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Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences) BSc

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Including Biology and one other science subject. General Studies is not accepted. Must also meet GCSE requirements as outlined on website.

Access to HE Diploma

D:21,M:24,P:0

Full Award Diploma (in a science subject). 60 credits at level 3 (45 graded and 15 ungraded). Credits must be in pure science subjects, excluding sociology. Any additional credits outside of the 60 credit diploma will not be accepted. Must also meet GCSE requirements as outlined on website.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M2,M2

Combinations of individual Pre-U subjects and A Levels are acceptable. Three principal subjects including Biology. Must also meet GCSE requirements as outlined on website.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

15 points at Higher Level, including a minimum grade 5 in Biology. At Standard Level, a minimum score of 4 must be attained in Maths and English, if at least a 4 (C) has not previously been attained in GCSE/IGCSE Maths and English. We accept both Mathematics: analysis & approaches and Mathematics: applications & interpretations.

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

DM

DM with a Biology A Level at grade B. Must be in a science or healthcare subject. Must also meet GCSE requirements as outlined on website.

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

DDM

Applied Science. Must also meet GCSE requirements as outlined on website.

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,B

To include Biology, and supplemented by 3 Scottish Highers at BBB. Must also meet GCSE/National 5 requirements as outlined on website.

Scottish Higher

B,B,B

To include Biology, and supplemented by 2 Scottish Advanced Highers at BBB. Must also meet GCSE/National 5 requirements as outlined on website.

UCAS Tariff

81-120

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

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Clinical physiology

As a Clinical Physiologist, you will play a vital role in the prevention, diagnosis, therapy, monitoring and rehabilitation of patients with a wide range of medical conditions. This programme is unique as it allows you to experience both cardiac and respiratory/sleep physiology before choosing your speciality in either cardiac physiology or respiratory/sleep physiology. Over the three years of the degree, you will spend time on placement learning and focusing on clinical skills.

On graduation, you will be eligible to register with the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) and work as a healthcare scientist. Previous graduates have undertaken further work-based learning, including the NHS funded Scientist Training Programme, accredited by the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS).

**Course highlights**

- Clinical experience in both cardiac physiology and respiratory/sleep physiology during the first year, with the choice to specialise in either route.

- Accredited by the AHCS and RCCP, with eligibility to apply for professional registration upon graduation.

- Excellent professional and career prospects; many students have healthcare science jobs lined up prior to graduating.

**About St George’s, University of London**

Established in 1752, St George’s is the UK’s specialist health university and is dedicated to medical and health sciences education, training and research. We share our site with a major London teaching hospital, which is both on the clinical frontline for a diverse local community and a centre of excellence for specialist conditions. At St George's, you’ll study in a clinical setting with like-minded individuals working across a variety of healthcare professions.

Modules

This is a modular degree that begins with a broad foundation of knowledge about all of the body systems and the disease processes that affect them but becomes highly specialised by the third year.

Year one combines an introduction to the biomedical knowledge underpinning healthcare science as a whole, and especially the field of physiological sciences. From the start the course is explicitly designed as a preparation for clinical practice, slanted towards medically relevant information and clinical context. During this year you will undertake 10 weeks of clinical training, divided between different sites to give you a variety of experiences. You will work in both Cardiology and Respiratory/Sleep departments at this stage.

At the end of year one you will select your speciality preference, either Cardiac Physiology or Respiratory/Sleep Physiology. Thereafter your learning will be divided between modules that are common to both strands and specialist modules that are specific to your choice.

In year two you will learn about the pathophysiology of common diseases affecting both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, taught by clinicians and researchers who specialise in these subjects and aided by time spent working with the specimens in our extensive pathology museum. You will learn to understand the scientific basis for the complex instruments that Clinical Physiologists use, calibrate and quality assure. You will also receive training in the research skills necessary for successful completion of your third-year audit/research project. Most importantly, the
specialist modules cover the detailed physiology of your chosen system (Cardiac or Respiratory/Sleep), in interactive sessions delivered by our core staff of registered Cardiac and Respiratory/Sleep Physiologists. They will cover the highly skilled diagnostic techniques, methodologies and interpretation required for clinical practice, reinforced by 15 weeks of speciality-specific training in your designated clinical placement site.

Year three focuses on developing your ability to apply everything that you’ve learned so far to the practice of Clinical Physiology. University-based teaching will focus on developing your specialist academic skills, while 25 weeks in the clinical workplace will complete your clinical training, providing the hands-on experience needed to build real expertise. You will complete and write up your clinical audit/research project. The third year will see you transform from a student to someone who has the knowledge, experience, professionalism and clinical competencies required of a Clinical Physiology Practitioner.

Assessment methods

This course uses a range of assessment techniques that are chosen to match the competencies being learned and tested within each module. These include written exam papers, academic coursework (essays, posters, presentations, reflective writing), the final year project dissertation, clinical assessments that take place during placements and a portfolio of clinical work.

St George's uses some formative assessments early in the course to help you to develop your skills, and provide interactive learning resources to help you judge your own understanding of some of the more difficult material. The Clinical Training modules are pass-fail only, but marks for the others accumulate to give your final degree classification.

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£19,150
per year
International
£19,150
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

St George's, University Of London

Department:

Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education

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.

88%
Clinical physiology

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.

Anatomy, physiology and pathology

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
81%
Staff are good at explaining things
94%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
100%
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

69%
Library resources
56%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
44%
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?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
23%
Male students
77%
Female students
67%
2:1 or above
0%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

Anatomy, physiology and pathology

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.

£25,000
high
Average annual salary
100%
med
Employed or in further education
95%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

72%
Therapy professionals
22%
Health associate professionals
2%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

What about your long term prospects?

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

Anatomy, physiology and pathology

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

£32k

£32k

£36k

£36k

£38k

£38k

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
University of Leicester | Leicester
Medical Physiology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 128-152
Lower entry requirements
University of Leeds | Leeds
Healthcare Science (Cardiac Physiology)
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 54-128

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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?

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