Medical Physiology BSc (Hons)

This course is in clearing

Overview

Course options

Select year

Degree

UCAS code: B121 112 UCAS points
  • BSc (Hons) Medical Physiology, home applicant, full time

    • Home Applicant
    • Full time, 3 years
    • Pound 9250 per year
  • BSc (Hons) Medical Physiology, home applicant, part time

    • Home Applicant
    • Part time
    • Pound 2310 pro-rata full time fee

Degree with foundation year

UCAS code: B236 64 UCAS points
  • BSc (Hons) Medical Physiology, home applicant, full time

    • Home Applicant
    • Full time, 4/5 years
    • Pound 9250 per year

What makes this course different

Study abroad opportunities

You will have the chance to apply for a fully funded summer trip to India, as part of the Turing scheme, enhancing your career prospects.

Foundation year

Find out more about our flexible Bioscience and Health Foundation pathways which can prepare you for a number of our bioscience courses.

Explore foundation pathways

Outstanding facilities

Develop your practical skills within our multi-million-pound bioscience laboratories. Part of our £2.4 million investment included refurbished physiology and bioscience teaching laboratories.

Course modules

Our foundation year is a shared year across our health and bioscience courses. It's perfect for you if you want to follow a professional career in physiotherapy, podiatry, or adult nursing, but you don’t have the relevant subjects for direct entry to the degree course.

In your first year, you'll study physiology, professional practice, chemistry, biochemistry, human anatomy, microbiology, cell biology and genetics to equip you with an excellent all-round grounding.

In year two, you'll study more advanced areas of biochemistry, physiology, and anatomy and learn about pharmacology, disease processes and immunology.

In your final year, you'll focus on diseases of the systems of the body, clinical physiology and cellular pathology. You'll specialise in optional subjects such as toxicology, exercise or neuropharmacology. You'll complete a major research project and a group business enterprise project.

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

We've worked hard to ensure that this course will be the perfect launch pad for your future career in the medical field. Employers recognise the quality of the scientists we produce at UEL and graduates of our course have gone into jobs at Hammersmith Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital, among others. The thorough grounding you'll receive in physiology and the transferable skills you'll learn will open up many career paths, in hospital clinics and departments, or as part of a surgical team.

Industry links

We are linked with The Physiological Society - offering membership, conferences and skill development. This is particularly valuable as it will provide direct access to a professional network that could help you secure a job in medical physiology.

Graduate employers

Some of our medical physiology graduates have gone on to work for the NHS or pharmacies in London. These roles are just a few examples of the varied medical careers available to graduates with a physiology degree. Example employers are the NHS, universities, research institutes and pharmaceutical companies.

Job roles

Our graduates have gone into a variety of jobs in clinical physiology, medicine, radiography, physiotherapy and teaching. In addition, the industrial and pharmaceutical industries are always on the lookout for physiologists. You could use your degree as a basis for a more general science career, or go into research.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

Further study

You might decide to study for a further degree in a related subject, either an MSc or PhD, such as our new MSc in Clinical Exercise Physiology or embark on a research career in the biological or medical fields. There's always the possibility that, with further study, you could become a doctor or dentist.

Health Seminar
Doing the Medical Physiology degree at UEL helped shape me into the clinician I am today. The course gave me a strong foundation to pursue my master's in Audiological Science with Clinical Practice at UCL. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the course and I met some amazing people as a result. I will always be grateful to UEL for giving me a chance and guiding me in the right direction to get me to where I am today."
Dianne Gunuwardena

Clinical Audiologist

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated career support, and further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our medical courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting-edge technologies and science facilities.

Career Zone

This digital platform provides you with careers and employability resources, including: 

  • Jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work 
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts 
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services 
  • Careers workshops and employer events 
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you've mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Our Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top:

  • Work-based projects
  • Networking and visits to leading organisations
  • Support in starting a new business
  • London on our doorstep

How you'll learn

The physiology course is taught by staff with a range of expertise. Course Leader Dr Mohammed Meah is researching the body's response to stress and is an author of books on laboratory skills in biosciences and statistics. Dr Geoff Webb has authored several books on nutrition. Dr Prashant Ruchaya is an expert on stem cells. Dr Roger Carpenter is an exercise specialist and Mr Rane Ranesinghe is a very experienced anatomist. These experts will guide you through the physiology course and help you excel.

To ensure you have an insight into the industry, we organise external visits such as a day in the dissecting room at St George's Hospital. We have a range of guest speakers visiting. Our close association with The Physiological Society will help you meet physiologists, present your research projects and develop research skills. These experiences are crucial for preparing you for a career in physiology.

Some of our students have presented their research at the Society's meetings, while others have received grants, enabling them to attend specialist courses in 'in vivo' and 'in vitro' experimentation.

Your final-year research projects will be your showcase for future employers, demonstrating your ability to generate and interpret new data on subjects such as the cause and diagnosis of diseases.

In your extensive lab studies, you'll benefit from the specialised equipment at our Stratford campus, particularly relating to cardiovascular and respiratory research.

You'll develop transferable skills in research, communication, and presentation as well as statistical analysis and interpretation. You'll complete a first aid course and develop a business enterprise in biosciences presented in a dragons' den-style event. You will do short placements either at UEL or abroad. You will have the chance to go on external visits to enhance your learning and employability. All of these experiences are designed to give you the best start for your career in medical physiology or the wider science field.

Guided independent study

Our innovative Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) approach enhances face-to-face learning by providing students with scheduled on-campus contact hours and additional learning opportunities. Through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), students can access course materials and resources beyond their scheduled hours. We offer access to industry-standard technology and specialised spaces to prepare students for their future careers. Dedicated time for activities and development, along with a holistic approach to learning, fosters academic, personal, and professional growth. Students benefit from career support through on-campus and virtual Career Zones, personalised support services, and a dedicated online portal, Track My Future (TMF).

Academic support

Students are supported with academic or subject-related queries by a programme director, module leaders, academic advisers (you’ll have an academic adviser from the teaching team as soon as you arrive with us), and university central support services.

Dedicated personal tutor

If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, English, maths, or statistics, academic tutors offer workshops, drop-in sessions, and one-to-one appointments to help you achieve your potential.

You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the university from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses. Our Student Support hubs feature centralised helpdesks.

UEL provides support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).

Workload

The approximate percentages for this course are:

  • Year 1: 180 Hours - Taught Sessions, 60 Hours - Practical/IT Workshops, 960 Hours - Independent Learning

  • Year 2: 195 Hours - Taught Sessions, 55 Hours - Practical/IT Workshops, 950 Hours - Independent Learning

  • Year 3: 178 Hours - Taught Sessions, 72 Hours - Practical/IT Workshops, 950 Hours - Independent Learning

Your timetable

Each year you will spend up to 250 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.

Class sizes

To be confirmed.

How you'll be assessed

We'll assess you with a mixture of coursework and exams. Coursework includes essays, research reports, group and seminar presentations and a final-year project. Most of the assessment in your first year is by coursework and we'll give you as much feedback as possible. 

In your third year, you'll either take five core modules or undertake a work placement. We'll assess you accordingly. 

  • Year 1 - 58% Portfolio/Coursework, 42% Laboratory/Practical/ICT
  • Year 2 - 42% Written Exam/Timed Assessment, 42% Portfolio/Coursework, 16% Laboratory/Practical/ICT
  • Year 3 - 53% Portfolio/Coursework, 38% Written Exam/Timed Assessment, 9% Laboratory/Practical/ICT 

You'll always receive detailed feedback outlining your strengths and how you can improve. We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 14 working days, although you will receive immediate feedback following many of our face-to-face assessments.

Campus and facilities

Water Lane, Stratford

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by School of Health, Sport and Bioscience

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

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Statistics for BSc (Hons) Medical Physiology Degree, Full Time

Statistics for BSc (Hons) Medical Physiology Degree, Full Time

What our students say

Bioscience Lab
My experience on the Medical Physiology course was invaluable. The course enhanced my growth on a professional and personal level. My education was supported by Dr Meah, Dr Samir, and the teaching team. From this, I was able to secure a 1st class honours qualification and find my passion. This allowed me to progress to become a paediatric respiratory physiologist within the Guys & Thomas NHS Hospital Trust. I am most grateful for the teaching I received on this course."

Dilini Samaranayaka

2021 graduate