BSc Paramedic Science
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree will prepare you for a rewarding career as a paramedic working in a continuously changing healthcare environment. This course is currently only available for students domiciled in Scotland.
Key facts
- Award BSc
- Start date September 2024
- Application notes Applications for September 2024 entry will open in September 2023.
- Duration 36 months
- Mode of study full time
- Delivery on campus
- UCAS Code B780
Overview
The role of a contemporary paramedic is rapidly evolving within the modern health care system as they deploy their skills in an increasing range of emergency and non-emergency situations.
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree will equip you with the knowledge, skills and proficiencies to meet the requirements of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) enabling you to apply to register as a paramedic with the HCPC following successful completion of the course.
We are experts in health education and recognised internationally for our research into out-of-hospital care. The BSc Paramedic Science degree course will enable you to contribute to the graduate healthcare workforce through an innovative educational experience founded on personal growth, effective relationships and excellence in clinical practice.
The role of the paramedic is expanding beyond acute trauma and will have increasing focus on the management of long term conditions, mental health support, support of older persons and preventing hospital admissions.
You will gain essential knowledge and skills to equip you to work autonomously, safely minimising risk and ensuring the quality of your practice. You'll actively participate in a wide range of dynamic care settings, experiencing the roles of the paramedic and how they relate to other disciplines such as the emergency services and health and social care.
Top reasons to study with us
Professional accreditation
The course has been approved by the The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). It will prepare students to undertake the full scope of practice for a paramedic leading to eligibility for them to apply for registration with the HCPC.
Prizes or awards
Students will have the opportunity to submit work for the annual Carol Furber Award from the College of Paramedics.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
SQA Highers
BBBB
GCE A Levels
BBC
IB Diploma
30 Points
BTEC (Level 3)
DMM
Essential subjects
One Higher or A Level (or equivalent) in Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Mathematics
Widening access students
Widening access students may be eligible for an adjusted offer of entry. To find out if this applies to you go to our widening access pages.
Care-experienced applicants will be guaranteed an offer of a place if they meet the minimum entry requirements.
Other Scottish qualifications
Scottish HNC/HND
Year one minimum entry - Bs in graded units.
Access courses
University of Stirling access course - for mature students only. You must pass the course with 50% or above.
SWAP Access course - for mature students only. Please check the SWAP progression routes document for details.
Email our Admissions Team for advice about other access courses.
Foundation Apprenticeships
Considered to be equivalent to 1 Higher at Grade B
Essential subjects
To include one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics.
Other qualifications
English, Welsh and Northern Irish HNC/HND
Merits and distinctions
English, Welsh and Northern Irish access courses
Access to Higher Education - 60 credits, minimum 45 at QCF Level 3, pass at 60% or above.
Essential subjects
To include one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics
International entry requirements
Advanced entry
Advanced entry to the programme is currently not available.
Additional information
If you’ve taken exams over two sittings, repeated an exam, or been upgraded, the entrance requirements may be higher.
Applicants will be required to attend an interview as part of the admissions process.
Acceptance to this BSc Paramedic Science degree course is subject to a satisfactory occupational health screening and Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) clearance. You must be physically fit and have the strength to lift and carry patients and equipment
To be a student paramedic you do not need to be able to drive. It is therefore not necessary to have a driving licence to apply. You are however strongly advised to have a full driving licence before starting the course and to obtain your category C1 entitlement before you complete the course. A C1 licence allows you to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes and this licence is usually a requirement of ambulance trusts on application for employment. The employing service will then provide your emergency driver training.
If your driving licence was issued before January 1997 you will already have category C1 entitlement on your licence. If your licence was issued after this date you will need to apply to the DVLA for a provisional category C1 to be put on your licence. To do this you will have a medical and then undertake the theory elements before the practical test.
If you have a health condition stated in group 2 driving standards for emergency driving as determined by the DVLA, future Ambulance Service employers require disclosure of these health
English language requirements
If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
- IELTS Academic or UKVI 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and 7.0 in speaking listening and reading
- Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) 185 overall with a minimum of 176 in writing and minimum of 185 in reading, speaking and listening
- Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) 185 overall with a minimum of 180 in writing and 185 in reading, speaking and listening
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) 67 overall with a minimum of 62 in writing and 67 in speaking listening and reading
- IBT TOEFL 94 overall with 19 in reading, 24 in writing, 20 in listening and 22 in speaking
- IBT TOEFL Special Home Edition 94 overall with 19 in reading, 24 in writing, 20 in listening and 22 in speaking
- Trinity ISE III Pass overall and in all sub-skills, ISE IV Pass overall and in all sub-skills
- Aptis (4 skills) CEFR C1 overall and C1 in all sub-skills
- LanguageCert International ESOL C1 Expert - Pass with minimum 33 in each sub-skill
Last updated: 23 August 2022
For more information on ways that you can meet our English language requirements, including options to waive the requirement, please read our information on English language requirements.
Pre-sessional English language courses
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO University of Stirling offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.
Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses
Course details
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree aims to:
- prepare you as a professional graduate who has the required knowledge, skills, values and attributes to work autonomously with people and address their immediate and/or ongoing needs
- cultivate your evidence-based clinical decision-making skills to maximise healthcare outcomes
- develop your leadership qualities and skills to enable you to lead and influence quality in healthcare delivery and outcomes
- foster and enhance your awareness of the impact of culture, diversity and equality on health and wellbeing
- foster and enhance your communication and relationship skills enabling you to work in partnership with a diverse range of people and other professionals
- enable you to be a self-aware, resilient, responsible and reflective lifelong learner.
- develop your graduate attributes enabling you to be a confident, aspirational subject specialist who is connected, innovative and transformational
- and ultimately, ensure you are eligible to apply for registration with the Health & Care Professions Council as a paramedic and the University award of Bachelor of Science
Modules
The module information below provides an example of the types of course module you may study. The details listed are for the current academic year (September 2022). Modules and start dates are regularly reviewed and may be subject to change in future years.
Course details
Teaching
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree course has a blended teaching and learning approach across the three years, adopting a range of online, interactive, and face to face teaching strategies.
There will be inter-professional education opportunities throughout the course both within theory and practice elements. For example, within year one of the course, you will learn with adult and mental health student nurses sharing theoretical modules on clinical skills, anatomy and physiology, mental health and well-being.
Teaching and learning throughout the course will be contextualised through the use of scenarios developed in partnership with our service users and carers relating to aspects of paramedic practice. Scenario based learning will be a focus within the taught elements of the course, along with an emphasis on reflection and personal development.
Assessment
You will be assessed through a range of methods, including:
- presentations
- essays
- reflective writing
- examinations (MCQs and scenario based short answer questions)
- OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examination)
- assessment of practice learning
Classroom hours
Will vary throughout the course. A timeline for the course is published identifying theory and practice times. Regularly check individual modules for teaching and learning activities.
Work placement opportunities
There are six practice based education modules within the BSc Paramedic Science course.
Your placement time will take place with the Scottish Ambulance Service and in other healthcare related areas, such as acute medicine, maternity care and adult care areas. The diverse range of experiences enables you to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes required for your future practice as a paramedic.
During your programme of study, your placements will be allocated across three health boards - NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Tayside.
The working environment you are placed in will dictate the hours you are required to work each week.
Applicants should be prepared to work in a 24/7 health service, this is likely to include nights and weekends during your time in practice placement.
This will allow you to become accustomed to the working pattern that you could face in paramedic employment upon graduation.
Contact
Please contact us on fhss.ug@stir.ac.uk.
Fees and funding
Fees and costs
| Fee status | 2022/23 annual fee |
|---|---|
|
Students domiciled in Scotland |
£1,820* |
*This fee is set by the Scottish Government and is subject to change.
For 2022/23 entry, this course is only available to students with a tuition fee status of Scottish.
You will be charged the annual fee each year when you enrol. Your fees will be held at the same level throughout your course. If you need to take additional modules or resit modules, you’ll be liable for an additional fee. For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Funding
Although you’re liable for annual tuition fees, students domiciled in Scotland can apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to have tuition fees paid by the Scottish Government. If you’re unsure of your fee status, you can check your eligibility.
All eligible students can apply for a bursary each year through the Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary Fund (PNMSB), administered by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). For further details go to the SAAS website.
Additional costs
There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.
Funding opportunities
Students domiciled in Scotland
The University of Stirling offers undergraduate funding opportunities for students domiciled in Scotland. To find out if you’re eligible to apply for an award, use our scholarship finder.
See what funding opportunities and loans are available to help you with tuition and living costs.
Cost of living
If you’re domiciled in the UK, you can typically apply to your relevant funding body for help with living costs. This usually takes the form of student loans, grants or bursaries, and the amount awarded depends upon your personal circumstances and household income.
EU and overseas students won’t normally be able to claim living support through SAAS or other UK public funding bodies. You should contact the relevant authority in your country to find out if you’re eligible to receive support.
Payment options
We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods - including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay.
After you graduate
This course will prepare you to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council. Once registered you will be eligible to apply for posts in both the public and private health care sectors.
The double-crewed ambulance role continues to form the traditional foundation on which a newly qualified paramedic develops their skills and knowledge. However, further opportunities exist within a single crewed Paramedic Response Unit (PRU) where they attend the more sensitive 999 calls and support other front-line ambulance clinicians.
With further post registration education, paramedics can apply to work within the NHS Ambulance Service Special Operations Response Teams (SORT)/Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) who specialise in:
- mass-casualty and multi-casualty incident management
- Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear incidents
- water rescue
- terrorist-related incidents
Paramedics can also apply to work in one of the centrally funded or charity-funded helicopter emergency medical services that operate across the country.
The move towards the specialist and advanced roles continues to evolve. For the more experienced paramedic, and one who has attained post-graduate qualifications, opportunities exist within both the urgent and unscheduled care setting and in pre-hospital critical care teams.
Alternative non-clinically focussed career options are also available particularly leadership and management, research and development and education within the NHS, private sector and higher education institutions (College of Paramedics Post-Registration – Paramedic Career Framework 4th Edition 2018).
Employability skills
Through their degree and the opportunities at the University of Stirling, BSc Paramedic Science graduates will be:
- subject specialists, with in‐depth knowledge, understanding, research and other skills associated with their discipline(s)
- innovative and creative in their approach to positive change
- socially intelligent and proactively inclusive, able to effectively navigate complex relationships with others from any background or culture
- digitally literate and
- responsible for their own behaviour, their future and their wellbeing
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What our students said
BSc Paramedic Science
Read Saoirse's storyIt has been a joy to be able to put clinical and theoretical knowledge into practice so early on in my studies in a variety of healthcare settings. I have found that this variety of placement opportunities has given me a broader understanding of my future role as a Paramedic within the healthcare system. Whether out on an ambulance or working on a ward, there is always something to learn!
Flexible study
This course is not available as a combined degree.