Paramedic Science

You’re resilient and a great communicator. You have a passion to help your local community. You thrive in the unknown and in emergency situations. We can provide specialist training to begin your career as a fully qualified paramedic. Your degree will allow you to practise as a safe and competent paramedic. We will continue to support you after graduation, with continuing professional development and postgraduate courses.

What’s more, our Allied Health Profession courses are ranked 1st in the North West and top 10 in the UK. We are also 1st in the North West for continuation and career prospects following graduation from Allied Health Profession Courses (Guardian University Guide 2023 Results).

Course Overview
Application of theory to practice is integral to your learning and understanding, and our BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science course reflects this. Throughout your degree, you'll be engaged in weekly practical learning to confirm and practise newly learned subject areas. Supporting this, you will learn through simulation exercises via our key practice partners and in our own dedicated simulation facilities. For example, in your first year you will work with the fire and ambulance service through station-based inductions and vehicle extraction exercises.

In addition, our major incident day gives you the opportunity to work with policing and forensic science students to deal with a series of realistic simulated crimes. You'll have the unique opportunity to study elements of traumatic jobs in the real world with actors and realistic scenarios to develop quick thinking and essential lifesaving skills.

Our modern facilities including a simulated ambulance, a mock hospital ward and a mock patient residence. All equipment is based at the Lancaster campus and is geared up for a truly unique experience for paramedic practice and the ‘real-life’ scenes that aid your development as a professional.

Alongside this, you'll gain 1,875 hours of practice placement experience with the ambulance service and 'spoke' learning in areas such as emergency departments, mental health, end-of-life care, hospital theatres, GP practices, nursing homes and residential homes.

On this course you will...


• Receive supportive teaching from tutors within a close-knit learning community.



• Be taught by a diverse teaching faculty, with an abundance of practice experience and individual practice expertise.



• Experience a variety of learning methods, utilising the excellent paramedic facilities on campus.



• Undertake a second year 'rural paramedicine' module, developing your ability to manage patients for longer periods of time.



• Discover the contemporary programme, designed to develop you to be prepared for practice in the ambulance service setting.



What You Will Learn
On this programme, you will gain experience both clinically and academically, in pre-hospital care in both the ambulance service and in other clinical settings. Fifty weeks of your studies are undertaken on placement, where you will be guided by registered professionals with a variety of experience and skills.

The programme is informed by practice and scholarly research. Academic weeks consist of four full learning days which are a blend of learning by theory and practical sessions. You will be allocated a fixed study day each academic week to consolidate your learning and prepare for assessments. All our practice placements offer a full range of clinical exposure, inclusive of ambulance and non-ambulance settings. Placements will be provided across a wide geographical area within the North West (predominantly Cumbria). Whilst on practice placements you will observe the practice of registered professionals, working under their supervision and participating in clinical practice.

With campuses in the Lake District, Carlisle, Lancaster, Ambleside, Barrow, and London, you’ll be surrounded by natural beauty, supportive communities, and real opportunities.

With strong links to law firms, schools, NHS Trusts, creative agencies, and employers nationwide, we connect your learning directly to your future career.

Ranked the No. 1 university in the Northwest and in the Top 5 in the UK for Graduates into employment or further study within 15 months (97.5% of Graduates – Graduate Outcomes Survey, HESA 2026), Cumbria is a university focused on your future from day one.