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Physiotherapy

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B-A,B,B

Including Biology or Human Biology.

Welsh domiciled students studying/having successfully completed certain Access to Higher Education Diplomas related to Healthcare may be eligible for a guaranteed interview on application. Please contact the Healthcare admissions team for specific details: [email protected]

Extended Project

A

For applicants taking the EPQ qualification, an A in the EPQ can be recognised to lower the entry requirements by a single grade. For example an AAB offer would be "AAB from 3 A levels or ABB from 3 A levels and a grade A in the EPQ". Please note that any subject specific requirements must be met.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

You must have or be working towards: English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade B/6 or an equivalent (such as A-levels) and six GCSEs at grade C/4. Must include Maths, and one science (from Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), or equivalent qualifications (subject and grade). If you require a Tier 4 visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements. English Language GCSE C/4 will be accepted where you are taking qualifications at a higher level which are taught through the medium of English such as A-levels.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32-34

34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL Biology.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD-DDM

Accepted subjects: Applied Science, Medical Science.

T Level

D

D in T Level Health, Healthcare Science, or Science.

The Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate will be accepted in lieu of one A Level at the A Level grades specified, excluding any subject specific requirements.

UCAS Tariff

128-136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Physiotherapy

Studying physiotherapy at Cardiff means you will be studying at one of the top 3 physiotherapy courses in the UK as ranked by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019.
Our physiotherapy programme will result in you being eligible to apply to the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) for registration which means you will be licenced to practice as a qualified physiotherapist after graduating.
Physiotherapy is an exciting and ever-evolving professional career concerned with supporting individuals to live fulfilling and active lives. A career in physiotherapy opens up opportunities for you to work closely with public health organisations, exploring innovative ideas around health promotion. Physiotherapy offers you the chance to work in stimulating, sociable and supportive environments working closely with other professions as part of multi-disciplinary teams, patients and their families.
Our hands-on course offers you the chance to study through both academic and placement learning. Meaning you get to take what you’ve learnt in theory and put it into real practice when you’re out on placement.
You will study areas such as movement and exercise, manual therapies, electrotherapies, education and advice, and behavioural and psychological therapies. Your academic learning will be supported by researchers and academics. You will have a designated personal tutor to support your learning throughout your studies with us. Practical teaching takes place in specially designed labs and simulation suites.
Your placement learning takes place across Wales and takes up about one third of the course. Placements are an essential part of the course and they will give you the confidence and skills to practice physiotherapy professionally in real-life situations with qualified professionals supervising and supporting you. Placement learning also helps you gain insight as to the wide-ranging employment opportunities available to you upon qualification.
We constantly try to make sure you have plenty of opportunity to take part in extra-curricular activities such as physiotherapy-related support with the annual Cardiff Half Marathon. Above all else, we strive to ensure that our graduates are ready for the next step in their career. That’s why 97% of our physiotherapy students are in employment or further study after 6 months of graduating (UNISTATS 2018).

**Distinctive Features**

Here are some of the key features of why we think our programme will make you the best physiotherapist you can be:

- Our programme is validated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).

- For Home/EU students you have the option to choose a fully funded place on the programme or receive a full NHS bursary for Tuition fees providing you agree to work in Wales for two years after qualifying.

- Throughout the 3 years there is opportunity for you to undertake a global learning experience, either within the UK or overseas.

- You’ll be studying at a Russell Group University which supports a strong research profile. Our programme is one of the few physiotherapy courses where you complete a full dissertation project opening up careers in research.

- We have well-equipped skills laboratories which enable you to learn in simulations relating to your profession. Lifelike simulations mean you can safely practice and develop essential skills, developing your confidence and expertise before going out into placement.

- Placement learning across Wales is an essential part of the programme and with unrivalled access to clinical settings throughout Wales means we can offer you a range of practice-based learning opportunities to ensure your experience is competitive in the UK employment market.

- There are opportunities to participate in professional body activities, such as becoming a Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Student Representative, and to take part in ‘Community Engagement’ projects.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

Extra funding

Cardiff University has many scholarships on offer to our prospective students. Please see our website at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/funding/scholarships for further information.

The Uni


Course location:

Main Site - Cardiff

Department:

School of Healthcare Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

76%
Physiotherapy

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Physiotherapy

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
78%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
91%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

71%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
45%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
32%
Male students
68%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
1%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Physiotherapy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

45%
Therapy professionals
42%
Health professionals
11%
Nursing and midwifery professionals

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Physiotherapy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£24k

£24k

£30k

£30k

£32k

£32k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
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UCAS Points: 136-147
Lower entry requirements
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Physiotherapy
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-136
Same University
Cardiff University | Cardiff
Medical Pharmacology
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UCAS Points: 128-136

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here