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The BSc in Medical Imaging (Diagnostic Radiography) degree programme is managed by the School of Physics within the framework of the Peninsula Allied Health Collaboration. The programme will have its first intake of students in 2004 and is in the final stages of development and is awaiting accreditation and approval; information about this programme and its modules is provisional for the time-being and will be confirmed and expanded on in the next few months.
Exeter welcomes applications from all suitably qualified students with a keen interest in radiography. The majority of undergraduates enter with A and AS levels, but we also seriously consider applications from older students who have other qualifications; each year several students enter with for example, BTEC, HND and Access qualifications.
All students wishing to take courses leading to a BSc should apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), but the Admissions Tutor will be pleased to answer individual queries. Most applicants are invited to visit the School, where they have the opportunity to meet both staff and undergraduates. It is also possible to arrange a visit at any convenient time.
We also offer a BSc and MPhys degrees in Physics and a range of one-year programmes that can be taken by students at universities outside the United Kingdom who wish to spend time at Exeter as a 'Study Abroad' component of their degrees.
Students taking BSc Medical Imaging (Diagnostic Radiography) who fulfil residency requirements are eligible to apply for exemption from tuition fees and an NHS bursary.
Sports Scholarships are available for students of outstanding sporting ability who show evidence of achievement or potential at national level. Sports scholars are provided with free residential accommodation and are given £1,000 per year for sporting expenses.
Details of the above, and other, Scholarships are given in the University Calendar.
Our entry requirements are published in the University Undergraduate Prospectus. The general code for Exeter University is E84 EXETR and the codes for our current degree programmes are given in the contents list above. The UCAS website is http://www.ucas.ac.uk/ and the postal address is:
UCAS Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Tel: +44 (0) 1242 227788 (Applicant Enquiries) GL52 3LZ. Tel: +44 (0) 1242 222444 (General Enquiries)
Online versions of the University Prospectus are available from our general admissions page. For printed copies or other additional information you can contact us at:
Dr D.A. Bradley Admissions Tutor (Radiography) School of Physics University of Exeter Tel: 01392-264149 Stocker Road Fax: 01392-264111 Exeter EX4 4QL email: radiography@exeter.ac.uk
If you have been a hospital patient, the chances are that you will have seen a diagnostic radiographer. They use a range of techniques to produce images that are used to diagnose injury or disease. For example,
Radiography is a fascinating area in which to work, and radiographers provide important services to millions of people - they are essential to modern healthcare. Radiographers need a sound understanding of the basic science that underpins the constantly advancing technology they use, but they also need the professional and social skills required to interact with patients and with other medical professionals. Radiographers meet new people constantly and are highly regarded by patients for their professionalism and the support they provide. Radiography students normally pay no tuition fees and can qualify for an NHS bursary.
For more information, refer to the Society of Radiographers website.
The School of Physics stands on the highest part of the campus, with views across the city to the sea and towards Dartmoor. The campus itself is possibly the most beautiful in Britain. The buildings of the University are set in park-like surroundings of mature trees, flowering shrubs and grass-covered slopes, with streams and ponds in the valleys.
Within the boundaries of the campus are all the facilities a student may require for studying and relaxing. The Library and 24-hour computer facilities are minutes away from the School of Physics. The Sports Hall, with its extensive indoor facilities and adjoining tennis courts and playing fields, is adjacent to the School. Elsewhere on the campus are a travel shop, supermarket, bookshop and bank.
Student accommodation is available for all first year students and is described in detail in the University Prospectus. Briefly, the halls of residence for students are set on the perimeter of the campus and are within 15 minutes walk of the School; the self-catering accommodation, available to students in their second and third years, is only five minutes away.
Students in Exeter do not feel 'cut off' from life outside the campus. If they get tired of taking part in the activities of over 100 clubs which are affiliated to the Student Union, the city centre of Exeter is only 15 minutes walk away. Within easy reach by public or private transport is the coast with its opportunities for swimming, sailing or walking, and the moors of Exmoor and Dartmoor for hiking and rock climbing.
There are important learning facilities outside the School. The University Library has a good range of books and journals. (There is also a School library for private study.) Information Technology Services offers wide a range of courses. Also on campus there is a language laboratory which can be used by students individually, and students taking programmes 'with European Study' go to language classes organised in conjunction with the Foreign Language Centre. The student support services are excellent and include the Study Methods Counselling Service who help students develop effective strategies for studying.
Exeter students come from all parts of the British Isles and from overseas. There are approximately equal numbers of men and women students in the University. Exeter University is an excellent centre for both study and recreation.
The School of Physics occupies its own building which is light and spacious, and finished to a very high standard. It houses research and teaching laboratories, seminar rooms, and computing facilities. The School invests heavily in IT facilities, which include a dedicated computing laboratory of 40 workstations, and its 100MB/s network is connected to the campus, national and international computer networks, giving all students full access to the internet. There are workshops for making special mechanical apparatus and electronic systems, as well as specialist material preparation facilities and helium and nitrogen liquefiers.
There are currently about 200 undergraduates, 50 postgraduate students who are doing research for doctorates, 38 academic and 26 support staff with a wide range of interests and expertise.
Undergraduate learning involves both taught material and individual study. Our programmes have been accredited by professional bodies and Quality Approved by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. We work within a published framework of demanding Aims and Objectives and place great emphasis on individual attention through tutorials and projects. As well as working with fellow students, you will get to know the academic staff and feel part of the School.
There is a severe shortage of radiographers in the UK and, as a result, job and promotion opportunities are excellent. There is a grading structure that sees an individual's salary increase as they move up the profession. There are also management opportunities and consultant radiography posts are planned. Top level pay is £35,000 or more. Radiographers trained in the UK are recognised as being among the best in the world and the heatlh providers of many foreign countries recruit in the UK. A radiography degree is a passport to a interesting job and a fulfilling career.
This programme is still under development at the time of writing and a detailed programme specification will be published shortly. A preliminary structure and list of modules is published on the School website. An outline of arrangements for the programme is as follows.
BSc Medical Imaging (Diagnostic Radiography) is one of a range of programmes related to health professions which are offered by the Peninsula Allied Health Collaboration. The academic partners in the Collaboration include the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth, St Loye's School of Health Studies (Exeter) and the College of St Mark and St John (Plymouth). Each programme has a lead institution within the collaboration, and for BSc Medical Imaging (Diagnostic Radiography) this the University of Exeter - with Exeter's School of Physics as the lead department. The programme is organised in collaboration with NHS Service providers in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset, and in partnership with Bournemouth University.
In this programme students will experience interprofessional learning of professional skills and health science ('shared learning', i.e. working alongside students from other allied health disciplines), together with specialist academic modules and training to meet the requirements for a career in medical imaging. The broadly-based interdisciplinary curriculum includes technical and practical components and various topics in biomedical science.
Candidates for this programme must satisfy the general admissions requirements of the University. The normal minimum entry qualifications required are equivalent to two GCE A levels to include one science subject. Offers of places typically require three GCE A Levels at grades CCC or equivalent (240), or two GCE A Levels at grades BB equivalent (200). The School has an Equal Opportunities Policy and welcomes applications from students with other types of qualifications or prior learning experience (for example, an Access to Science course). For more information, refer to the detailed entrance requirements School of Physics which are published on the Physics Entry Data page of the University of Exeter Undergraduate Prospectus, or contact the Admissions Tutor.
Around 40% of a student's time will be spent on clinical placements at hospital imaging departments in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset or Dorset. The hospitals involved are spread throughout these four counties - Truro, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Torbay, Exeter, Taunton, Yeovil, Dorchester, Poole and Bournemouth, together with 15-20 smaller 'satellite' hospitals. Students will be able to express a preference for the location of their placements, although each student will normally be expected to work at a number of different placement sites in order to gain the appropriate range of experience.
The (provisional) timetable for the various programme components is shown in this diagram.
Shared learning components will, in the first instance, be delivered at the Taunton site of the Institute of Health Studies (University of Plymouth), the College of St Mark and St John (Plymouth) and St Loye's School of Health Studies (Exeter). Delivery is also planned by Bournemouth University via its Bournemouth site and via the Joint Universities Centre at Yeovil. Delivery within Cornwall (Truro) is expected from 2005. Students will be able to express a preference for the location of their shared learning, although numbers are constrained at the various sites.
We expect a significant proportion of mature students on this programme, and we have designed the 'block' structure of the programme to meet the needs of these students as much as possible (with some benefit to non-mature students as well).
Curriculum content has been developed with the aid of the QAA Benchmark Statement for Radiography (2001). Each of the three Stages (academic years) of the programme divided into credit-bearing modules, as follows:
| Stage 1 (Level 1 Modules) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Module | Shared Learning | Academic Radiography | Clinical Placement |
| 20 | Health Sciences 1 | Introductory biological science; applied psychology | ||
| 20 | Professional Skills and Contexts | Communication skills; legislative, ethical and sociological context within which professionals work | ||
| 20 | Personal and Professional Evidence Based Practice | Gathering and evaluation of data, active learning, IT skills | ||
| 10 | Science Background 1 | basic mathematical skills and physics techniques; fundamentals of radiation physics, protection and dosimetry | ||
| 10 | Health Sciences 2 | Fundamentals of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology | ||
| 10 | Clinical Imaging 1 | Fundamentals of imaging practice | ||
| 30 | Practice Placement 1 | Practice experience, professional and management issues; reflection on placement practice experience, including reflective diaries, portfolios and reports | ||
| Stage 2 (Level 2 Modules) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Module | Shared Learning | Academic Radiography | Clinical Placement |
| 15 | Science Background 2 | Advanced radiation physics, protection, biology, dosimetry, legislation and regulations; scientific basis of imaging technologies | ||
| 15 | Health Sciences 3 | Advanced anatomy, physiology and pharmacology; disease and trauma; manifestation in images | ||
| 20 | Clinical Imaging 2 | Ionising-radiation techniques (including nuclear medicine) - standard imaging procedures, evaluation and interpretation of images | ||
| 30 | Practice Placement 2 | Practice experience, professional and management issues; reflection on placement practice experience, including reflective diaries, portfolios and reports | ||
| 20 | Counselling and Sociology | Counselling theory and practice | ||
| 20 | Clinical Imaging 3 | Ultrasound, MRI (non-ionising techniques) - standard imaging procedures, evaluation and interpretation of images; comparison of all imaging modalities and appropriate choice | ||
| Stage 3 (Level 3 Modules) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Module | Shared Learning | Academic Radiography | Clinical Placement |
| 30 | Practice Placement 3 | Practice experience, professional and management issues; reflection on placement practice experience, including reflective diaries, portfolios and reports | ||
| 20 | Research Methods and Statistics | Preparation of a research proposal, ethical approval, experimental design, quantitative and qualitative methods, parametric and non-parametric statistics | ||
| 30 | Clinical Imaging 4 | Training for placement supervision | Advanced ionising-radiation techniques (including SPECT, CT/PET); advanced MRI techniques; quality assurance and quality control; contrast agents and drugs used in the imaging situation; specialist procedures - interventional and A/E | |
| 20 | Inter-professional conference | Project and Dissertation | Project work (with student input to choice of specialist topic) | |
| 20 | Science Background 3 | Image quality; image perception; image manipulation; digital-image management (PACS); new developments and trends in imaging science; telemedicine; functional imaging | ||
Students who fulfil residency requirements are eligible to apply for exemption from tuition fees and an NHS bursary.
For more information about this programme email D.A.Bradley@exeter.ac.uk, for more information about radiography as a career, refer to the Radiography Careers website.
Next: University Prospectus entry
See also:
Physics Programmes
School Handbook
