BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Science
- UCAS Course Code
- B620
- Typical Offer
- ABB
- Contextual Offer
- BBC
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2025
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Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Join our accredited course in Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) to open up a world of opportunities. You could work with people of any age and from any background, supporting individuals and their families living with communication and/or swallowing needs. Your course will interweave the disciplines of linguistics and phonetics, psychology, and anatomy and physiology in a wide-ranging exploration of SLT research and practice, including your completion of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) pre-registration eating, drinking and swallowing competencies.
Through our established and innovative hybrid Problem-Based Learning curriculum, our dedicated teaching team will support you to develop and apply your knowledge and skills, drawing on in-house clinical expertise and phonetics/psychology/linguistics subject specialists, supported by local clinicians and service users.
Our curriculum facilitates your development of independent and collaborative working skills to thrive within the profession. In group learning sessions, you’ll investigate materials such as videos and case notes to generate questions which you’ll then research, discuss, integrate, and apply. Through our blend of conversation partner and clinical block placements, you’ll gain the skills and experience to become well-rounded clinicians.
You’ll benefit from our dedicated Clinical Skills Area, housing specialist resources including an extensive library of tools for assessment and intervention. You may also have placements through our in-house Hub, supported by our clinical staff.
Demand for Speech & Language Therapists remains strong. After graduation, you might progress into any number of careers with employers in the NHS, private clinics, education, the non-profit sector or the justice system. Or you might pursue further study to enter research, specialist teaching or other related fields.
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Not sure how to prepare for university interviews? We offer free mock interview days for students who might need extra support.
Accreditations
Our course is fully approved by and prepares you for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).
Study and Modules
Structure
This three-year full-time degree programme will arm you with the theory, methodology and skills you’ll need to embark on a career as a Speech and Language Therapist. The programme combines a number of compulsory modules with practical placements.
In your first year you’ll be introduced to the core concepts relating to SLT in the areas of linguistics, phonetics, psychology and biology, as well as SLT theory and practice. Through client group study, you’ll gain an understanding of basic approaches to intervention appropriate for stuttering and developmental speech and language difficulties. On top of this, you’ll be introduced to research methods.
You’ll also undertake two pre-clinical placements which will explore the subjects of acquired communication difficulties and working with children. These placements will enable you to develop and hone your communication skills with each group.
Through a module shared with Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy students, you’ll discover what it means to engage with research-based evidence as a health professional and will be introduced to research methods.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Our teaching methods and pattern are consistent across the clinical modules. This involves being in face-to-face lectures for around three full days each week, and having independent study time for the rest of the week. However, this can vary dependent on other requirements of the programme. The majority of our teaching takes place in person, with selected elements of the programme taught online or through directed study.
To aid directed and independent study, you’ll have access to the university’s excellent library facilities, as well as an extensive range of clinical resources. These include SLT assessments across the range of client groups, and therapy resources including equipment for Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). In addition, our dedicated SLT Clinical Skills Area is available to support teaching and independent study throughout your degree.
Throughout the course, you’ll engage with our hybrid Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum, which contextualises your learning through discussion of a series of stimulus materials related to the teaching. In groups, you’ll generate and explore questions and develop your independent study skills as you research, draw together, and apply your findings.
As a member of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, you’ll spend time studying alongside students from other healthcare disciplines, allowing you to develop the inter-professional working skills key to clinical practice, leadership, research and clinical education.
Throughout the first year, you’ll be assigned a Conversation Partner, an adult with communication difficulties usually following stroke or head injury. Through your conversations, you’ll develop your core communication skills in a supportive non-clinical environment. At the end of the year, you’ll spend four weeks with children aged 3-8 years in mainstream education settings. You’ll apply your understanding of child development as you build your confidence interacting with children and reflect on communication in an educational environment.
Assessment
Our assessment method is designed to ensure you’re not only enabled to evidence your learning, but that you also have opportunities to develop some of the skills required when qualifying. These are professional skills such as presenting, sharing clinical reasoning, and thinking critically.
Each module is assessed and will give you the opportunity to evidence your learning and understanding of content within that module. This could cover a number of elements such as: clinical knowledge and application, understanding of key theories, practical skills and professionalism. A range of assessment methods are introduced across the first year to assess your knowledge in a variety of formats appropriate to the content and the field, such as essays or case-based assignments, classroom or practical test and presentations or professional discussions.
Structure
In your second year, you’ll cover the areas of deafness and hearing impairment, intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability, acquired language and communication disorders, and mental health difficulties. You’ll develop your research skills, learning to interpret and appraise data and discovering how it informs intervention. You’ll cover essential clinical skills, and undertake an introductory placement comprised of a number of single days in practice, as well as an eight-week clinical placement.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Whilst the typical pattern described above remains similar across the next two years, there will be some alterations:
Your PBL group members will change each year to enable you to work with a variety of cohort members and continue to develop your communication and professionalism skills.
The modules covered in Year Two build on your skills and knowledge from Year One and you’ll be supported to become increasingly independent with your clinical reasoning.
The 8-week clinical placement is full-time and takes place in the final part of the academic year. The clinical placements will be hosted by providers including NHS trusts, private clinics, schools, and our in-house Hub. These will give you the opportunity to integrate theory and practice under the supervision of a qualified Speech & Language Therapist and with support from University staff.
Assessment
Whilst the content will change in accordance with the module and level of study, the assessment methods remain similar to that of the first year. The majority of assessments are based on clinically-derived scenarios and datasets, and reflect the everyday skills required by Speech & Language Therapists.
Structure
Your third-year study will cover motor speech disorders and dysphagia, and disorders of the oral and vocal tract. You’ll increasingly focus on clinical decision making and planning interventions for clients. You’ll also complete a structured literature review, supervised by a member of staff with expertise in your chosen area. You’ll undertake further clinical skill sessions and an eight-week clinical placement.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
The first term consists of clinical modules. Alongside two full days of lectures and seminars each week, you’ll be supported to develop your literature review. The clinical modules build on the knowledge and skills taught previously and extend your skills in assessment and intervention in preparation for graduating as a newly qualified Speech & Language Therapist.
The Spring term is dedicated to the 8-week clinical placement and progressing your literature review, while Term Three focusses on completion of the project.
Assessment
Whilst the content assessed will change, the assessment methods you’ll encounter will remain similar to those of the first two years. In addition, you’ll be assessed on your literature review and your completement of your final-year project.
Employability
After the Course
Studying within UEA’s Problem-Based Learning curriculum will equip you with a wealth of specific and transferable skills to launch you into the Speech and Language Therapy profession. Your degree qualification will enable you to apply for professional registration as a Speech and Language Therapist, opening doors to a wide range of settings including schools, hospitals, people’s homes and the justice system, as well as community work.
Graduates from this programme are widely employed across the NHS and in education and independent sectors throughout the UK and beyond. You could also choose to return to higher education as an academic or researcher.
The transferable skills you develop on this course will also equip you well for further training in health or education (e.g. PGCE) and for non-clinical roles involving communication skills, problem-solving, and disability awareness.
Careers
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
- Hospitals
- Community health centres
- Education (schools and nurseries)
- The independent sector
- The charity sector
- The justice system
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Additional GCSE Requirements
We also require 5 GCSEs at a minimum grade C or grade 4, including Mathematics, English Language, and at least one Science subject.
If you hold or are working towards Mathematics and English Language GCSEs but do not hold 5 GCSEs/a science GCSE, please contact Admissions.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A levels
ABB.
Contextual offer: BBC.
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: DDM in Health, Care, Science or Applied Psychology.
Contextual offer: DMM in Health, Care, Science or Applied Psychology.
See BTEC / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 section below for further information on accepted subjects.
Combinations of BTEC and A levels
Diploma: DD plus B at A level.
Contextual Offer: DD plus C at A level.
Extended Certificate: D plus BB at A level.
Contextual Offer: C plus BC at A level.
BTEC in Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration are all excluded from our BTEC offers.
See BTEC / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 section below for further information on accepted subjects and combinations.
Access to HE Diploma
Pass Access to HE Diploma with Distinction in 30 credits at Level 3 and Merit in 15 credits at Level 3, in a Health, Care or Science subject.
T levels
Obtain an overall Pass including a B in the core of the T Level and a Distinction in the Occupational Specialism. Acceptable subjects: Education and Early Years, Health, Healthcare Science or Science.
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
Bachelor's Degree (hons)
- 2.1 or above
- 2.2 with CCC or above at A Level
BTEC / OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3
Grade requirements:
- DDM (made up of Extended Certificate, Diploma or Extended Diploma subjects)
- DD (made up of Extended Certificate or Diploma subjects) plus B at A Level
- D (Extended Certificate) plus BB at A Level
Subject requirements:
- Extended Diploma in any Health, Care, Science or Applied Psychology subject
- A combination of BTEC/OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 subjects, at least two of which are in Health, Care, Science or Applied Psychology
- Any BTEC/OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 subjects taken in combination with A Levels
If you have taken a Sport subject, rather than a Health, Care, Science or Applied Psychology subject, please contact Admissions.
BTEC Public Services, BTEC Uniformed Services and BTEC Business Administration are not accepted to make up any grades.
Certificate of Higher Education
60%, with CCC at A Level
Diploma of Higher Education
60% or above in Year 2
Foundation Degree
60% or above in Year 2, in a Health, Care or Science subject
Foundation Year
65% or above in a Foundation Year of an undergraduate degree programme at a UK university, in a Health, Care or Science subject
International Baccalaureate
32 points overall
Irish Leaving Certificate
3 subjects at H2, 3 subjects at H3
NCFE/CACHE Level 3 Diploma
Grade A or above in Child Care and Education (Early Years Educator)
NCFE/CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma
Grade A or above in one of the following subjects:
- Children's Care, Learning and Development
- Children and Young People's Workforce
- Health and Social Care (including Technical Level)
Open University
60 credits at 60% or above, in a Health, Care or Science subject
Scottish Advanced Highers
BCC or above
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
Scottish Highers
AAABB
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
Additional Information
We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications, and we also recognise that some students might take a mixture of some of the qualifications above. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
Please note that we do not consider A Levels in General Studies or Critical Thinking, Apprenticeships, NVQs (any level) or Work-based Level 3 Diplomas (previously NVQs) to meet the minimum academic entry requirements, although these can be used as evidence of recent study.
Graduates may wish to consider our accelerated Masters programmes.
- Non-Academic Entry Requirements
Offers will be made to applicants after completion of successful interviews, and will be subject to a satisfactory occupational health check (including evidence of appropriate immunisations), an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Where applicable, an Overseas Police Check may be required. We will let you know what you need to do (and when) to meet these conditions if you are successful in gaining an offer.
If you have previously studied at degree level in a health based subject, we will want to see that you have passed all of the study that you have undertaken. We’ll be unable to consider you for this course if you’ve obtained an academic fail from a previous health based degree programme, including where an exit award has been achieved.
- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting (or being predicted to meet) the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview.
Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your UCAS application. For more information on the application process and what to expect at each step, take a look at our handy Applying to HSC infographic, which explains the application journey from start to finish.
Interview format
Our interviews for 2025 will take place on our campus. The format will match the process outlined in our animation: What to expect from a Health Science interview at UEA, as closely as possible. You will be invited to book your interview for a morning or afternoon session by email. The email will include the arrival time and building location. We use a variety of the buildings on our campus for interviews, but they will either be on our Main Campus or on our West Campus (which is around a 20-minute walk from the centre of the Main Campus, near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital). The session will last no longer than 3 hours in total. Applicants who are based outside of England at the point of applying will be offered an online interview.
As part of the session, you will take part in ‘multiple mini-interviews’ with academic members of staff from the School of Health Sciences at UEA, clinicians from the profession, service users* and/or current UEA students from the course.
*A ‘service user’ is someone who has access to use health or social care services or could be affected by the services of health and social care professionals.
You will undertake your ‘multiple mini-interview’ alongside 1 or 2 other applicants for the course. Together, you will be taken to your interview room, which will be furnished with three interview stations. You will attend each interview station in turn, rotating with the other applicants you have been grouped with.
Before you visit each interview station, you will be given time to read some information. The information will include the interview questions or topics that you will be asked about. You will then be given a set amount of time with the interviewer(s), who will ask you the questions verbally.
The other applicants who you have been grouped together with will be following the same process as you at the same time. They will be speaking to alternate interviewer(s) to you simultaneously. You will all continue the process above until you have been interviewed at all three interview stations.
As part of your interview day, you will also have an opportunity to join some other sessions, for which you will not be assessed. The sessions are an opportunity for you to learn more about the course, the university, the students that study here, and for you to ask questions of current students and teaching staff. There may be an opportunity to undertake some practical skills during some of these sessions, if possible. There may also be an opportunity to tour the teaching facilities. These parts of your interview day are not compulsory, and do not form part of the assessment.
Interview questions
At each interview station you will be asked questions that focus on a particular domain. The order in which you are asked about these domains will be variable. The domains are:
- Your knowledge of the professional field for which you are applying.
- Your personal qualities and suitability for the profession. To help with discussion around this domain, you may be asked to consider a scenario and asked questions about how you would respond to it. You will be given time to read the scenario before you approach the interview station, and it will also be read to you by the interviewer(s).
- Your understanding of and suitability for the course at UEA.
On all interview stations, interviewers will also consider your ability to clearly present information and communicate your responses effectively.
Experience of healthcare
We are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. First time applicants to Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions will all be in a similar situation.
Clinical work experience will not generally be a requirement for applying to train in healthcare. We will be looking for you to show that you are able to work with people, that you appreciate the health and social care setting, and that you understand what a career in health will involve. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.
Note that your experiences are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. It is important that you think about how you might be able to demonstrate your understanding of healthcare, that you can relate this to experience or research, and that you can explain what you have learned.
What type of experience or research do you need?
Any activity, life experience or research that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:
- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular, the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.
Practical ways to gain experience
Keep a reflective diary on what is happening in the news and online. Listen to what healthcare professionals have to say and reflect on this. All healthcare professionals can be a valuable source of information and experience, not just those that work in the specific profession that you are applying for. Demonstrating that you have a sense of all healthcare professions (and how they work together) will help you in both your personal statement and interview.
Volunteer in your spare time if you can, all forms of voluntary work can provide helpful work experience. If volunteer work in the NHS isn’t something that is available to you, think about what else you could explore i.e. working with other people in a caring or service role. Voluntary commitments to community groups (for example groups related to the work of churches, mosques and temples, or other groups such as Scouts or Guides) and online community support groups may also provide valuable experience of taking on responsibility, dealing with people and communicating effectively.
Remember: what is important is what you learn about yourself and about other people, and what you learn about how effective care is delivered and received. How you learn these things is only a small part of the story; it is how you communicate what you learnt that matters.
- Placements
During the course, no less than 50% of your time will be spent on practice placement. This might be in a variety of settings that include hospitals, community services, general practice, social services and voluntary or private organisations. Placement allocation occurs throughout the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
Assessing your fitness to become a registered healthcare professional
Please see our guidance on assessing your fitness.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Recent Study
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
- Age on Entry
Applicants for this course need to be aged 18 or over by the 31 August 2025. This is owing to the integrated nature of placements within the second year of the course and safeguarding implications. In view of this, applicants who will not be 18 years old or over by this date, should consider applying for deferred entry.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Additional GCSE Requirements
We also require 5 GCSEs at a minimum grade C or grade 4, including Mathematics, English Language, and at least one Science subject.
If you hold or are working towards Mathematics and English Language GCSEs but do not hold 5 GCSEs/a science GCSE, please contact Admissions.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
A levels
ABB.
Not accepted: Critical Thinking and General Studies.
International Baccalaureate
32 points overall.
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. For specific details about your country, view our information for International Students.
- INTO UEA
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 7.5 overall (minimum 7.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:
-
- Non-Academic Entry Requirements
Offers will be made to applicants after completion of successful interviews, and will be subject to a satisfactory occupational health check (including evidence of appropriate immunisations), an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Where applicable, an Overseas Police Check may be required. We will let you know what you need to do (and when) to meet these conditions if you are successful in gaining an offer.
If you have previously studied at degree level in a health based subject, we will want to see that you have passed all of the study that you have undertaken. We’ll be unable to consider you for this course if you’ve obtained an academic fail from a previous health based degree programme, including where an exit award has been achieved.
- Interviews
The strongest applicants will be invited to interview. Please note that meeting (or being predicted to meet) the minimum academic entry requirements will not guarantee that you will be selected for interview.
Interview invitations will be sent by email. Please keep a close eye on all emails from UEA after you submit your UCAS application. For more information on the application process and what to expect at each step, take a look at our handy Applying to HSC infographic, which explains the application journey from start to finish.
Interview format
Applicants who are based outside of England at the point of applying will be offered an online interview. You will be invited to an online interview by email. These are typically 40 minutes long and the email will include a link to your online interview. This is conducted on Blackboard Collaborate.
The interview will be conducted by one or multiple interviewers including academic members of staff from the School of Health Sciences at UEA, clinicians from the profession, service users* and/or current UEA students from the course.
*A ‘service user’ is someone who has access to use health or social care services or could be affected by the services of health and social care professionals.
After an initial introduction, the lead interviewer will conduct an ID check and then explain how the interview will unfold.
The interview will cover three distinct domains which will be introduced to you by the interviewer at the start of your interview. The interview questions will be shared in the chat with you so you can read them.The domains are:
- Your knowledge of the professional field for which you are applying.
- Your personal qualities and suitability for the profession. To help with discussion around this domain, you may be asked to consider a scenario and asked questions about how you would respond to it. You will be given time to read the scenario before you approach the interview station, and it will also be read to you by the interviewer(s).
- Your understanding of and suitability for the course at UEA.
During the interview, the interviewer(s) will also consider your ability to clearly present information and communicate your responses effectively.
Experience of healthcare
We are aware that it is a difficult time to try to gain relevant experience in healthcare. First time applicants to Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions will all be in a similar situation.
Clinical work experience will not generally be a requirement for applying to train in healthcare. We will be looking for you to show that you are able to work with people, that you appreciate the health and social care setting, and that you understand what a career in health will involve. While we will expect you to show some understanding of what it is like to be the professional of your choice, part of this involves demonstrating that you know what it is like to work in a responsible role, particularly with the public.
Note that your experiences are only as valuable as the way you talk about them and what understanding you take from them. It is important that you think about how you might be able to demonstrate your understanding of healthcare, that you can relate this to experience or research, and that you can explain what you have learned.
What type of experience or research do you need?
Any activity, life experience or research that helps you to prepare for training to be a healthcare professional will help. This means any activity that allows you to demonstrate that you have:
- Had people-focused experience of providing a service, care, support or help to others, and that you understand the realities of working in a caring profession.
- Developed some of the values, attitudes and behaviours essential to being a Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health professional such as conscientiousness, effective communication and the ability to interact with a wide variety of people. The values that we are looking for are set out in the NHS Constitution.
- A realistic understanding of Health and Social Care and in particular, the physical, organisational and emotional demands of the career.
Practical ways to gain experience
Keep a reflective diary on what is happening in the news and online. Listen to what healthcare professionals have to say and reflect on this. All healthcare professionals can be a valuable source of information and experience, not just those that work in the specific profession that you are applying for. Demonstrating that you have a sense of all healthcare professions (and how they work together) will help you in both your personal statement and interview.
Volunteer in your spare time if you can, all forms of voluntary work can provide helpful work experience. If volunteer work in the NHS isn’t something that is available to you, think about what else you could explore i.e. working with other people in a caring or service role. Voluntary commitments to community groups (for example groups related to the work of churches, mosques and temples, or other groups such as Scouts or Guides) and online community support groups may also provide valuable experience of taking on responsibility, dealing with people and communicating effectively.
Remember: what is important is what you learn about yourself and about other people, and what you learn about how effective care is delivered and received. How you learn these things is only a small part of the story; it is how you communicate what you learnt that matters.
- Placements
During the course, no less than 50% of your time will be spent on practice placement. This might be in a variety of settings that include hospitals, community services, general practice, social services and voluntary or private organisations. Placement allocation occurs throughout the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
As this course includes patient facing placements in health or social care settings, and these are a mandatory component of the course, you will need to comply with the placement vaccination policy. Failure to meet the placement vaccination policy may prevent you from joining the course or may lead to your withdrawal from the course in the future. Future employment may also be subject to this condition.
Assessing your fitness to become a registered healthcare professional
Please see our guidance on assessing your fitness.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Recent Study
We would prefer you to be able to demonstrate evidence of recent academic study within 5 years of the start of the course. If your last qualification will have been completed more than 5 years ago by the time the course starts, please contact Admissions.
- Age on Entry
Applicants for this course need to be aged 18 or over by the 31 August 2025. This is owing to the integrated nature of placements within the second year of the course and safeguarding implications. In view of this, applicants who will not be 18 years old or over by this date, should consider applying for deferred entry.
Not sure how to prepare for university interviews? We offer free mock interview days for students who might need extra support.
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
You can find information regarding additional costs associated on our Fees and finance webpages.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: