like to understand theories and apply them to improving real life situations.
Our innovative approach is based on the very latest research. Through our rigorous programme, you’ll develop sound knowledge of the clinical sciences underpinning human movement and function. You’ll have access to our superb, dedicated learning facilities, including our anatomy room and assistive technology suite. And you’ll have early patient contact and benefit from small group taught sessions. We are renowned for our excellent teaching and research in the field.
Our MSc Physiotherapy course is fully approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and accredited by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Enroll with us and you’ll be based at our School of Health Sciences, where you’ll receive an academic and a practice-based education that’s second to none.
During taught sessions, you’ll spend your time using case studies, focusing on the needs of individual clients or client groups. Through a combination of self-directed learning, workshop activities and Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL), you’ll build up the knowledge you need to identify issues and make decisions on how to address them.
You’ll become expert in understanding specific psychological, cultural and social factors in the context of patient care. You’ll also learn about due consideration of the needs and abilities of others involved with the client, including carers and other health and social care workers. You'll also consider how, as a physiotherapist, you can use your expertise to advise and teach groups, and promote health across whole communities.
In addition to your campus-based learning, you’ll undertake four placements across your two years. These will be between seven and eight weeks in length. Working under close supervision, this is your opportunity to put your knowledge and skills into hands-on practice.
Our interdisciplinary ethos means that you’ll spend some of your time studying alongside Occupational Therapy and Dietetics students – professionals you’ll work with as a qualified physiotherapist. Inter-professional teamwork will be a central element of your career, and UEA remains one of the only UK universities to offer this approach.
During the course, you’ll have the opportunity to work on your Master’s dissertation project, working with a member of our faculty on a subject that interests you. This will take the form of a structured literature review.
We are very proud of our innovative teaching methods and the passion and dedication of our staff. Our approach is creative, challenging and engaging. And our students tell us that they find our programmes professionally dynamic and personally transforming.
Study and Modules
Structure
Our two-year (45-week) programme adopts an Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL) ethos. This means there’s a focus on student-centred independent learning, problem solving and decision-making, supported by both online and in person teaching from lecturers and guest speakers with relevant expertise. In year one, we begin with a two-week induction period, followed by an introduction to applying for the EBL process.
Practice placements are integrated throughout the programme, enabling you to undertake supervised clinical work with a range of different healthcare partners across the East Anglia Region. You’ll complete one seven-week placement in your first year after the first teaching block.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
This is a full-time degree. The taught elements of our full-time programme will make up around 2.5 to 3 days a week, with the rest of your working week dedicated to essential self-directed study.
In your EBL learning activities, you'll work in a small group to examine a case-study. You’ll clarify what needs to be learned from the case and you’ll develop a series of learning objectives for each group member. Our approach is based on principles of adult learning theory and problem-solving that are proven to lead to deeper and more meaningful learning.
The EBL approach is supported by staff-led sessions, student-led seminars and independent study. Academic sessions will be supported by regular practical sessions, in which you’ll learn and practice the core physiotherapy assessment and treatment skills.
Master's-level learning demands an active drive to research and embed theory effectively into your own practice, so that you’re able to provide strong evidence-based justifications for your proposed interventions and actions.
In your first year, you'll use the EBL ethos to apply human sciences, physiotherapy practice and professional development principles to the management of case scenarios describing people with musculoskeletal and respiratory problems. You'll also identify a topic to review and begin your dissertation project.
Independent study
Self-directed study is a large and integral part of our programme. All your core activities will be facilitated by resources, provided by your lecturers, via our Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). We’ll also actively encourage you to acquire and integrate knowledge from a wide range of additional sources.
Assessment
Placements are marked pass or fail, and we’ll provide feedback on your performance to help you learn and improve.
Our assessments are designed to develop and test your communication skills, and your ability to synthesise and articulate knowledge at Master’s level. Your academic assignments will be marked against the Senate Scale for Master’s work – the official national marking guidance for higher education.
Assessments in year one include oral presentations and written course work and placement.
Structure
Year 2 continues with the EBL approach as well as a range of workshops, seminars and self-directed study. You'll complete three placements in your second year: two seven-weeks in length, plus a final eight-week placement. Following your final placement, you'll engage with interdisciplinary student-led placement presentations to share your learning and experiences in a wide range of practice settings.
You may have the opportunity to arrange your final eight-week practice placement elsewhere in the UK or overseas. You'll need to discuss your idea with your course director, who will decide whether it is appropriate or not. You'll be responsible for covering any additional travel and accommodation costs you incur.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
In your second year, you continue using the EBL approach for respiratory and neurological case scenarios and engage in a wider range of contemporary practice topics, such as public health, forced migration and employability.
Assessment
The approach in year 1 is continued with a range of assessment processes designed to evaluate and support your application of theoretical knowledge and skills to physiotherapy practice. In year 2 you complete your dissertation, a key piece of work which enables you to master the critical appraisal and application of research evidence to physiotherapy practice.
Entry Requirements
- Degree Classification
- Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.1 or equivalent
- Degree Subject
- Strong biological, human or health science content. Examples include: Anatomy, Physiology, Biological Sciences (excluding purely plant-based biology degrees), Sports & Exercise Science (or related subjects such as PE or Coaching), Nursing or other Allied Health Professional degrees.
- GCSE
Applicants will be required to have a minimum of GCSE Maths and English at Grade 4 / C or equivalent.
- English Foreign Language
We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English or those whose degree was not taught in English.
To ensure such students benefit fully from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English.
Our minimum entry requirements are as follows:-
IELTS: 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components
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Pearson (PTE): 76 overall with a minimum of 67 in all components.
All test scores must be less than two years old.
Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests
INTO UEA also run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please visit:
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- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview. Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your application.
Interview format
Our interviews for 2024 will take place on our campus. You will be invited to a morning or afternoon session by email. The email will include the arrival time and building location. We use a variety of the buildings on our campus for interviews, but they will either be on our Main Campus or on our West Campus (which is around a 20-minute walk from the centre of the Main Campus, near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital). The session will last no longer than 3 hours in total.
As part of the session, you will take part in ‘multiple mini-interviews’ with academic members of staff from the School of Health Sciences at UEA, clinicians from the profession, service users* and/or current UEA students from the course.
*A ‘service user’ is someone who has access to use health or social care services or could be affected by the services of health and social care professionals.
You will undertake your ‘multiple mini-interview’ alongside 1 or 2 other applicants for the course. Together, you will be taken to your interview room, which will be furnished with three interview stations. You will attend each interview station in turn, rotating with the other applicants you have been grouped with.
Before you visit each interview station, you will be given time to read some information. The information will include the interview questions or topics that you will be asked about. You will then be given a set amount of time with the interviewer(s), who will ask you the questions verbally.
The other applicants who you have been grouped together with will be following the same process as you at the same time. They will be speaking to alternate interviewer(s) to you simultaneously. You will all continue the process above until you have been interviewed at all three interview stations.
As part of your interview day, you will also have an opportunity to join some other sessions, for which you will not be assessed. The sessions are an opportunity for you to learn more about the course, the university, the students that study here, and for you to ask questions of current students and teaching staff. There may be an opportunity to undertake some practical skills during some of these sessions, if possible. There may also be an opportunity to tour the teaching facilities. These parts of your interview day are not compulsory, and do not form part of the assessment.
Applicants who are based outside of the UK at the point of applying will be offered an online interview. The format will match the process outlined above as closely as possible.
Interview questions
At each interview station you will be asked questions that focus on a particular domain. The order in which you are asked about these domains will be variable. The domains are:
- Your knowledge of the professional field for which you are applying.
- Your personal qualities and suitability for the profession. To help with discussion around this domain, you may be asked to consider a scenario and asked questions about how you would respond to it. You will be given time to read the scenario before you approach the interview station, and it will also be read to you by the interviewer(s).
- Your understanding of and suitability for the course at UEA.
On all interview stations, interviewers will also consider your understanding of the values that are required of a healthcare professional. This will include your understanding of moral and ethical values, competence, commitment to improve and personal accountability. You won’t necessarily be asked specific questions about these areas, but the information you include in your answers to all questions will be considered when the interviewer(s) assess you.
Experience of Healthcare
We are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. First time applicants to Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions will all be in a similar situation.
Clinical work experience will not generally be a requirement for applying to train in healthcare. We will be looking for you to show that you are able to work with people, that you appreciate the health and social care setting, and that you understand what a career in health will involve. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.
Note that your experiences are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. It is important that you think about how you might be able to demonstrate your understanding of healthcare, that you can relate this to experience or research, and that you can explain what you have learned.
What type of experience or research do you need?
Any activity, life experience or research that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:
- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.
Practical ways to gain experience
Keep a reflective diary on what is happening in the news and online. Listen to what healthcare professionals have to say and reflect on this. All healthcare professionals can be a valuable source of information and experience, not just those that work in the specific profession that you are applying for. Demonstrating that you have a sense of all healthcare professions (and how they work together) will help you in both your personal statement and interview.
Volunteer in your spare time if you can, all forms of voluntary work can provide helpful work experience. If volunteer work in the NHS isn’t something that is available to you, think about what else you could explore i.e. working with other people in a caring or service role. Voluntary commitments to community groups (for example groups related to the work of churches, mosques and temples, or other groups such as Scouts or Guides) and online community support groups may also provide valuable experience of taking on responsibility, dealing with people and communicating effectively.
Remember: what is important is what you learn about yourself and about other people, and what you learn about how effective care is delivered and received. How you learn these things is only a small part of the story; it is how you communicate what you learnt that matters.
- Intakes
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in February each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
You must have graduated within 10 years of the start date of the course which is in February each year, or be able to provide evidence of further relevant degree-level study during that period.
Applicants should have a strong profile of secondary qualifications in arts and/or sciences (we will look for good A-level grades, or equivalent).
Applicants should also have a minimum grade 4/C in GCSE Maths and English or equivalent.
Our admissions criteria also include: a clear understanding of physiotherapy and the role of physiotherapists within various clinical settings; a broad range of relevant work shadowing; an interest in people and a strong academic attainment. The University will also take into account the employment experience of applicants where relevant. Please note that experience only in sports settings is not considered relevant.
If you have completed an undergraduate degree in Physiotherapy, this course is not suitable and you may wish to consider our other professional health courses delivered at Master’s level.
International students
We have a number of places available to applications from students outside the UK/EU for Physiotherapy. The School of Health Sciences offers a high quality educational experience for international postgraduates. Potential international candidates need to be able to demonstrate the high academic credentials required for the course, as well as good English Language qualifications.
The pre-registration courses offered in the School of Health Sciences are approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and after successfully completing an accredited pre-registration programme such as ours you must apply to register with the HCPC in order to work as a registered healthcare professional in the UK. This course equips you with the skills necessary to practise as a physiotherapist both internationally and in the UK. International students who complete the course will be eligible to apply to the HCPC.
Special Entry Requirements
Places on this course are subject to police (DBS) and occupational health checks.
Placements
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
Assessing Your Fitness to Become a Registered Healthcare Professional
Please see our guidance on assessing your fitness.
Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2024/25 are:
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UK Students: £18,500 (Full-time on a two-year basis. Course fee charged £9,250 per academic year)
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International Students: £42,350 (Course fee charged as £42,350 over two academic years, £21,175 per academic year. 2023-24 entrants are liable for £19,800 in 2024-25)
We estimate living expenses at £1,023 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships; please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Practice placements will be based in a variety of locations around East Anglia. You'll be responsible for covering any additional travel and accommodation costs. You'll also need to pay for a DBS check and a health screening – plus any necessary vaccinations – prior to commencing the course.
UK students may be able to claim back placement costs for travel and accommodation from a Department of Health bursary fund, but this will not be available to International students.
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
The closing date for receipt of complete applications is 01 June 2024.
To apply please use our online application form.
FURTHER INFORMATION
To request further information & to be kept up to date with news & events please use our online enquiry form.
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.
Employability
After the Course
Complete this course successfully and you’ll be eligible to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). You’ll then be able to practice as a qualified physiotherapist in a vast range of settings.
Once registered, there will be numerous roles available to you within the NHS, private sector, voluntary sectors, industry, research and education: the opportunities are endless.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
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NHS
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Private/independent practice
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The Armed Forces
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Industry/occupational health
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Sport and leisure
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Charity and voluntary organisations
Discover more on our Careers webpages.