Podiatrists study the structure and function of the whole body and specialise in the foot, ankle and lower limb.

On graduating, you will be a qualified healthcare professional making your own clinical decisions. You will be ready to work alone or as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver preventative care, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of problems affecting the lower limb.

You will be taught about anatomy, physiology and pathology, and how the body reacts to illness and injury but always with a special focus on foot and lower limb problems.

One of the distinctive features of this course is the vast amount of practical experience it gives you. Under supervision, you’ll start seeing patients at the start of the second term of your first year in our on-site Clinical Education Centre. You will also undertake clinical placements within National Health Service clinics across London and the east of England, beginning towards the end of your first year.

And what can you do with a Podiatry degree? Read 'I See The Difference' and the College of Podiatry for more information.

Applicants are required to complete an enhanced occupational health assessment to ensure that you are occupationally fit to work in the health and social care setting and complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check.

Please see entry requirements below for more details.

This three year course gives you the scientific knowledge you will need to qualify as a podiatrist as well as showing you how taking the appropriate action can prevent foot-related disease and disability.

Your first year concentrates on the normal working of the body and the main core skills of podiatry. In year two you’ll gain an understanding of the common pathologies affecting the foot and lower limb and how to manage them. In year three, you will concentrate on complex cases and the decision-making that underlies management planning.

You will learn about the important diseases that can affect the foot, such as diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis. You’ll have the chance to engage with specialist clinics via your placement experiences, which will allow you to put your learning into context.

We will teach you how to undertake nail surgery using local anaesthetic so you can competently carry out these procedures upon graduation and also give you the chance to observe podiatric surgeons at work. Many of our students’ study for postgraduate qualifications to become podiatric surgeons.

The 1,000 hours of clinical practice you will achieve through working at our in-house clinic and at outside placements will make you highly employable on graduation.

In fact, 90 per cent of our graduates end up in a clinical position within six months of graduating.

The approximate amount of hours for this course are:

Year 1: scheduled teaching – 445 hours; guided independent study – 650 hours; clinical placement – 105 hours
Year 2: scheduled teaching – 352 hours; guided independent study – 514 hours; clinical placement – 350 hours
Year 3: scheduled teaching – 186 hours; guided independent study – 666 hours; clinical placement – 420 hours

We’re known for our ‘learning by doing’ approach rather than teaching you by lectures and seminars alone. That means you’ll have access to practical experience from early on in your course, giving you the chance to learn at first hand from NHS clinicians. You will also have opportunities to visit London hospitals specialising in related areas such as diabetes, podopaediatrics and vascular disease.

You’ll enjoy superb facilities at our Stratford campus. Our on-site clinic is purpose-built and has its own nail surgery suite. There’s also a gait analysis and human motor performance lab and an orthotics manufacturing lab, making external devices such as insoles.

You will be encouraged to solve problems, reflect on the different treatment options open to you and to take responsibility for your own learning.

You will work closely with the podiatry teaching team, benefitting from an excellent staff-to-student ratio. All our staff will offer fantastic support and we will facilitate the placements needed to complete your 1,000 hours of clinical practice.

You will work hard while on this course. You can expect to work a nine-to-five day, five days a week during placements. That’s exactly why our graduates are so highly sought after.

After graduating, you can apply for full membership of the College of Podiatry and registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.

The ultimate aim of the course is to prepare you for a career in podiatry as a qualified healthcare professional making your own clinical decisions.

We’ve designed the course to reflect the employment opportunities open to qualified podiatrists and to make sure your degree gives you a head start in the job market. Many of our students have landed jobs in the same organisations where they undertook clinical placements.

One of the advantages of a degree in podiatry is the career choice available to you when you graduate. You could go on to work within the NHS or in private practice.

If you choose the NHS route, in a fairly typical career progression you would move from entry-level podiatrist to specialist podiatrist and then to team leader.

Alternatively, you might find yourself working in a retail outlet or private hospital or even abroad. Some of our graduates go on to pursue careers in research and lecturing. A podiatrist’s scope of practice is broad and there are many exciting career opportunities to investigate including some very specialist posts such as a forensic podiatrist, examining footprints in criminal investigations; working as part of multidisciplinary teams with vascular specialists or in joint clinics with other allied health professionals, such as physios or occupational therapists.

Whatever direction you choose, you will be in a great position to find employment. With relatively few UK universities offering undergraduate podiatry courses, you will find yourself among an elite group of practitioners.