The National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow has been delivering prosthetics and orthotics education since 1973.
Housed within the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, the department offers a 4-year Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree with Honours in Prosthetics and Orthotics. First approved by ISPO in 2004, the course is also approved by the Health and Care Professions Council, the United Kingdom regulatory body. As part of the programme, students work with volunteer patients from their first year of study, and towards the end of the degree undertake two 17-week periods of clinical placement (one in prosthetics, one in orthotics).
While the majority of clinical placements are offered at centres across the United Kingdom, a number of international options are also available. Students also undertake a research project and a specialist optional class, which can be chosen to match their area of clinical interest.
In addition to the BSc pre-registration programme, the department also offers a number of opportunities for postgraduate study, including full-time MSc Prosthetics and Orthotics, MSc/PgDip/PgCert Rehabilitation Studies by distance learning (suitable for all health care professionals), and PhD in Prosthetics and Orthotics.
