QMU student nurse practicing CPR on a Resusci Annie doll

Our courses

We offer the following undergraduate master’s courses:

We offer the following Bachelor of Science courses:

The School of Health Sciences at QMU offers the opportunity for you to build the foundations of a rewarding career in the field of health, drawing on a firm grounding in the social, psychological and physical sciences.

Our courses are designed to develop work-ready graduates, professionals who think critically and are ready to challenge current practice and policy and contribute to a better quality of life for individuals and society. We prepare you for a career, not just your first job.

An undergraduate master’s is a unique four-year course that seamlessly blends undergraduate and postgraduate studies into a single, comprehensive course. However, with these courses there is an option to follow a BSc (Hons) route at the end of Year Two.

Our undergraduate master’s courses (as well as the BSc Paramedic Science) lead to eligibility to register as a healthcare professional and undertake a number of clinical placements that contribute to the learning on the course and are requirements of the degree. Please see individual course pages.

Why QMU?

Our health science courses are designed to prepare you for contemporary practice as an autonomous, critically thinking reflective professional be this is in the public or private sector. All our health courses are approved and recognised by the relevant regulatory bodies and/or professional bodies.

While studying at QMU, you will learn from engaging, encouraging staff who ensure that your courses are informed by current issues, policy and contemporary knowledge and are evidence based. Additionally, we offer fascinating lectures on current topics from respected visiting specialists and our service users and carers and there are also opportunities to be involved with pioneering research, innovation and knowledge exchange.

Your learning experiences will include learning in our first-class facilities on campus and you will gain essential skills though our real-world placements.

Our approach to learning and teaching

We support your learning through blended learning (online and on campus) that includes interactive lectures, seminars, tutorials, work groups, laboratories and practical classes. Use of a clinical or personal development portfolio is undertaken on some courses, and this complements the wide range of assessments used across the disciplines. On some courses you can choose optional modules, depending on the demands of professional learning.

During your course you will hone your skills in our well-equipped specialised teaching facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. These include a clinical simulation suite, working clinics, food science kitchens, movement, and research laboratories.

For those on an undergraduate master’s course, as well as your peers on your chosen course you will study alongside those enrolled in relevant postgraduate pre-registration courses*. This immersive environment fosters a collaborative learning experience, allowing you to exchange ideas and gain valuable insights from peers with diverse perspectives. Furthermore, interprofessional cross-school learning and teaching are important components of our courses, allowing you to engage with other professional learners who will be your peers in the working environment. Working together as students helps to break down barriers between professions before entering the workplace.

Being work ready is vital in our professions, and we will help you prepare for this exciting challenge from Year One through both your on campus learning and placements. All module work, theoretical or practical, relates to professional practice or directly to the placements. We have excellent links with the government, industry, third sector and NHS across Scotland and further afield; these links and our collaborations with private, occupational, social service and other care providers are key to our ability offer relevant placements. On placements you will develop further interprofessional links, learning to understand the role and boundaries of professions and become aware of different or shared leadership working practices. Placements also offer you the opportunity to discuss how practice be it local, national, and international, influence the wider workings of the NHS, private practice, third sector and industry.

Research informed teaching

Our aim is to ensure that our research findings offer currency and relevance to your learning. Understanding research, epidemiology and public health data helps to develop and enhance your critical thinking and questioning, essential skills for ensuring that your practice is evidence based.

Our School research has four main fields: rehabilitation sciences; speech, language and communication; health care policy and practice; and person-centred practice. All students have the opportunity to engage with the wide range of research being undertaken in several ways, for example, as novice researchers during project work, being trial participants or attending keynote lectures and seminars. Clinical and Industry research can only be undertaken in collaboration with frontline healthcare/industry providers and we have numerous collaborators in NHS Scotland, as well as the private sector and social services, and internationally in Europe and further afield. We also have strong links with our Institute for Global Health and Development.

You will be taught by lecturers and PhD students who are engaged with scholarly activity and research and who have published research in internationally renowned academic and professional journals.

Great career prospects

Our courses will give you the professional skills and expertise you need for a rewarding career and the skills we help you develop will be useful lifelong. Many of these skills are embedded in our teaching and practice, and we will actively encourage your learning in verbal and non-verbal communication, team work, presentation skills and delegation. Our graduates have skills and knowledge to enter career paths, not just in the NHS but in research, healthcare management, government and policy practice, private practice and industry, sports-related roles or in health promotion and fitness. You could also choose to progress straight to higher degree learning on an MSc or PhD course.

* Pre-registration courses allow graduates with a relevant first degree to move into a healthcare profession through a two-year postgraduate course.

Find out more information on how to apply for a course at QMU.

Health Sciences at QMU