Physiotherapy

Get ready to make a difference with our MSci Physiotherapy. We'll give you the tools to build your clinical skills and thrive academically in our world-leading School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Course highlights

Our four-year course provides you with the time and space to optimally develop your clinical skills and experience alongside academic excellence. You will study at a research-intensive university (member of the Russell Group) that offers teaching excellence and a long tradition of providing physiotherapy education. It is a great place to start your career.

Excellent placement experience – Birmingham is served by some outstanding healthcare facilities (e.g. Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham Children's Hospital, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital) that provide many practice-based placement opportunities for our students.

Optional modules – The school has many subject experts in physiotherapy, exercise and rehabilitation-related fields. You will have the opportunity to study some optional modules, allowing you to follow your specific interests, broaden your perspectives and study alongside other students in the school, including intercalating medical students.

Research – As you might expect from a university like ours, the course has a strong emphasis on science and research. You will be supported to develop your academic and research skills from Day 1 with related modules spiralling through the years and culminating in students undertaking a major research project in their final year. Research in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham was ranked 6th* in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF).

• Based on 2021 Research Excellence Framework ranking by GPA (Times Higher Methodology).

Through our research-informed teaching and interdisciplinary learning environment, you'll gain a holistic understanding of patient care. Dive into high-quality placements and projects and take your place at the forefront of modern healthcare with local practice experiences. Bring your learning to life through opportunities to work in real-world community and other settings during extracurricular activities and placements.

Year One of the programme provides an introductory year for students transitioning to higher education. The year is shared with BSc Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. You will have weekly tutorials with a personal tutor to support the development of your academic and professional skills while also studying the basic and applied sciences underpinning physiotherapy (anatomy and movement, human physiology and exercise, exercise and health psychology).

In Year Two, there is a strong emphasis on developing your clinical knowledge and related physiotherapy skills. Physiotherapists work in diverse settings (e.g. hospital-based acute care and rehabilitation, community-based rehabilitation for long term conditions, clinic-based physiotherapy for musculo-skeletal disorders) and you will be prepared for practice-based placements in each of these areas.

As part of the programme, students undertake six practice-based placements in total; the first of these takes place towards the end of Year Two.

In Year Three, you will complete two practice-based placements and further develop your clinical reasoning. University-based study will focus on more complex clinical cases and other specialist areas where physiotherapists practice. You will continue to develop your academic and research skills, completing a literature review in an area of interest and studying a module focusing on research design and service evaluation. You will also select and study two optional modules. Current options include (but are not limited to) Analysis of Motor Performance, Exercise as Medicine, Athletic Training and Conditioning, Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Mental Health and Sport.

In the summer period/holidays between Years Three and Four, you will complete an elective placement. Students arrange these placements themselves (with support) and often travel to different countries, providing a unique opportunity to experience healthcare in an unfamiliar setting. Elective placements also provide an opportunity for students to gain experience in a specialist clinical area of particular interest.

In Year Four you will complete your final two practice-based placements, developing your critical thinking and clinical reasoning based on these experiences. This work will prepare you for employment as a physiotherapist and your continuing professional development post-registration. Another major focus in your final year will be your research project. Options here are varied, reflecting the diversity of research in the school with many opportunities to undertake laboratory or field-based studies exploring contemporary issues relating to exercise, health and rehabilitation.