School of Health

The School of Health incorporates the main healthcare professions where we provide dynamic and transformational learning, teaching and research that improves the health and wellbeing of patients, families and communities.

Our courses include Diagnostic Radiography, Nursing, Midwifery, Paramedicine, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, and we pride ourselves on producing graduates who positively impact the lives of individuals and make a valuable contribution to the health of our society.

We’re currently experiencing some radical changes in the delivery of healthcare and, as a result, the level of knowledge and skills required by healthcare professionals has never been greater. Our courses are innovative in their approach with a strong emphasis on practice-based learning, allowing you to apply your new knowledge to your own area of practice, interest or area of career ambition.

Our continued collaboration with the NHS and independent sector partners, service users and carers ensures that we deliver a contemporary and evidence-based learning experience that meets the needs of health and social care services. Our strong established industry links and partnerships allow us to offer a diverse range of high quality placements throughout our undergraduate portfolio.

A key part of learning and development has evolved through simulated practice learning and we use this method in a number of courses allowing students to experience real life situations in a realistic and safe environment. By using volunteer patients and a range of facilities, students can practice their responses and actions when facing an emergency situation, preparing them for the future.

Our courses are innovative in their approach and are delivered by an academic team who are qualified practitioners which means you will benefit from their vast and varied clinical expertise and research knowledge. Our aim is to help you to become knowledgeable, influential, skilled, compassionate and ready to work within a rapidly changing health and social care environment. You will be equipped for a career without boundaries, a career where you can change lives.

Future ready graduates

We’re a leading provider of professional education and research programmes for nursing, midwifery and allied health professions in Scotland. One of the ways in which we differ from others, is that the principles of public health and health promotion are integrated across all stages of our programmes which are also practice focused. Our graduates enter the workplace well equipped to embark upon a career in a healthcare profession, ready to meet current and future challenges of the workplace. We believe that immersing you in real life situations throughout your studies will equip you with the knowledge, skills, experience and confidence to positively impact our society at a local, national and global scale.

We are proud of the employment record of our graduates and feedback from their employers confirms that our graduates are work-ready and equipped for the ongoing learning required to be successful in today’s workplace.

Expert teaching

Our staff are all experienced and committed to their profession with many still working in practice, ensuring the curriculum is up-to-date with modern practice and cutting-edge developments. They form the perfect team to support your learning and help you to achieve your potential. Early placements will develop you as an active partner in the learning process, where you can put into action your theoretical and practical learning. You will learn through keynote lectures, interactive workshops, tutorials and practical activities including simulated learning experiences. You will develop and apply your theoretical knowledge as you undertake problem solving activities and experiential learning. This will help your development of analytical skills so that you become increasingly self-sufficient and have the reflective and self-evaluative skills to progress into the workplace equipped to meet new challenges and create tomorrow’s opportunities.

Awards and Recognition

We’re the first university in Scotland to receive the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative gold award. The accreditation is recognised as a mark of quality in student midwifery and health visiting programmes.

• 1st in Scotland for career prospects in Health Professions (Guardian University Guide 2024)
• 2nd in Scotland for graduate prospects on track in Nursing (Complete University Guide 2025)
• 2nd in Scotland for overall student satisfaction in Midwifery (National Student Survey 2023, excluding colleges, small, specialised and private providers)
• 1st in the UK overall for Physiotherapy (Guardian University Guide 2024)
• Top 10 in the UK overall for Counselling, Psychotherapy and Occupational Therapy (Complete University Guide 2025)

Placements

Placement experience is essential to ensure you are ready for rapidly changing health and social care environments. We place a strong emphasis on linking theory to practice and our students will experience a breadth of health and social care settings and in a wide range of locations throughout Scotland. Placement experience will enable you to be prepared for the world of work as you transfer your learning into real world situations, gaining exposure to a wide range of learning opportunities in an extensive variety of settings.

Our students also have the opportunity to work with a variety of voluntary and third sector community groups including Brain Injury Grampian, MS Society, Alzheimer’s Scotland, ACVO, Sands, Children 1st, Clan, Aberdeen Carers and schools across Aberdeen which provides excellent experiential learning opportunities. This work is often alongside other professions which enables realistic interprofessional learning opportunities where you can learn about the roles of the other professions and benefit from the experience of collaborative working.

Practice Learning

Placement experience is essential for producing graduates who are fit-for-purpose in rapidly changing health and social care environments. Our students undertake a variety of placements in locations throughout Scotland and, in some cases, abroad. These placements allow theory to be put into practice and essential skills are developed.

All of our undergraduate courses offer placements in practice, for up to 50% of the programme. Course specific information on placements is provided on the course page.

Affiliations and Industry Links

We are proud to be associated with the many different leading professional bodies, organisation and institutions.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council exists to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the UK public. It is responsible for registering all nurses and midwives, and setting the standards of education, training and conduct that nurses and midwives need to deliver high quality healthcare.

The RCN represents nurses and nursing, promotes excellence in practice and shapes health policies.

HCPC is a regulator which was set up to protect the public by keeping a register of health professionals who meet the Council’s standards for their training, professional skills, behaviour and health.

The College of Radiographers represents more than 90 per cent of the diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers in the UK. It is responsible for their professional, educational, public and workplace interests and is one of the oldest and most experienced radiography organisations in the world.

The British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT) and Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) are committed to promoting the unique value and benefits of occupational therapy to the public, service commissioners and political representatives. BAOT is the professional body representing the diverse and thriving community of occupational therapy staff across the UK. RCOT is a registered charity and wholly owned subsidiary of BAOT, which acts on behalf of all members of BAOT. RCOT set the professional and educational standards for the occupational therapy profession and represent the profession at national and international levels.

CSP is the professional, educational and trade union body for the UK's 65,000 chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students and support workers. The CSP accredited pre-registration physiotherapy programmes which met the CSP quality assurance processes. The CSP is a member-led organisation governed by an elected council, providing a wide range of member services. It campaigns on behalf of physiotherapists and the physiotherapy profession.

CAPTE is the agency recognised by the United States Department of Education for granting accreditation status to entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants

There is an increasing requirement within healthcare professions and disciplines to engage in evidence-based practice in order to meet the demand for clinical effectiveness and good practice. The aim of our research is to engage with key partners to develop, deliver and disseminate high quality research that is of value to society, those using health and social care services, and the healthcare professionals. Our vision is to be recognised for research that addresses the health and wellbeing of the population by undertaking impactful, innovative and interdisciplinary research to inform policy and practice.

Research at RGU is built on strong foundations of education and practice-based research. Over the years we have built up a vibrant research community in partnership with NHS Scotland and other universities. We host multidisciplinary research that focuses its activities on addressing major issues around the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, care and welfare of patients.

Our researchers and research supervisors undertake their studies within a wide range of theoretical frameworks and models relating to the development of policy and practice that addresses the school’s research themes.

We have research expertise in a range of methodologies including mixed methods, systematic literature reviews, scoping and mapping studies, quantitative and qualitative research, feasibility and pilot studies moving towards larger scale RCTs where appropriate. We also host the JBI Scottish Centre for Evidence-Based Multiprofessional Practice, a centre of excellence, undertaking systematic reviews, training in a variety of systematic review methods and working with clinicians and service users to identify topics for systematic reviews and to promote implementation of findings into practice.

Research Degrees

We’re proud to offer a unique opportunity to qualify as a Chartered Physiotherapist combined with a PhD leading to a Doctorate in Physiotherapy. It is the first course of its kind in the UK, and the only physical therapy programme outside North America to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

We also offer health professions research degrees in the following areas:

• Motion Analysis
• Back Pain
• Anthropometry
• Care of the Elderly
• Paediatrics
• Foot related knee pain
• Developmental Coordination Disorder
• The acquisition of evidence-informed clinical wisdom

Specialised Research Facilities:

• 3D Laser scanning
• Vicon Motion Capture
• Electromyography
• Breath-by-breath gas analysis
• State-of-the-Art Clinical Skills Laboratory
• Patient Interview Rooms

Key research themes

Our research is encompassed within three overarching themes:

Organisation and delivery of health care

• Digital health
• Palliative care
• Integrated care

Health inequalities

• Food insecurity
• Poverty and social disadvantage
• Wider determinants of health and the role of nurses and midwives in relation to those.

Health and wellbeing across the lifespan

• Maternal, child and family health
• Long-term conditions and multi-morbidity
• Health ageing (Gerontology, ageing and frailty)
• Mental health and wellbeing
• End of life care