Information on Admissions Criteria for:-
B.Sc. (Hons) Physiotherapy

Entry Requirements

For the B.Sc. (Hons) Physiotherapy programme a typical entry with Scottish Highers is at least five highers: AAABB or points equivalent. Our subject-specific entry requirements at Higher level are English, Maths and one but preferably two other sciences at Higher (there is no preference for which science subjects). Applicants should normally have AAA or points equivalent at the first sitting of Highers.

A typical entry with Irish Leaving Certificate (ILC) qualifications is at least AAABB grades obtained at the Honours level ILC. Please note that four of these five grades must be gained in the subjects English, Mathematics and two science subjects drawn from Biology, Chemistry and Physics - i.e. either AABB or AAAB is required in these subjects.
 Grades/tariff points gained in additional subjects, at Honours level and at the Ordinary level of ILC will not be included in calculation of UCAS tariff points or when considering the required subject-specific entry requirements.

A typical entry with A-levels is at least 3 A-levels: ABB or points equivalent. Our subject-specific entry requirements are two of the following sciences at A-level: Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Achievements at AS level, or any other examination below A level, are not considered in either the calculation of UCAS tariff points or when considering the required subject-specific entry requirements.

For entry we also consider candidates who show evidence of other successful study eg university modules/other relevant courses, which are not at University level.

Mature students who do not have the above Highers or A-levels may be considered provided that the applicant demonstrates that he/she has undertaken appropriate, recent, successful study, particularly in the sciences. For example mature students may choose to study Highers or A-levels at an evening class. Mature students may choose to study on a one-year access course that is designed to prepare students for entry into higher education. For example Telford College, Perth College and Lauder College operate such programmes. Applicants considering undertaking an access course should be fully aware that successful completion of an access course does not guarantee a place on the Physiotherapy programme.

All places offered are conditional on the applicant providing a satisfactory Disclosure Scotland Enhanced Disclosure certificate or international equivalent.

In summary we recognise and consider all qualifications that are recognised by UCAS, and equivalency tables are available from UCAS or careers officers. For international (non UK) qualifications equivalency can be established through the National Academic Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom - UK NARIC. It is important to note that there is no qualification that will guarantee entry.

Strengthening an application/Choosing further studies

 The choice of what to do to strengthen an application is a dilemma that is always faced by applicants to Physiotherapy who do not already meet the entry criteria. In those circumstances we advice applicants to consider very carefully their ability to complete whatever studies they choose to undertake, in their efforts to strengthen their application, and the value to them of those studies should they be unsuccessful when applying. The B.Sc. (Hons) course is always seriously oversubscribed, and we select primarily on academic profile (for all types of applicants). Unfortunately due to limitations of numbers we have no choice but to reject a large number of very able students who are eminently capable of completing other degree programmes, or pursuing other career paths. Consequently an applicant would be very unwise not to consider where their future lies, should they be unsuccessful with application when planning any future studies. 

Unsuccessful applicants, or enquirers who do not meet the entry requirements, may wish to consider another Health Sciences, or Allied Health Professions course as an alternative such as; Podiatry, Occupational-Therapy, Radiography, Dietetics, Biological and Health Sciences or Nutrition. In these courses the competition for places is usually not as severe and consequently the entry requirements are usually less demanding.

English Language requirements

All applicants for whom English is not their first language must undertake an International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) test. The minimum standard required is; IELTS 6.0, or TOEFL 580 (computer-based score 237), if this minimum standard is not met the candidate will not be offered a place.

Availability of places

We receive over 700 applications each year for around 50 places we can offer on the course. This means that there is considerable competition for places. Therefore when planning any future studies, it would be prudent to take into account the use that you can make of these studies if you find that you are not offered a place on a Physiotherapy course

Selection priorities

We select on the basis of the candidate demonstrating a strong science background and a high number of overall academic points at A-level/Higher/other relevant course and/or evidence of other successful study eg university modules/other relevant courses.

In addition, from the personal statement we look for evidence of motivation to study Physiotherapy, evidence that the applicant is aware of what the career involves and any relevant skills/aptitudes or work experience that the applicant has.

A common question that we are asked is do we penalise applicants for applying for other career choices in addition to Physiotherapy. We do not penalise applicants for applying for other career choices in addition to Physiotherapy but the applicant must demonstrate that he/she is motivated to study Physiotherapy as outlined in the paragraph above.

Work Experience/Career Research

We advise applicants to try to work-shadow a Chartered Physiotherapist (preferably working in an N.H.S. Hospital) for a day or half/day to ensure that the applicant has a good knowledge of the career.

Interviewing

We do not normally interview school-leaver applicants; we do normally interview short listed mature applicants. International applicants are normally interviewed by telephone but where there are a large number of applicants from one country staff may visit that country to interview.

Application

Entry to the B.Sc. (Hons) Physiotherapy course is made through UCAS, and timescales of the processes involved are available from UCAS. We will consider applications for deferred entry to the B.Sc. course.

Self-Disclosure of Medical Record

Admission to the B.Sc. (Hons) in Physiotherapy may be precluded by certain medical conditions. Students are obliged to include information regarding any medical condition, past or present, which may affect their participation on the course when completing their UCAS application form. If a student has any doubt as to the effect that a medical or health related condition may have on his/ her application, he/ she must contact the Physiotherapy Subject Area who will be able to advise accordingly.

The Queen Margaret University does not warrant or guarantee that a student admitted to a particular course will necessarily be allowed to complete the course if the student subsequently suffers from or contracts any material medical or health condition.

Vaccination

Hepatitis B

The Physiotherapy Subject Area advises candidates who are accepted to the course, to be vaccinated against hepatitis B prior to commencement of the course. It is not mandatory that this vaccination be carried out, but, in view of the possibility of coming into contact with patients who are infected with the Hepatitis B virus, it is strongly recommended that candidates take this precautionary measure

Tuberculosis

The Physiotherapy Subject Area advises candidates who are accepted to the course, to be vaccinated against Tuberculosis prior to commencement of the course. It is not mandatory that this vaccination be carried out, but, in view of the possibility of coming into contact with patients who are infected with tuberculosis, it is strongly recommended that candidates take this precautionary measure.

Candidates should make their own arrangements regarding vaccination, with their General Practitioner, once they have been informed that they definitely have a place on the course. Queen Margaret University cannot make these arrangements on behalf of the candidate either prior to the commencement of the course or once the course is underway. Any costs or charges incurred in obtaining vaccinations must be borne by the applicant.

Funding

Students are advised to check their eligibility for funding for the course, and what expenses, and costs the funding bodies relevant to them will, and will not, cover. As part of their programme of study students will be required to undertake clinical placements, which are compulsory. These are arranged at a number of sites, and some of these sites may be located at a greater distance from the students' term time residence than would be amenable to daily commuting. Every effort will be made by the Subject Area to ensure that the allocation to different placement sites (with regard to their distance from the Leith Campus) is equally shared among all students, and that no individual student is disadvantaged in respect of placement location. Students may choose to apply for reimbursement of any expenses they incur, as a result of being on clinical placement, or for any other reason, from any body or bodies from which they receive funds. The Subject Area regrets that it is not able to offer any bursaries or grants, or to reimburse any expenses that students incur during their period of study.

State registration

On successful completion of the course graduates can become members of the Chartered Society Of Physiotherapy (CSP) and State Registered Physiotherapists under the auspices of the Health Professions Council (HPC).

Open Days

The University College holds Open Days in September.  The Physiotherapy Subject Area receive many requests from individual applicants to visi.t Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate these requests other than on the scheduled open days.

Disabled Applicants

If an applicant has some Physical, Mental or Sensory Impairment(s) and/or Special Educational Need(s) they are advised to contact the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) as they are the sole judges of who can and cannot become Chartered Physiotherapists in the UK.

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, 14 Bedford Row London WC1R 4ED | Tel:020 7306 6666 | Fax: 020 7306 6611

QMU is firmly committed to the widening access to higher education agenda. The Subject Area of Physiotherapy offers courses which lead to the award of B.Sc. (Hons) Physiotherapy or M.Sc. Pre-registration, and on successful completion these students are eligible to become Chartered Physiotherapists in the UK. However these courses both involve the completion of 1,000 hours of supervised, assessed clinical placement undertaken in NHS, and other, establishments under the supervision of Chartered Physiotherapists. What adaptations to the training given to the students, and alterations to the expected activities and attributes of performance while on these placements that could be made as a result of the student having some Physical, Mental or Sensory Impairment(s) and/or Special Educational Need(s) while still fulfilling the clinical placement requirements of the CSP is outwith qmu's control. Similarly if adaptations or alterations were made to any aspect of the B.Sc. (Hons) or M.Sc. programmes what effect this would have on eligibility for membership of the CSP on completion of the degree is outwith the control of QMU. These placements also involve regulations and policies decided by, and operated by, the Institutions concerned, these are again outwith QMU's control.

QMU is doing everything it possibly can to permit wider access and eliminate discrimination but in terms of the courses which are validated by Professional Bodies (such as the CSP) we are limited in what we can do, and therefore what we can and cannot promise students in terms of their future employability. Unlike many other degree courses the B.Sc. and M.Sc in Physiotherapy PR awarded by qmu are usually not the end point applicants are primarily concerned with.

Eligibility to work outwith the UK

All applicants are advised to contact the relevant registration bodies in countries where they may wish to work prior to application as the registration requirements and equivalency of UK degrees are subject to change with changing circumstances in the target country. As a guide at time of writing members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy are eligible to practice their profession throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. Members who wish to work in the United States, Canada and Australia are eligible to practice upon successful completion of an additional professional examination, which is of equivalent standard to U.K. examinations.

Transferring onto the course from another degree course

It is not possible to transfer onto the course from another course. The structure and content of the Physiotherapy degree course is so different from other degree programmes that any student would be significantly disadvantaged if we allowed them to transfer. It is extremely unusual for a student to be permitted to transfer onto any of our Physiotherapy courses even from another Physiotherapy degree, because there is too great a variation in the structure of even Physiotherapy education between institutions. Therefore applicants who wish to leave their current course and study Physiotherapy would have to apply for entry to first year, the application would then be considered along with all other applications received.

Transferring onto the course from another Physiotherapy degree course

It is extremely unusual for a student to be permitted to transfer onto any of our Physiotherapy courses, because there is great variation in the structure of Physiotherapy education between institutions (even within Scotland). English institutions, for example, offer three-year undergraduate courses while in Scotland we offer only four-year courses. Therefore transfer between English and Scottish institutions is (in my experience) rendered impossible, as the course structure is so different.

If however, you want to send details of which modules you have studied, and what grades you got we will make an initial assessment of the likelihood that transfer is possible for you. You should send this information to the School Officer (Tel: 0131 474 0000)  It may be that if you could not transfer you may be eligible for some Module Exemptions; information on this is below. As our students undertake clinical placements that are required for state registration within level three there is no possibility of exemptions being granted in the third and/or fourth years of the BSc. (Hons) course.

The courses offered by the Physiotherapy Subject Area consist of "modules" which is the name given to units of study.  

A single module for the B.Sc. (Hons) Physiotherapy programme is worth 10 credits.

A single module for the M.Sc Physiotherapy (Pre-registration) programme is worth 15 credits.

It is possible to obtain exemption from modules if you have successfully studied the module content at the equivalent level in a previous recognised course. You are required to provide evidence of this.

Where can I get information about the module content for the physiotherapy programmes?

All of the modules studied for the B.Sc. (Hons) Programme and the M.Sc Physiotherapy (Pre-registration) programme are listed at the end of this document. If you think that you may be eligible for module exemption, you can request to have a copy of the module descriptor sent to you. This contains information on the content of the module and the number of hours of study.

You should contact, the School Officer with knowledge of the Physiotherapy Subject Area to request this information (Tel: 0131 474 0000)  You will require to give provide the name of the course programme you will be entering and the module descriptor(s) you wish to be sent to you.

Please do not request module descriptors unless you are considering applying for module exemption. You will be given copies of modules descriptors when you commence the course.

How do I apply for module exemption?

You should read the module descriptor for the relevant module. After reading this, if you think you may be eligible to apply for module exemption you should obtain the appropriate form from the School Office.

The completed form should be returned to the course leader of the Physiotherapy programme that you will be entering. This should be returned as quickly as possible (even if you have not yet started your Physiotherapy course) and by week 4 of any teaching semester at the latest. You should include supporting evidence of the successful completion of the module previously studied and evidence of the content studied. This evidence should outline the hours of study, detail of content, the number of credits awarded and the level at which study was carried out.

The course leader for the B.Sc. (Hons) Physiotherapy programme is Dr F MacMillan.

The course leader for the M.Sc Physiotherapy (Pre-registration) programme is Ms J Lane

You should attend all classes until you are given confirmation that you have an exemption. A decision will be made within two weeks of submission and you will be notified accordingly.

Are module exemptions commonly granted for these courses?

From our experience only a few students in a year prove to be eligible for module exemptions. Most module exemptions that are granted are modules that are studied in year 1. Due to the applied nature of the Physiotherapy courses, students can often find that their previous study relates predominantly to theory and does not contain sufficient study of the application of the subject to the human body.

Can I get exemption from a whole year of study?

The only students who may be eligible for exemption from an entire year of study are students who are transferring to qmu from another recognised Physiotherapy degree programme after successfully completing at least a year of study at their previous institution. Due to differences in course structures between institutions this is extremely rare.

If a student is studying 8 or more modules, the student is classed as a full-time student and is not eligible for a reduction in tuition fee costs. Students studying 7 or less modules are charged on a module-by-module basis.

The section below is an extract from the Queen Margaret University Academic and Research Handbook. The extract contains the regulations relating to module exemption.

5.7 When admission to a level has been granted, students may further apply for specific credits as set out in section J6 below.

6 Accreditation of Prior Learning: APL

6.1 Definitions

The Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) refers to the recognition of prior learning gained from formal courses which has been previously assessed and/or accredited at higher education level.

The Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) refers to the process of assessing and then credit-rating learning which has its source in some experience which occurred prior to the point of entering the current course, but where that experience was not previously formally assessed and credit rated at higher education level.

The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) refers to the process whereby students are awarded credit towards an award on the basis of learning, whether certificated or experiential, prior to the point of registering for that award and, therefore, includes APCL and APEL.

6.2 The College will grant specific credit to students who can demonstrate that they have fulfilled the learning outcomes of specified full modules in a validated programme on which they are registered. This is referred to as accreditation of prior learning (APL). Students given specific credit for a module will then be prohibited from undertaking this or a similar module.

6.3 Students may possess general credit awarded by other institutions for previous studies. Part of these studies may be specifically recognised and given specific credit by the College because they meet the requirements of a Queen Margaret College award.

6.4 The only exception to 6.2 is where a programme option or elective exists. Specific credit can be given on the basis of previous learning without precise matching of module learning outcomes. Students must achieve the overall objectives for an award.

6.5 The application for credit will be assessed by the College according to the criteria specified in J.5.4.

6.6 The student’s claim for credit for a specific module should be assessed in the simplest and most cost-effective way possible, and in the following order of preference. The student can

• provide evidence of passing an equivalent module elsewhere;

• undertake the normal module assessment;

• undertake an oral examination;

• undertake another form of assessment, eg a challenge essay;

• submit a portfolio.

6.7 A student’s claim for credit for a specific module should be assessed by the same staff who normally assess performance on that module, unless that member of staff has acted as academic advisor to the student

6.8 Where specific credit is granted the form APL2 (App. 2) should be completed and a copy lodged with the Admissions Section of Registry.

6.9 The record of the assessment of prior certificated learning should be open to independent scrutiny by the same external examiners who assess performance on the specific modules or academic award. The evidence submitted by students of prior experiential learning in support of a claim must be available for scrutiny by external examiners. Boards of Examiners should be notified of those credits on student transcripts which arise from APL

6.10 At least 50% of the level at which a student enters a programme must be completed at Queen Margaret College in order to gain an award from the College. Classification of awards may make use of grades given for prior learning: for APCL, those grades given by the institution where the prior learning was accredited; for APEL, those grades given by Queen Margaret College.

Important Note

While we endeavour to offer potential candidates as much advice as possible, there is considerable competition for the places that we can offer. The advice given here therefore cannot be taken as a guarantee that an applicant would be selected for consideration for a place on the course should they meet the criteria.

Further contacts

If you require any further information about making an application for the B.Sc. (Hons) course, or an application form please contact UCAS.

For a prospectus, application form for any of our courses, an enquiry specific to studying Physiotherapy at qmu or for information about course fees contact our Admissions Officers at: Admissions

Tel: 0131 474 0000

Fax: 0131 474 0001

Email: admissions@qmu.ac.uk