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Start your journey towards a successful health career

This Foundation Year will equip you with the fundamental knowledge and skills needed on your journey towards a successful career in the healthcare professions.

Over the course of the year you'll study a range of subjects which will prepare you to progress to a degree in one of the many health related courses leading to Professional Accreditation. You'll gain knowledge in human biology and managing health conditions, you'll also have simulated practice options, giving you the valuable hands-on practice required to progress to one of the Professionally Accredited courses such as Physiotherapy.

The Foundation Year will prepare you for a range of professional healthcare courses and not just one particular BSc degree. So although you are studying a BSc in a specific course – Healthcare – the Foundation Year sets you up for a number of other possible degrees starting the following year. It may be that you don’t end up studying a degree in precisely the same subject as your Foundation Year.

This flexibility is one of the great things about the Foundation Year as it allows you to find out more about your interests and talents before focusing on a three-year degree. The Foundation Year also helps us make sure we help to match you to the degree that fits you best.

You'll be taught by expert staff and be guided at every step of your course, preparing you for your future employment options. Our supportive learning environment will allow you to develop the confidence and skills needed for success on your chosen degree.

Overview

Overview

Flexible progression options

At Worcester we have a well-established, high-quality suite of Health-related degree programmes. Upon successful completion of the Healthcare Foundation Year, you are guaranteed progression on to:

You will also be able to apply for one of the following courses and, if you meet the entry criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview:

a group of students are sitting and chatting

It’s not too late to apply!

You can still apply to study with us after the January UCAS deadline. Don’t be tempted to rush an application together as fast as you can, you still want to make sure your application and personal statement are as good as possible.

Your teachers can still write you a reference after the January deadline so make sure to let them know you’re applying to university

Entry requirements

What qualifications will you need?

48
UCAS tariff points

Entry requirements

48 UCAS tariff points

You should be at least 18 years old and normally have GCSE English at grade C/4, or above, and 1 A-Level (or equivalent Level 3 qualification).

However, we welcome students without the usual formal qualifications. Your application will be considered based your skills, experience and how prepared you are to complete the course.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) requirements

Students are required to demonstrate health and character sufficient to ensure safe and effective healthcare practice. This includes a satisfactory Enhanced DBS.

Progression routes

Upon successful completion of the Foundation Year you are guaranteed progression on to Healthcare BSc (Hons).  

You will also be well-placed to apply for a place on a range of other health-related degrees and will be guaranteed an interview. If your chosen course is regulated by a professional body such as the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, for example, you will be required to successfully complete the University’s selection process for the specific programme, which will include an interview. Entry on to year one of the degree programme may also be subject to a satisfactory Enhanced DBS and Occupational Health Assessment. You can find out more about the specific entry requirements on the individual course pages.

Mature applicants

As an inclusive university, we recognise that applicants who have been out of education for some time may not have the formal qualifications usually required for entry to a course. We welcome applications from those who can demonstrate their enthusiasm and commitment to study and have the relevant life/work experience that equips them to succeed on the course. We will assess this from the information provided in your application – in particular your personal statement - to help us decide on your eligibility for the course.

If you have any questions about entry requirements please contact our Admissions Office for advice on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.

Further information about the UCAS Tariff can be obtained from the UCAS Website.

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Course content

What will you study

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Foundation Year

Mandatory

  • Essential skills for learning in healthcare
  • Science for healthcare
  • Health and wellbeing in today’s society
  • Becoming a healthcare professional

Degree level

Module options at degree level will depend on the progression route you apply for. Upon successful completion of the Foundation Year, you are guaranteed progression on to:

Teaching and assessment

How will you be taught?

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for academic achievement, lifelong learning and future employment. 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

The learning and teaching strategies of this creative and exciting healthcare course promote active student engagement. The Inclusion Toolkit is used to develop accessible, flexible and inclusive approaches that empower you to engage with self-directed learning. Blended and inclusive teaching and assessment occurs across all academic modules.  The course is challenging and student-focused, utilising scenario-based and e-learning strategies, rooted in the real world of contemporary integrated care systems, allowing you to build knowledge, solve problems and make decisions as you become a reflective practitioner and leader. 

You will learn through a combination of face-to-face taught sessions in lectures, on-line and in practical skills sessions, seminars and tutorials. Workshops, group projects, work-related case studies, role playing, and a research project offer experiential learning opportunities including contributions from service users and providers providing authentic interactions.  Further, needs analysis, problem-solving and decision making are key elements of the course.  

Seminars enable rich discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures, and practical sessions are focused on developing subject specific skills and applied individual and group project work.  In addition, a strength of the course is that many modules are informed by staff whose research and professional practice are in specific areas such as Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Paramedic Science, Nursing, Social work. 

You are given detailed module outlines, which include planned teaching activity, attendance requirements, assessment brief, assessment criteria and reading lists. You will be expected to attend all taught sessions, some of which maybe online whilst others may be face-to-face. You are expected to complete all assessments unless mitigating circumstances prevail. Taught sessions will include activities that depend on your participation and collaboration. Work-related case studies, role play and discussion, for instance, depend on participants’ attendance and regard for the learning of others for their value as well as for your own learning. You will also be expected to read around the subject areas you are studying. In addition, meetings with Personal Academic Tutors (PATs) are scheduled on at least four occasions during the first year with an additional three occasions in the second and third years.  As part of this course, you are required to complete a Personal Development Plan (PDP) to support their future employability. 

The Blackboard Learning System, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), is used to provide module-specific learning resources. These include, but are not limited to, module outlines and handouts, lecture material, videos, various documents, reading lists, formative assessments and feedback/feedforward on summative assessments. 

Contact time

Contact time is likely to be a maximum of 15 hours per week. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected and in the final year you will normally have slightly less contact time in order to do more independent study. Typically contact time will be structured around:

  • Lectures and seminars (face to face and online)
  • Workshops
  • Group work (problem and enquiry-based learning)  

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.

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

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, professional practitioners and work-based learning tutors all with industry experience.

Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy, and (as at March 2019) 100% per cent of lecturers 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

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, performance, supervisors report, presentations and a final year independent studies project.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

Year 0 (Foundation Year)

  • 1 written exam/test
  • 2 seminar presentations
  • 1 case study
  • 2 reflective portfolios
  • 1 individual presentation
  • 1 written assessment

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. 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 hand-in.

Programme specification

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.

Meet the team

A selection of our expert health-related teaching staff.

Rachel Kyte

Rachel Kyte

Rachel joined the University in 2013 after working clinically for 13 years as a physiotherapist. She has worked predominantly in the NHS with patients with musculoskeletal disorders, but has also worked in private practice, overseas and in industrial and occupational health settings. Her other main area of academic interest is acupuncture, which she teaches at a post-graduate level to practising physiotherapists.

Sophie Smith (4)

Dr Sophie Knight

Sophie qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1997 and worked in a variety of settings in practice, predominantly in Adult Social Care. In 2009 Sophie made the move to working in higher education and was a lecturer and Placement Education Tutor at Bournemouth University until October 2018 when she moved to the University of Worcester. She is now a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy and is Admissions Tutor for the degree course. Sophie is working on her PhD part time whilst working full time, the focus of the research is the role and meaning of food for older people. Sophie loves working with students and says that they have taught her a lot over her ten years of university life. Occupational Therapy is one of the most rewarding and exciting professions and being part of the journey for new generations of Occupational Therapists is a privilege.

mark-odam

Mark Odam

Mark joined Gloucestershire Ambulance Service in 1994 as an Ambulance Technician, and completed my paramedic training in 2000. Since then he has worked as a HEMS Paramedic for just under 3 years, and was also part of the first cohort of Emergency Care Practitioners for the Trust.

Mark completed his BSc as part of his training, and has worked in specialist/advanced practice ever since. Before joining the University of Worcester, Mark was the Specialist Paramedic Operations Manager for Gloucestershire, Avon and Wiltshire, and oversaw day-to-day matters including developing policy changes and new working practices. He also helped deliver training and clinical skills updates to his staff in these areas.

louise-carter

Louise Carter

MSc Advancing Practice (University of Worcester 2016)
BSc (Hons) Nursing (Bristol Polytechnic 1988-1992)
Registered General Nurse
Post Graduate Certificate Teacher of Health and Social Care (University of Worcester 2014)
Leg Ulcer Management (University of Worcester 2010)
Multi-Disciplinary Diabetes Care (University of Worcester 2009)
Oncological Nursing ENB 237 (University of Central England 1998)

Careers

Where could it take you?

Progression opportunities

This Foundation Year will prepare you for a range of courses and not just one particular BSc degree. So although you are studying a BSc in a specific course – Healthcare – the Foundation Year sets you up for a number of other possible degrees starting the following year. 

You will also be able to apply for one of the following courses and, if you meet the entry criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview:

Careers opportunities

Healthcare graduates are employed in a wide range of organisations and specialities. Many work for the National Health Service and Social Care organisations but there is a growing number of opportunities in the private sector as well as the Independent sector.

Professionals work with people of all ages from childhood through to the end of life and support people with physical or mental health needs, learning disabilities and those whose opportunities are restricted by circumstance.

Two students are walking next to each other and smiling

Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential.
Costs

How much will it cost?

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2023/24 academic year is £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2023/24 academic year is £14,700 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students registering on this course in the academic year 2023/24 are £1,156 per 15-credit module, £1,542 per 20-credit module, £2,312 per 30-credit module, £3,083 per 40-credit module, £3,469 per 45-credit module and £4,625 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Hall' at £122 per week to 'En-suite Premium' at £207 per week (2023/24 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.

How to apply

How do you apply?

You'll apply for a 4-year Healthcare with Foundation Year programme. Upon successful completion of the Foundation Year you are guaranteed progression on to Healthcare BSc (Hons). However, you'll also have the option to apply for another of our health-related degrees and, if you meet the entry criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Applying through UCAS 

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application.

UCAS Code

B902

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Dawn Goodall

Admissions Tutor