Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biological Sciences (Optional Placement)

at University of Plymouth United Kingdom

Physiotherapy is a hands-on healthcare profession that uses physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Our innovative curriculum uses real clinical scenarios and diverse practice settings ranging from neurological rehabilitation to acute respiratory care and sports. Reflecting the conditions that physiotherapists treat, our approach is designed to bring your learning alive and develop your clinical reasoning.

You will benefit from our established track record of working with local professional sports teams, the armed forces and extracurricular experience such as pop-up clinics for the local half marathon. You will graduate armed with the skills and experience to find employment in a variety of environments. You could find yourself working in hospitals, health centres, the local community, with the elderly, the disabled or for charitable organisations both in the UK or abroad.

Key Features

• Experience excellent placement opportunities in a variety of clinical settings, which have ranged from acute teaching hospitals, to the community, sports clubs and the Armed Forces. This includes a full placement in your first year with all placement marks potentially contributing towards your degree classification.
• Learn to study independently and in small groups with our enquiry-based learning curriculum.
• Achieve your potential as an autonomous practitioner with highly developed problem-solving skills.
• Benefit from extracurricular experience by providing supervised physiotherapy support at our pop up clinics, such as local sports events
• Explore, collaborate and contribute to research informed practice, with a physiotherapy team engaged in research at an international level.
• Graduate armed with the skills and experience to find employment in a variety of environments - from the NHS to private practice, armed forces to sports clubs working locally or internationally.
• On successful completion of the course, you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council. As a successful graduate, you’ll be able to progress from student to full membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

Education is a driving force for a better and more just world. BA (Hons) Education informs, supports and promotes those looking to become innovators, pioneers and leaders of societal change. Educators can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. Whether you want to become a teacher, work in the social or care industries, as an educator in business, the environment or community development, BA (Hons) Education offers a flexible path to challenging and rewarding careers.

Explore social and political issues, consider diversity in education and discover how the environment shapes learning. This degree will help you make a difference to adults' and children's wellbeing and our global future.

Key Features

• We are about exploration: we love Plymouth but we also love to explore. Within the course there is the opportunity to broaden your understanding of Education in different environments and cultures: residential trips; an option to study for the second semester in the USA; work based learning placements, and more.
• Learning and working with others: students are given space and tools to develop your individual voice, critical insight, and knowledge over a wide range of the education field. We encourage you to engage with different views and ideas about what a meaningful, inclusive and socially just form of education is.
• Enriched student experience: there are many additional opportunities to nourish a thriving student experience, such as benefitting from visiting speakers; wide ranging free public lectures/performances; Makaton training; teaching English as a second language fully certified course; and a range of volunteering experiences and placements in schools and the community.
• Developing confidence and critical thinking: we encourage and foster students’ knowledge and understanding of yourself and others, to develop confidence and conviction in personal opinions and beliefs and to have these challenged, as well as to build the courage to step outside of your comfort zones and to embrace new things.
• Becoming a researcher: students arrive imagining they might enter teaching, or social work, etc, at the end. Often, however, as you develop as an academic researcher, it opens up new opportunities and you catch the research bug! Doing research also helps to build confidence and skills which are useful for many work disciplines in the years ahead.
• Individual journeys and development: one of the things we particularly prize is the way we work to nurture, challenge and encourage personal growth and development. The course has the journey of 'you' at its heart: the person you wish to be, providing you with the enthusiasm and knowledge you need change the world around us.
• Early Childhood options: You can dip your toe into another program; as well as the BA (Hons) Education course, you will have the opportunity in your second year to take one or two modules in Early Childhood Studies.
• Other learning opportunities: Take advantage of paid or unpaid work-based learning module/s to help you stand out when it comes to starting your career. You can also participate in education-related volunteering, or pursue the opportunities presented in our International Students Exchange Programme.

Do you want to understand how a computer really works? You'll gain technical skills in computational theory, software development on a variety of devices and platforms, database development, computer hardware and networking. In addition to the technical content, you'll acquire an awareness of social, legal and ethical aspects of the IT industry.

This degree has a strong emphasis on practical skills which are extremely useful in the workplace. This provides an opportunity to accelerate your career. An optional, but strongly recommended, placement year is an opportunity to gain industrial experience and enhance your CV. Recent placement providers for our students include: the BBC, the Met Office, Microsoft, the National Physical Laboratory and Nestlé.

Have you Considered

• BSc (Hons) Computing and Software Development
• BSc (Hons) Cyber Security
• BSc (Hons) Games Development Technologies

Key Features

• We have strong connections with industry, including links with Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Cisco, Intel, Apple, Nvidia and many more. We are a member of Microsoft Imagine (formerly DreamSpark) which enable our students to acquire free software to support their studies.
• Distinguish yourself with a degree that’s accredited by and entitles membership of the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT (Subject to approval). You may also gain registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and will partially meet the educational requirements for Chartered Engineering (CEng) registration.
• Be inspired by the creativity that our practical, hands-on course nurtures. Our ‘learning through doing’ ethos means you’ll quickly achieve expertise.
• Learn from dedicated teaching staff, who are engaged in internationally significant research, are actively creating and developing applications, and have a wealth of industry contacts.
• Lay strong foundations for a successful career, using our extensive industry links to secure a one-year work placement – giving you the vital industry experience and connections you’ll need when you graduate.
• Discover the many collaboration opportunities, which mirror the teamwork at the heart of the industry. In the second year, you’ll work in a team of developers on our integrating project, to create a complete system from concept to delivery – honing your professional and communication skills.
• Immerse yourself in our modern and well equipped labs, which run industry standard developer tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio, NetBeans, Android Studio, Apple X-Code (Apple labs only) and much more. The labs are regularly updated and refurbished and they all have free, unlimited and very fast Internet access.
• Benefit from our focused and relevant research, we work closely with our Big Data Group and our Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems, which conducts leading research reputation in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, big data and robotics.  You will be offered practical and theoretical modules ranging from Machine Learning, computational theory and AI through to computer vision and parallel computing. You will have access to current AI and robotics platforms for final year projects on topics such as deep learning, cognitive robotics and big data.
• Ensure you have the business, communication and personal skills employers are looking for, with our teaching programme that reflects the strong entrepreneurial spirit driving the computer industry.

Are you fascinated by technology and design? Primarily problem solvers, mechanical engineers design, create and use tools and methods in every industry from atomic physics to space exploration. They play a vital role in tackling problems that affect us all such as energy security; efficient manufacturing and smart cities. Our engineering students are taught by enthusiastic staff with strong industry links who use laboratory sessions and physical demonstrations to reinforce academic learning.

Our accredited BEng Mechanical Engineering is designed to start your journey to becoming a qualified professional mechanical engineer. Our engineering programmes rely strongly on practical work and you will develop your design skills throughout the programme. We offer the opportunity to undertake a paid placement year to help consolidate and develop your engineering knowledge and many students receive job offers as a result of their time in industry.

Key Features

• Open the door to a successful future. With starting salaries from £23,000, our graduates have gone on to work for Hoare Lea, Babcock Marine, Becton Dickinson, e2v, Edwards, the Shaw Group and the Ministry of Defence.
• Distinguish yourself professionally with a degree accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). The course has been designed to fully satisfy the educational base for an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and partially satisfy the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). A programme of accredited Further Learning will be required to complete the educational base for CEng.
• Choose specialist modules in control systems engineering or thermo-fluid mechanics, and learn from engineering failures.
• Benefit from an optional 48 week paid work placement. Employment may lead to sponsorship and future employment opportunities.
• Engage in experimental work in excellent laboratories and workshops.
• Take advantage of a flexible course. The first two years are common with BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Composites and the first year is common with BEng (Hons) Marine Technology, allowing you to swap courses.
• Progress onto the MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering at the end of the second year if you are doing well on the BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering.

Are you a registered health or social care professional looking to develop your advanced practitioner knowledge and skills? The MSc Advanced Professional Practice (Nursing and Midwifery Professions) has been developed to meet the needs of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals working across all healthcare sectors. You will develop your practice by building on your current experience and knowledge, leading to improved ways of working and a positive impact on patient care.

Key features

• This programme may be studied full time over one year or part time over up to five years, offering flexible delivery and exit points to support a learner centred approach.
• A contemporary and dynamic programme responsive to the changing health and social care environment.
• Build a qualification around your personal professional needs by picking and choosing optional modules with relevance to your area of practice and benefit from a student-centred approach providing flexibility in your choice of award.
• Embed independent and supplementary prescribing into your masters degree (subject to profession).
• Opportunities to study in an inter-professional setting with inter-professional core and optional modules delivered by an academic team with extensive experience as well as a close relationship with clinicians contributing to teaching.
• Research informed teaching is embedded throughout the curriculum and you will be given the chance to design and undertake your own research to enhance and develop patient care and/or service provision.
• Gain a deeper understanding of the advanced clinical practice role and how this is used to enhance the patient journey whilst ensuring the right care is delivered by the right clinician at the right time.
• Be equipped to take on lead roles in management, clinical practice and/or education.

Computing and software development drives many of the world’s greatest technologies, helping us to live, learn, build and even save lives. This course combines computer science, software engineering and information systems to give you the skills employers want.

You’ll learn about programming, databases, computer hardware, computer networking, and how a computer operating system works. You will then extend your knowledge in graphical representation, data modelling and artificial intelligence. You can also enhance your career prospects with a placement at industry leaders such as IBM, Microsoft, Goss Interactive and Vualto.

Key Features

• Benefit from our close links with local industry by taking part in local meetups, conferences such as Agile on the Beach, and networking events across the South West such as Tech Exeter, Digital Plymouth. 
• Distinguish yourself with a degree that’s accredited by, and entitles membership of, British Computer Society, BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT (subject to approval). 
• Graduates may also gain registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and will partially meet the educational requirements for Chartered Engineer (CEng) registration. 
• Be inspired by the creativity that our practical, hands-on course nurtures. Our ‘learning through doing’ ethos means you build the skills to make you a desirable applicant for employers. 
• Learn from dedicated teaching staff who are engaged in internationally significant research, are actively creating and developing applications, and have a wealth of industry contacts.
• Enjoy guest lectures on cutting edge computing from the experts in industry such as Red Hat and Goss Interactive.
• Discover the many collaboration opportunities, which mirror the teamwork at the heart of the industry. In the second year, you’ll work in a team to develop a piece of software with a real purpose.
• Immerse yourself in the very latest technology and software. We use open source as well as providing access to Microsoft Imagine for software to work at home with. In our specialist labs you will get to use the Microsoft and Apple industry standard software, which we regularly update and refurbish. 

Geography explores the relationships between people, places and the environment. Our Geography with Ocean Science course allows you to focus on the physical side of this and also spend time studying ocean science. Plymouth is the ideal setting for this, giving you hands-on experience of the physical geography of a dynamic estuary and coast within walking distance of campus.

Our geography degrees make the most of geography’s strengths in tackling head on the biggest global challenges we face. Modules have been designed to address many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – developed by the UN as the 'blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all' – all of our degrees are fully accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Key Features

• Our newly designed Geography curriculum places sustainability challenges at the centre, with modules designed to help address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• Choose from an exciting range of physical geography and ocean science modules. Establish a sound knowledge base across all areas of ocean science, with options to study physical oceanography and meteorology, biological and chemical oceanography, and coastal oceanography.
• Our supportive staff are expert researchers and many are world leaders in their field.
• Teaching is innovative and student-centred. You will learn through lectures, seminars, practicals, national and international residential fieldwork, tutorials and one-to-one dissertation support.
• Learn to use Geographical Information Systems to analyse and communicate complex spatial data.
• Take advantage of a wide range of study abroad possibilities in Europe, North America and Australia.
• Experience a valuable work placement programme, opening up a range of career opportunities such as consultancy, policy development and management, teaching, planning and conservation.
• LABplus is a unique open access laboratory and resource centre designed for students studying science and engineering courses. The lab provides a flexible workspace, computing facilities, specialist software, access to microscopes, microscope cameras and bespoke resources.  
• Benefit from our unique location, in the heart of the historical city of Plymouth, bordered by Dartmoor National Park as well as the Tamar Valley and South Hams Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Devon and Cornwall have glorious beaches, coasts, rivers and estuaries.

Mental health nurses have a unique and profound impact on the lives of the people they care for, building and maintaining therapeutic relationships across all aspects of people’s lives. You'll gain the clinical and communication skills required to support the individual within their own recovery process. You'll develop the knowledge and experience to work within community, primary and acute care settings, and gain the confidence to help clients take the first steps to changing their lives.

Alongside preparing you to be an expert mental health nurse, our program recognises that all nurses need to be able to work with people suffering from physical health conditions and learning disabilities across the lifespan. We will give you a broad range of knowledge and skills pertinent to all the fields of nursing. This will include detailed knowledge of physical health care and essential physical nursing procedures as well as the skills to work with people who have learning disabilities.

Four year MNurs Degrees
Our four year MNurs programme allows you to study at masters level and choose two fields of nursing to register within

• MNurs (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health and Child Health)
• MNurs (Hons) Nursing (Adult Health and Mental Health) 
• MNurs (Hons) Nursing (Child Health and Mental Health)

Key Features
Achieve a bachelors honours degree and register as a nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in mental health enabling you to progress on to a rewarding career and work in a range of healthcare settings nationally or internationally. You’ll have a balanced learning experience with a wide and innovative range of teaching and assessment methods both in academic study and in practice. Your time with us will enable you to work with a range of allied health professions and other fields of nursing.

• Experience a course that teaches contemporary and innovative mental health practice.
• Focus on developing your interpersonal skills and the importance of building therapeutic relationships.
• Equip yourself with the knowledge and confidence to graduate with professional status as a registered mental health nurse.
• Qualify with outstanding employment opportunities in a profession that offers excellent career progression.
• Enjoy an accessible approach to your theoretical studies, with the option of studying in Plymouth, our Knowledge Spa campus in Truro or at our new University of Plymouth School of Nursing in Exeter.
• Experience clinical placements across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, designed to maximise your range of experiences and clinical skills.

Build critical in-depth knowledge of 21st century criminological issues in a global and domestic context. Our blended learning approach means students will be provided online learning materials such as podcasts, vodcasts and online discussion forums, offering a flexible approach to learning. This is supplemented by on-campus learning opportunities through personal tutoring, dissertation supervision and tri-annual symposium events attended by world-leading experts and practitioners in the ?eld.

During this year you will study core modules in criminological theory and research design, covering the advanced study of critical and theoretical perspectives within criminology and criminal justice and preparing you for writing a dissertation. In the two bespoke modules 'Global Inequality, Vulnerability and Justice' and 'Crime, Culture and Control' you will have the opportunity to study a wide range of criminological issues, each of which is taught by an active researcher in that field. Gain a relevant, advanced and sophisticated understanding of contemporary criminology and the skills necessary to strengthen your competencies as both a learner and practitioner.

Key Features

This course enables you to gain an in-depth practical understanding of the role of human resource management (HRM) in today's businesses, which sets you apart in the world of graduate employment. The course involves extensive involvement from guest speakers, as well as a range of practical activities, role play and case studies, enabling you to apply your knowledge of HR to real-life scenarios.

You’ll be taught by staff that have a considerable depth of human resource management experience from large employers such as the NHS and have undertaken research for professional bodies such as CIPD and ACAS. You will also be supported in your study by subject tutors and receive individual support for your academic and personal development from your personal tutor. You will acquire improved competences that will significantly enhance your employability in an HR role.

Key Features

• Gain a well rounded academic experience, through the provision of a mixture of taught modules and independent learning. 
• Benefit from the extensive use of guest speakers. This enhances the practitioner and practical focus elements of the programme and brings an added dimension of current practice and recognised issues directly to the classroom.
• Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
• Graduate with Associate Membership of the CIPD.
• Be taught by staff that have a considerable depth of human resource management experience from large employers such as the NHS and have undertaken research for professional bodies such as CIPD and ACAS.
• Undertake a range of practical activities to enhance the application of your learning to HR and managerial roles in an organisational context; this will include role play and case study activities.
• Choose and utilise a range of skills and techniques relevant to the management of people, including recruitment, selection, reward and retention.
• Learn to successfully manage and deliver a project on time.
• Gain the skills to write reports for commercial and academic audiences.
• Focus on enterprise and sustainability in human resource management and organisational practice.
• Evaluate actions and performance to enhance self-management, and devise plans to enhance personal and career development.
• Benefit from individual support - you are supported in your study by subject tutors and receive individual support for your academic and personal development from your personal tutor.
• Acquire improved competences that will significantly enhance your employability in an HR role.
• Progress on to further study with our MA Human Resource Management programme, or move into a graduate scheme entry.