Admissions and Offers

It is our policy to interview for all places for BSc Physiotherapy. Interviews are relatively informal and are usually scheduled to take place in December, January and February each year.

The interview is typically split into two parts and each candidate has two 15 minute interviews with two separate members of staff, before a small group based activity.

The interview is designed to assess:

insight into physiotherapy via work experience, courses, reading etc.
motivation
ability to communicate, to discuss and form opinions
personal attitudes and attributes
non-verbal communication skills
teamwork

admissions-and-offers

For 2022 entry, the interviews for BSc Physiotherapy will be taking place online using Microsoft Teams over a period of four weeks in January and February.

If you are successful in being selected for interview you will receive and invitation and be asked to book a slot. You will be interviewed by two members of staff on the call. The interview will still aim to assess the areas it usually does, however it will not assess teamwork as the group task will not be performed.

If you have any questions or need further information about the interviews for 2022, please get in touch with our support hub.

Interview selection (physiotherapy only)

We interview for BSc Physiotherapy. Please note that there is not an interview for BSc Sport Rehabilitation.

We select for interview using the following procedure:

Initial reading of the UCAS forms (against strict selection criteria set by the Central Admissions Office).
Applicants are rejected in the first instance because they do not fulfil our academic requirements or lack work experience.
The remaining application forms are divided into 'good' and 'excellent'. The 'good' forms are then unfortunately rejected, as we normally have over 500 'excellent' forms.
Each of the 'excellent' forms are read and reread by the Admissions Tutors, in order to select the 200 physiotherapy applicants to invite to interview.
We run a system of 'cancellation interviews', whereby those candidates with excellent forms who did not receive an interview initially may be offered an interview slot vacated by someone who has withdrawn their application. Cancellation interviews are offered at short notice.

From 15 March 2022, the UK government revoked the requirement for students engaged in patient-facing health or social care settings to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. This means that while we still encourage all eligible students to become fully vaccinated, there will be no impediment to you starting your course, regardless of your Covid-19 vaccination status.

Work experience

Both our BSc Physiotherapy and BSc Sport Rehabilitation are vocational degrees. It is therefore important that applicants have both enthusiasm and dedication to succeed, as well as being sure this is the right career choice.

We recommend that you undertake as much work experience as possible. Work experience should give you a feel for the personal and professional attributes necessary for your chosen career, highlighting the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills required.

At interview we ask for your reflections of your observations during your work experience. We will also be evaluating whether or not you are applying with a clear understanding and commitment to the course and the profession.

Without work experience it is likely that your application will be rejected automatically at the initial stages.

BSc Physiotherapy

Any experience in the below settings will strengthen your application:

NHS hospital
Community setting
special schools
private practice
sports clinics
centres for the elderly

Due to the popularity of the degree, many hospitals are swamped by requests for work experience. We recommend that you write to a large number of both NHS and private hospitals in your region, considering the smaller general hospitals as well as the large teaching hospitals.

We prefer a candidate to spend two or three days in a variety of different areas than to spend a week in the same one.

BSc Sport Rehabilitation

It is important you gain as much experience as you can in a variety of sport, health and leisure settings.

We understand it may be difficult to gain work experience, but if you are able to arrange a few days in a variety of settings this would be better than spending a week in one.

If you are unable to obtain work experience but have an appropriate level of experience of coaching within a sports club or team, your application may be considered.

In this case, it is recommended that you contact the admissions tutor to discuss.

Fitness to practice

Criminal offences and other related matters

The University uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to assess the suitability of applicants to work with a vulnerable population. This is common practice in healthcare professions, and we undertake not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a disclosure on the basis of information revealed.

Candidates should be aware that the disclosure will list all convictions and cautions received. Certain offences may lead to the candidate being refused entry onto the course, or subsequently being asked to withdraw.

On completion of the course, physiotherapy graduates are required to provide another DBS check as part of the Health and Care Professions Council registration process.

Graduate Sport Rehabilitators are required to declare any convictions, formal cautions, warnings or reprimands issued by the police before being accepted as a member of BASRaT.

Employers will normally require a DBS check prior to employment.

Disclosure information will be handled and disposed of securely in compliance with the DBS Code of Practice, the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation.

Students with disabilities or health concerns

Disabilities and health concerns do not necessarily form a barrier to entry onto the BSc Physiotherapy or BSc Sport Rehabilitation. In line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) we treat all students fairly, offering ongoing support and making reasonable adjustments where necessary.

However, we have a responsibility to ensure that all students admitted to our courses will be able to meet the standards of proficiency set out by the governing bodies of the professions.

It is expected that any condition, past or present, will be controlled and stable and, as such, will not impair your ability to complete the course, or care for patients/clients. Any applicant who is offered a place on the course is required to complete a medical questionnaire. This is then forwarded to our Occupational Health Department who may choose to offer you a full medical examination.

It is therefore important to note that all offers of a place on the course are conditional on obtaining a clear bill of health from our Occupational Health Department. In line with UCAS guidelines, disability or health concerns can be disclosed on the UCAS form and/or in a letter addressed directly to the Admissions Tutor. This includes, among others, conditions such as hearing or visual impairments, dyslexia, diabetes, epilepsy, depression or eating disorders. All of the information disclosed is treated as completely confidential.

Accepting someone who is unlikely to fulfil the rigorous demands of professional fitness to practise would not be in the interests of the student and would be contrary to the division’s overriding duty of care to the public. For that reason, students with disabilities should seek advice from the admissions tutor well before the deadline for UCAS submissions so that each case can be given individual consideration.

Admissions and Offers

Interview selection (physiotherapy only)

Work experience

BSc Physiotherapy

BSc Sport Rehabilitation

Fitness to practice

Criminal offences and other related matters

Students with disabilities or health concerns

School of Health Sciences

Legal information

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