Physiotherapy (Pre-Registration)

MSc

Become a qualified physiotherapist in two years with this full-time course. This programme is designed for graduates who do not currently hold a physiotherapy degree.

Accreditation

This course is validated by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Successful completion of the course gives you eligibility to apply for registration with the HCPC, and full professional membership of the CSP.

Overview

Our two-year accelerated programme is ideal for graduates who wish to become physiotherapists but do not hold an undergraduate physiotherapy degree.

After building a strong foundation of anatomical knowledge, you’ll learn how to diagnose and rehabilitate across a range of conditions, as well as how to prevent illness and disease. You’ll gain substantial practical experience in our purpose-built simulation laboratories and a range of real-life clinical environments.

Our team of experienced physiotherapists will supervise you on campus, and as you complete placements in different clinical, health, and social care settings. You’ll also study alongside students from our Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, and Occupational Therapy courses, providing opportunities to learn from each other and preparing you to work seamlessly in a multi- disciplinary team.

Placements

Over this two-year course, you’ll complete a minimum of 1,000 hours of work- based learning, ensuring you develop the practical skills needed for a successful career in physiotherapy.

Your placements will allow you to experience a variety of environments, including hospitals, private practices, community care, and specialised clinics. You’ll gain familiarity with the profession and a range of patients and conditions.

You’ll also complete simulation activities in our on-site facilities, including our physiotherapy lab. This means you can develop your confidence and skills in a controlled, supportive environment before applying them in a clinical setting.

Course content

On this accredited course, you’ll study theories backed up by substantial evidence and will then apply this learning in professional practice.

Throughout the course, you’ll gain a broad range of experience in the field, with experienced physiotherapists supervising you as you complete 1,000 hours of placement in different settings.

All modules are mandatory to ensure you’re eligible to register as a physiotherapist with the HCPC.

Year 1

Mandatory modules

• Evidence-Based Physiotherapy
• Essential Physiotherapy Practice 1
• Applied Health Improvement
• Professional and Collaborative Practice

Year 2

Careers

Most of our graduates go on to become Chartered Physiotherapists. The broad scope of the sector is one of its assets, making it an exciting and varied career.

You will become a scientifically oriented clinician with transferable practical skills. You’ll also develop the advanced problem-solving and leadership skills required to succeed in a dynamic healthcare environment.

Physiotherapists are in demand across the UK and abroad, which creates many exciting job opportunities.

As a qualified physiotherapist, you could:

• Become a senior physiotherapist or service manager in the NHS in a hospital, care home, GP practice, or other setting
• Specialise in a specific area, like sports physiotherapy, stroke care, or working with children
• Work for a professional sports club
• Become self-employed and set up your own practice
• Move into research or training

Course highlights

Hone your skills in spacious, custom-built labs

Authentic simulation sessions put your learning into context in a supportive environment before your first placement.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching is a mix of interactive seminars, lectures, one-to-one tutorials and practical skills sessions.

Your assessments will help prepare you for a career as a physiotherapist and include writing reflective essays, completing ethics forms, creating a business case proposal and building practice portfolios.

Teaching and assessment contents

• Teaching
• Assessment
• Feedback
• Contact Time
• Independent Study
• Teaching Staff
• Specification

This MSc Physiotherapy (Pre-Registration) course will be delivered full-time over two years, with each year comprising 45 weeks of learning; this is required to incorporate your practice based learning placements. There will be a minimum of 1,000 hours in practice placements, ensuring that you have enough opportunity to achieve a breadth of experience in a variety of settings, such that successful completion will ensure you can practice as an autonomous newly qualified practitioner.

You are taught through a combination of interactive lectures, practical skills sessions and small group seminars. Teaching will include both online (a minimum of 10% each module) and face-to-face teaching methods. Practical sessions are focused on developing physiotherapy specific and professional skills. Seminars enable discussion, developing your understanding of topics covered in lectures.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in the second year of the course.

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the graduate attributes that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support from Student Services and Library Services, and also the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will help you to flourish and be successful.

Entry requirements

A typical applicant will be able to demonstrate:

• A degree at 2:2 or above in a relevant discipline OR degree in another subject with a level 3 qualification in Biology, Physical Education, or science.
• Evidence of knowledge or experience in the research process and / or completion of an undergraduate dissertation or independent study.
• Sufficient numeracy and literacy to meet the requirements of the course are required, for example Maths and English at Grade 4 and above. University of Worcester GCSE Maths and English equivalency tests will be accepted. See our Admissions Policy for other acceptable qualifications.
• A strong interest and demonstrated understanding of the breadth of the values, role and the skills required to be a registered physiotherapist is necessary.

Fees

Fees contents

• Full time
• Part-time
• Other costs
• Accommodation

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fee for full-time UK and EU students registering in the academic year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year.

Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students registering in the academic year 2025/26 is £22,400 per year.

Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.

Key facts

• Mature students welcome
• Start date and locationSep 2025 - Worcester
• Fees

UK and EU £9,535
International £22,400

• 2 years full-time
• Placement
• Study abroad available

What will you study

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and by feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Module content is continually reviewed to ensure that teaching and learning is evidence-based and reflects best practice.

Year one	Mandatory modules Applied Health Improvement (ALHS4001) - 15 credits Professional and Collaborative Practice (ALHS4003) - 15 credits Evidence based Physiotherapy (PTHY4004) - 30 credits Essential Physiotherapy Practice 1 (PTHY4005) - 30 credits
Year 2	Mandatory modules Essential Physiotherapy Practice 2 (PTHY4006) - 30 credits Leading Contemporary Practice (ALHS4007) - 15 credits Critical Perspectives of Physiotherapy (PTHY4008) - 15 credits Research for Healthcare Practice (ALHS4002) - 30 credits

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How will you be taught?

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

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Teaching

This MSc Physiotherapy (Pre-registration) course will be delivered full-time over two years, with each year comprising 45 weeks of learning; this is required to incorporate your practice based learning placements. There will be a minimum of 1,000 hours in practice placements, ensuring that you have enough opportunity to achieve a breadth of experience in a variety of settings, such that successful completion will ensure you can practice as an autonomous newly qualified practitioner.

You are taught through a combination of interactive lectures, practical skills sessions and small group seminars. Teaching will include both online and face-to-face teaching methods. Practical sessions are focused on developing physiotherapy specific and professional skills. Seminars enable discussion, developing your understanding of topics covered in lectures.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in the 2

nd

year of the course.

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the graduate attributes that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement.  A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support from Student Services and Library Services, and also the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will help you to flourish and be successful.

Contact time

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Contact time

The MSc Physiotherapy (Pre-registration) programme will be delivered over 2 years and across 45 weeks of the year. In a typical week, students will have around 10-15 contact hours, consisting of a mix of on-campus and some on-line synchronous and asynchronous teaching. The exact blend of on-campus and online teaching will vary between modules; however, students can expect a minimum of 1-1.5 hours of online teaching per week. Students should expect to undertake between 35 and 40 hours of study each week. Full-time practice learning placement equates to 34 hours for practice learning, leaving students with 3.5 hours academic or placement related study per week.

Independent self study

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Independent self study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 25 hours of personal self-study per week.  Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including The Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Duration

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Duration

2 years full-time

Timetables

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Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

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Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics and professional practitioners. Service users and practicing professionals, who may deliver sessions related to their clinical speciality or health condition and experiences, also support your teaching.

Teaching is based on research and consultancy; all permanent members of the Physiotherapy staff have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our

staff profiles.

Assessment

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Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments.

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, presentations and practice assessments. You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. The assessments will take place both within the University and practice placement environments. Practice-based learning will be pass / fail, while the Level 7 academic work will contribute towards the final grade.

Feedback on practical examination performance is available upon request from the module leader. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of submission.

Programme Specifications

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Programme Specifications

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please

download the latest programme specification document.

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Where could it take you?

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as a Physiotherapist and to apply to join the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy as a full member. This will enable you to pursue careers within the NHS and private sector. Opportunities exist in hospitals, community settings as well as sports teams, uniformed services and the public or voluntary sectors.

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as a Physiotherapist and to apply to join the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy as a full member. This will enable you to pursue careers within the NHS and private sector. Opportunities exist in hospitals, community settings as well as sports teams, uniformed services and the public or voluntary sectors.