BSc (Hons) Fire and Rescue with Foundation Year

Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Fire and Rescue with Foundation Year

Overview

This course is a vocationally focussed programme intended to prepare students for employment within the fire & rescue services and enhancing existing members of the emergency services career prospects and professional skills.

Award

BSc (Hons)

Start date(s)

15 September 2025

UCAS Code

H12A

Course specifications

View course spec

Course length

Full-time (4 years), Part-time (8 years)

Campus location

University: City Campus

School

School of Social Sciences and Humanities

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Why choose this course?

• 100% for 'Academic Support' (NSS, 2024)
• 97% for 'Teaching on my course' (NSS, 2024)

This course is a vocationally focussed programme intended to prepare students for employment within the fire & rescue services and enhancing existing members of the emergency services career prospects and professional skills. It will enable students to critically assess the operational requirements of industrial and local authority fire and rescue services through a problem-solving approach and present the outcomes in a structured and coherent manner.

The foundation year of this course is designed to offer applicants who do not have the required qualifications, a programme which will equip them with a robust toolkit of academic, digital and personal skills required for successful study in higher education. It also provides an understanding of, and insight into, a range of disciplines that underpin their chosen programme of study. In the foundation year students will develop their ability to gain the most out of structured in-class study, and also to manage and evaluate their own independent learning. This wide range of transferable skills is of immense value in both undergraduate study and graduate employment. Upon successful completion of the foundation year, students will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of their subject area to degree level.

What's unique about this course?

• The degree is accredited by the Institution of Fire Engineers. Upon graduation, students are eligible to apply to become members of the Institution (MIFE).
• Developed in conjunction with UK Fire and Rescue Services, this vocational degree offers a well-balanced and highly relevant professional programme of study for students intending to seek a career in the fire and rescue services.
• You are encouraged during the three years of study, to become a community safety volunteer, Young Firefighters Association (YFA) instructor or an on-call (retained) firefighter of a local fire and rescue service.

Course Modules

Year 1

• Contemporary Social Issues
• Preparing for Success at University
• Project-Based Learning
• Wolverhampton and its People

Year 2

• Fire Dynamics and Suppression
• Fire Engineering Science
• Fire Engineering Science Study Skills
• Fire Risk Management
• Introduction to Fire Leadership and Command
• Introduction to the Fire and Rescue Service

Year 3

• Community Safety and Social Policy
• Emergency Planning
• Fire Scene Investigation
• Hazardous Materials and the Environment
• Operational Fire Leadership and Command
• Specialist Fire and Rescue Services

Year 4

• Fire and Rescue Project
• Fire and Rescue Service Law
• Fire Safety in the Built Environment
• Interoperability and Collaboration
• Operational Risk Management in the Fire and Rescue Service
• Strategic Fire Leadership and Command

Potential Career Paths

Successful completion of this award will equip you for a professional career in the fire and rescue services. You will be expected to engage in a series of highly relevant extra-curricular activities that will allow you to apply your knowledge to practical situations. In addition, all courses provide the academic background and scholarship necessary for postgraduate study at both Masters and Doctoral level.

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

Why Wolverhampton?

Developed in conjunction with UK Fire and Rescue Services, this vocational degree offers a well-balanced and highly relevant professional programme of study for students intending to seek a career in the fire and rescue services, in local authority fire and rescue services or in airports and industrial fire sectors. The degree contains a number of engineering and science, management and operational modules including fire engineering science, chemistry and leadership and command studies.

A number of services contribute to the curriculum design and content and the programme will include a ‘guest lecture’ series during which students will be expected to engage in discussion and debate with leading fire and rescue experts on current practice and policy.

This award is specifically and uniquely designed to equip students for a future career as a professional fire fighter. The professionally focused nature of this programme is designed to not only provide knowledge and skills sufficient to seek employment in the fire and rescue services, but to also establish a firm foundation upon which to build a career. You are encouraged during the three years of study, to become a community safety volunteer, Young Firefighters Association (YFA) instructor or an on-call (retained) firefighter of a local fire and rescue service. This will enable you to build up a portfolio of academic and practical achievements to enhance your opportunities for a career in the fire service.

What skills will you gain?

As a graduate of this course you will be able to demonstrate:

1. Demonstrate knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to graduate employment within the fire and rescue services and related areas, for example aviation/commercial / industrial fire & rescue sector;
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts and theoretical positions that have been developed, or are developing, within the fire & rescue professions;
3. Demonstrate a critical and reflective approach to the academic and practical application of fire & rescue theories and practices;
4. Utilise a broad range of transferable skills, both personal and academic, enabling the individual to maximise graduate employment within the fire & rescue sector;
5. Build effective presentation, personal and social qualities to become a confident, digitally literate and enterprising graduate; and
6. Demonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards within the fire & rescue sector and recognise their obligations to the ‘profession’ and society.

Course Fees and Finance

Location | Mode | Fee | Year
---|---|---|---
Home | Full-time | £9250 per year |
Home | Part-time | £4625 per year# |
International | Full-time | £14950 per year |

Entry Requirements

Prepare for Foundation Pathway:- We will consider applicants who have not achieved 48 UCAS points (equivalence) from prior level 3 qualifications, if you have a keen interest in this subject area or hold relevant experience. You will be required to attend and pass a compulsory Prepare For Foundation assessment day where you will take part in a variety of activities which will assess your suitability for the course. If you would like more advise and guidance about this admissions pathway, please contact the Gateway team to discuss and support you in making an application to us.

Funding

Tuition Fees Loan(Home Fee Status):

Most students will be able to apply for a loans to pay for these subject to eligibility. To find out more information please refer to the government Student Finance website.****Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as having Overseas Fee status. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) ****Self-funding:**

If you don’t want to take out a loan to pay your fees or if you aren’t eligible to receive a loan, you might want to take advantage of the University’s scheme to pay by instalments: See How to pay.

For more information please contact the Gateway.****Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment , confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.

How We Compare

Find out how our course is rated on Discover Uni, the official website for comparing UK higher education courses

Full-time Course

92%say staff value students views and opinions about the course

Data for courses in Management studies at University of Wolverhampton

100%of students say teaching staff have supported their learning well.

Data for courses in Management studies at University of Wolverhampton

77%in work or doing further study 15 months after the course.

Data for courses in Business and management at University of Wolverhampton

For more official course information visit Discover Uni

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Part-time Course

82%say staff value students views and opinions about the course

Data for courses in Business and management over two years at University of Wolverhampton

82%of students say teaching staff have supported their learning well.

Data for courses in Business and management over two years at University of Wolverhampton

65%in work or doing further study 15 months after the course.

Data for courses in Business and management at University of Wolverhampton

For more official course information visit Discover Uni

See course data

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