Mathematics is an essential skill for any scientist. “Mathematics for Biosciences” will provide you with the core mathematical skills required to perform tasks in experimental design, data collection and data interpretation. You will be taught via interactive lectures, tutorials and team-based learning activities to develop your skills, applying these to biomedical science case studies. The subjects we will cover include arithmetic and algebra, scientific notation, moles, molarity and dilutions, handling data and data presentation, and basic statistical analyses. In addition, you will apply your skills in practical-based sessions, where you must demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the mathematics you have been learning. You will also develop numeracy and IT skills while completing activities using statistical packages for data analysis. You will also gain team-working and problem-solving skills through team-based learning with interactive activities. The skills you develop from this module will assist you in careers such as biomedical science, medical fields, laboratory-based scientific research, data science and analytical roles.
View the full module definitionCore academic skills are essential for the successful completion of any undergraduate degree. These skills also provide the foundations for further academic and independent study, in addition to transferring into the applied workplace. In this module you'll learn the academic skills required for study and the fundamental concepts of academic research, necessary to become an independent self-managing learner at degree level– with specific reference to the field of exercise and health science. You’ll be introduced to the learning context, including your responsibilities as an individual learner, the importance of developing assessment literacy, planning for assignments, undertaking research and developing good academic writing skills. During the course you’ll be supported to develop both practical and academic skills central to exercise and health science degree programmes. You will explore the stages of the research process model and gain an understanding of basic research designs, questions and hypotheses for exercise and health research. These will include, reading and note taking, critical analysis, critical writing, essay writing, reporting writing, problem solving, referencing, preparing for exams, and managing time effectively. Furthermore, you will improve your use of information technology and associated software packages such as Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics. You’ll develop good presentation skills, and master basic analysis and data interpretation techniques, including thematic analysis approaches, both individually and as part of a team. You will also be introduced to the importance of personal reflection and increasing your effectiveness as an independent self-learner through work experience and additional qualifications, enhancing your employability prospects. The module will be delivered using a team-based learning approach. The module will be assessed through a patchwork logbook assessment as you move through the learning content.
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms - organisms that are too small to be seen without magnification. The taxonomic diversity of microorganisms is reflected in the huge diversity of their lifestyles. You will explore the major groups of microorganisms – bacteria, viruses, and fungi - and in doing so will learn the basic concepts of microbiology and apply them to a scientific understanding of the subject area. You will consider the diversity of microorganisms from many different perspectives, including their cell structure, function, taxonomy and ecology. Microorganisms have a long, often negative, association with humans. You will study their importance as pathogens, as well as useful applications, and the increasingly important area of antimicrobial resistance. You will be introduced to the latest advances in microbiology, through a series of laboratory-based classes, where you will also be trained in handling microorganisms and using aseptic techniques to prepare cultures. You will also gain the fundamental practical skills required by microbiologists and biomedical scientists, including performing Gram stains, viable counts, sub-culturing techniques, and maintaining safe and efficient working practices. You will practise in state-of-the-art lab spaces, working in teams, preparing you for work in lab-based careers particularly in biomedical science environments.
View the full module definitionThis module introduces you to key themes within exercise science providing a foundation for higher level study. In this module you'll examine the parameters of fitness and principles of training and the application of this insight to enhancing exercise performance, health and wellbeing in the community. You will develop the knowledge and skills to design and deliver a gym based exercise programme for apparently healthy adults, young people (14-16) and older adults, and understand how and why to assess and improve components of health related fitness (body composition, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness). There will be a strong emphasis on the conceptual link between theory and practice within exercise and community settings, alongside the opportunity to establish the foundations of good laboratory practice by learning essential analytical techniques. This module will build your confidence in field and lab based testing, enhance your communication style, while your practical protocol management and team skills will be developed in each session – all of which are essential skills within exercise science and physical activity.
View the full module definitionAnatomy and physiology are the fundamental sciences of the structure and function of organisms. You will be given a thorough grounding in the functional anatomy and physiology of man to enable you to understand how the body works in both health and disease. You will develop a thorough understanding of human anatomy at the macroscopic and microscopic levels, with an introduction to histology. This module will provide you with a strong physiology knowledge base that underpins all of your studies in biomedical science, and pertains to specific modules such as The Physiology of Organ Systems and Principles of Pathology (level 5) and Human Pathology (level 6) modules. You will also be introduced to concepts that have a medical basis, with discussions on how physiological mechanisms maintain health. You will study a range of organ systems (including the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, endocrine, respiratory, immune, urinary, reproductive and digestive systems). Throughout the module, we will be considering the concepts of homeostasis, set points and feedback mechanisms, as well as examining some examples of how changes in physiology underlie disease. You will develop a range of key physiological skills throughout this module. In the laboratory, you will study the different organ systems to reinforce the concepts discussed in lectures through anatomy- and physiology-based hands-on practicals. You will develop your practical skills, working in groups to dissect a range of organs, and utilise associated instrumentation. You will also develop your scientific writing skills through an ability to research and critically review literature on a relevant physiology subject matter, and communicate your findings as a written report.
View the full module definitionRuskin Modules are designed to prepare our students for a complex, challenging and changing future. These interdisciplinary modules provide the opportunity to further broaden your perspectives, develop your intellectual flexibility and creativity. You will work with others from different disciplines to enable you to reflect critically on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns. You will be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines to apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, seek and maximise opportunities to realise your potential to give you a distinctive edge and enhance your success in the workplace.
This module provides a comprehensive introduction to the epidemiological study of physical activity and its relationship to health outcomes. To do this, we ‘ll address two of the 4 key pillars within sport and exercise science; physiology and psychology. Case studies are used to contextualise your learning from real-world scenarios. During your studies you will develop a critical understanding of the methods used to assess physical activity, explore the complex associations between physical activity and various health conditions, and examine the challenges and opportunities in promoting population-level physical activity. The module emphasises the application of epidemiological principles to real-world scenarios, enabling you to design, interpret, and evaluate research in this dynamic field. Through a combination of lectures, practical and team-based learning sessions you will develop an understanding of how physical activity can influence the risk, development and management of conditions and how can we motivate sedentary individuals to exercise more. The development of knowledge is complemented with gaining key transferable, practical and employability skills such as working collaboratively, collecting information or data, and analysing/ presenting data.
View the full module definitionDuring this module you will study the essentials of how exercise effects the physiological responses and be introduced to exercise testing and the principles of movement within the sphere of health and fitness. There will be a strong emphasis on the conceptual link between theory and practice within specific settings alongside the opportunity to secure the foundations of good laboratory practice with the process of learning essential analytical techniques. The module provides a natural progression from the pre-requisite first year module ‘human anatomy and physiology’ and an opportunity is provided for you to study the mechanisms by which the body responds to physical activity and exercise. This module will involve the exploration of content through lectures, seminars and laboratory based sessions to provide an opportunity to apply the physiological and metabolic principles that have been taught. In addition to being provided with academic subject specific knowledge, this module will also help you develop a range of valuable employability skills such as practical data collection, data handling and the presentation and analysis of data. Your learning will be supported by a large number of practicals. The purpose of the practical sessions is to support the theory as taught in the lectures and to give you with the basic laboratory skills to assess exercise and health. During the practicals, you will often collect data, which you will have to analyse, interpret and present in a report. This will support the theory but also gives you a feeling for the work of an exercise physiologist. The practicals are also an opportunity to experience what it feels like to be a participant/patient/client, which is useful experience to prepare you to work with patients/clients in the future. This module will build your confidence in both field and lab-based testing and encourage the continuation of study within exercise science. Communication skills, practical protocol management and team skills will be developed in each session – all of which are essential abilities within exercise and health science.
View the full module definitionWithin the discipline of both Exercise and Health Sciences it is well recognised that quantitative and qualitative research designs provide different, but complementary, opportunities for researchers and practitioners to collect and evaluate health and exercise data for the perspective or objective review of evidence to inform future applied practice. This module follows, and expands upon the knowledge and experience gained from the Level 4 module Academic Skills. The primary purpose of this module is to develop the knowledge-base and applied skills required to produce a substantive independent report supported by research and data interpretation. By utilising an active and collaborative learning design that requires you to take the position of a researcher or practitioner (a complex problem solver) you will work through real-world questions that need answering. Working as part of a team you will collaborate and contribute to the answering of these questions through collective negotiation and project management. Your development of these key employability skills is important for, and transferable to, any graduate-level job or post-graduate study. We will develop them together within the context of our subject area (Exercise and Health Sciences) and the outcomes will support you in the development of your own piece of sustained independent work within your course – The Undergraduate Project/ Placement Project modules.
View the full module definitionThis second year module introduces a range of psychological explanations of the lifestyle choices people make and develops your understanding of behaviour change. It explores the theoretical and practical aspects of behaviour change related to exercise and health to provide a comprehensive understanding of the psychological, social, and environmental factors influencing physical activity behaviour. You’ll learn how to apply evidence-based behaviour change techniques to promote and maintain exercise adoption. The module emphasizes the development of practical skills in designing, implementing, and evaluating behaviour change interventions across diverse populations and settings. To do this, we’ll approach one of the 4 key pillars within sport and exercise science; psychology. Case studies are used to contextualise your learning from real-world scenarios. Through a combination of lectures, practical and team-based learning sessions you will develop an understanding of how behaviour change can help to support and motivate sedentary individuals to exercise more and what psychological factors may influence how we motivate sedentary individuals to exercise.
View the full module definitionMetabolism is the sum of all of the complex reactions occurring in the cell. Building on knowledge gained in your first year, you will further examine a range of metabolic pathways with a view to gaining a detailed understanding of the overall strategy of metabolism and the internal logic of key metabolic pathways. The effects of drugs and inhibitors and the role of allosteric enzymes in the feedback control of metabolism will also be discussed. We look in detail at the organisation of the genome and how genetic material is transcribed and translated. This then leads to an understanding of the significance of inborn errors of metabolism and the effects of therapeutic drugs on individual reactions of metabolism. Finally, we look in detail at cellular specialisation and the structure and biological functions of the major cellular organelles, including intracellular trafficking and signalling. You will also develop a number of transferable skills including practical (laboratory) techniques and graduate skills. You will study enzyme kinetics and the effects of inhibitors, measure blood glucose levels and investigate regulation of gene expression in bacteria in laboratory session. The skills obtained in these practicals are crucial for those considering careers as biomedical scientists, laboratory researchers or workers in the pharmaceutical industry. You will also obtain valuable experience in data collection, handling and interpretation.
View the full module definitionNutrition is an essential component for optimal health, and plays an integral role in supporting demands of, and adaptations to, exercise as well as managing many chronic conditions. An awareness and appreciation of an individuals’ dietary intake is a fundamental aspect of working in these applied contexts, therefore this module is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of nutrition in relation to health and disease. In this module, you will explore the underlying importance of dietary intake to support general health, and exercise related demands, in particular considering nutritional requirements, how we determine the nutritional status of an individual and how nutritional recommendations are adapted depending on certain common conditions. By using theoretical and evidence-based concepts, this module addresses the dietary macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins; including fluid intake) and micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and their role in overall human health, with reference to population-based normative guidelines. You will also explore the practical applications of dietary strategies to support increased metabolic demands (e.g. exercise) and the current evidence base relating to nutrition and common chronic disease, whilst assessing the policy options and developing the skills of critique and interpretation for study/programme design. The module will utilise a variety of interactive learning activities including integrated lectures, practical sessions, collaborative learning seminars and team-based learning workshops to demonstrate how evidence based practice is used in real-world scenarios. Methods of dietary evaluation, body composition and energy expenditure will also be explored in line with nutritional evaluation. Together with your peers, you will undertake a basic dietary analysis of a case studies, as well as evaluate and design a nutrition programme for a specific cases pertinent to health and/ or exercise scenarios. As part of this module, you will develop essential employability skills pertinent within this area including: working with clients, dietary evaluation, programme design, team work, presentation skills and reflective practice.
View the full module definitionThere are a number of key principles in Health Promotion from the World Health Organisation's (‘WHO’) ground breaking 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion which are still as relevant today as they were then, in a world challenged with growing health inequality. This module will build your knowledge of these principles and explore the importance of the 'Healthy Settings' approach to create health in the places where people spend their daily lives (the Social Determinants of Health) to improve population health and to reduce inequalities in health. Building on the understanding that health outcomes are influenced significantly by our environment in terms of social determinants in the places where people are born, grow, live, work and age. The module will also build your understanding of how we 'create health' (as opposed to just avoiding or managing health risks), by exploring Salutogenic theory, which helps orient us towards resources and assets for creating health and understand how utilisation of resource for health can improve health through the 'sense of coherence' model. Building on your understanding of these important concepts and focusing on ARU Peterborough as a setting for health, this module provides a practical opportunity to draw upon your knowledge and creativity, to justify with evidence and plan a project that could improve health within the University. This module's practical project allows for creativity in addressing the 'wider determinants' with a 'salutogenic' orientation. We will focus on collaborative learning on the academic underpinnings of the Healthy Settings approach and Salutogenesis and work in groups to develop a project idea in collaboration with the module leader and other staff at ARU Peterborough. You will have the opportunity to link with professionals at the University and progress previous projects onto the next stage, or decide to start planning a new project, which can be progressed forward by next year’s students.
View the full module definitionThe science of aging, or gerontology, is a multidisciplinary field that studies the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging, including the processes that lead to decreased function and increased disease risk. In this module you'll learn how ageing affects human physiology and psycho-sociology. You will develop your knowledge from first year anatomy and physiology and second year applied physiology and behavioural science to investigate the effects ageing has on human performance, be it exercise or simply activities of daily living. The module will provide you with the underpinning knowledge of the ageing process and discusses the findings of current research to deliver both knowledge and context to the process of ageing. This will also support other modules such as clinical exercise prescription.
View the full module definitionThis module focuses on the latest research and evidence-based practices related to designing personalised exercise prescription for individuals with specific medical conditions, including how to incorporate emerging technologies and personalised approaches to optimise treatment outcomes. It will provide an in-depth and comprehensive study into how physical activity and planned exercise improves health, and how they may be promoted. Throughout this module we will continue to discuss the prevalence, aetiology and pathophysiology of non-communicable diseases that we began at level 5, and investigate the literature and evidence base into exercise programming for the treatment, management and rehabilitation of these conditions. This will expand and develop your knowledge of multidisciplinary approaches to health and disease with both a theoretical and practical application to critically evaluate the role of physical activity. The role of exercise prescription will be analysed and discussed in detail to evaluate the effects of physical activity on positive psychological, physiological and metabolic adaptations – ultimately leading to you being able to design a research informed exercise prescription that is justified through its intended adaptations to support the management of disease and improve quality of life for these individuals. This module develops key employability skills required within clinical exercise science, working with clinical populations, public health policy and further study, whilst the content will allow you to continue working towards a nationally recognised qualification, “Working with people with Long Term Conditions” award (Formally “Exercise Referral”), endorsed by CIMSPA.
View the full module definitionThe advancement of knowledge, applications and technology in the Exercise and Health Science domain is ever changing. In relation to this, each sub topic of the field has their own contemporary issues that are required to be explored further if all ethical, wellbeing and historical perspectives are to be considered. This module aims to provide you with insight into the most current topics that effect exercise and health both nationally and internationally from communicable and non communicable diseases to current trends and inequality. The module content will draw upon current innovative research and technology from these various academic and applied fields and look to engage you in an applied manner. To this end there will essentially be a range of topics taught throughout the module, but these topics will change depending on the key developments within the area. These areas will build on previously taught modules in an applied format to engage you in critical thinking. This module aims to encourage you to recognise that within disciplines there are a variety of aspects to consider in wider contexts. For example understanding the reasons behind individuals engaging with poor nutritional choices, despite the number of side effects highlighted, will provide valuable insight into adopting effective communication and interventions when you go into industry. This module will help develop a number of transferable skills which include problem solving, creativity, research skills, thinking “outside the box” and further develop the ability to present. The material will be particularly useful for those of you interested in pursuing a career in health promotion, health coaching, exercise science support or teaching.
View the full module definitionThe Undergraduate Major Project module provides you with the opportunity to develop, conceptualise, execute, analyse and reflect upon your own research project. This module allows you to draw on the skills acquired at level 4 and 5 to conduct a substantial piece of independent research focused on a topic relevant to the exercise and health science fields. This offers you the opportunity to engage in real-world research, identify and formulate problems, develop a clear rationale and investigate and adopt suitable methodologies to answer these problems. You will determine and apply ethical standards, undertake an in-depth review of the literature, develop a series of testable hypotheses and research questions derived from the review and design and conduct a study in order to address these. Projects will be assessed for suitability by supervisors to ensure sufficient academic challenge. Upon completion of the data collection you will analyse, evaluate and discuss findings in the context of the literature, using critical reflection whilst presenting the project in an appropriately scientific format. The module is supported by a limited number of taught sessions where project management and development will be addressed. The majority of the module is delivered via one-to-one supervisory sessions. You are responsible for arranging regular meetings with your project supervisor in order that the project can be closely monitored and steered in the right direction. You will also further enhance employability skills including project design, project management, data handling, independent learning and communication.
View the full module definitionThe Undergraduate Placement Project module will build on the employability theme which is embedded throughout the course. You'll be required to independently select and obtain an appropriate work-related experience placement within the broad area of exercise and health science. You will undertake an in-depth review of the literature linked to the industry contextualising the profession, creating a plan of work to follow considering the organisation’s needs, aims or objectives. You will also identify and reflect on specific professional standards, legal and/or health and safety requirements as required. This module provides the opportunity to develop, conceptualise, execute, analyse and reflect upon your own learning experiences linked to a vocationally relevant graduate aligned placement. It provides you with the opportunity to focus your career aspirations in the final year of undergraduate study allowing you to immerse yourself, learning within a workplace and critically reflecting on the experience. You will be expected to draw on the skills acquired at level 4 and 5, whilst applying them to a real-world scenario. Placements will be assessed by supervisors to ensure sufficient vocational and academic challenge. Upon completion of the work experience, you will be required to critically reflect on their experience linking the academic research to the vocational learning experience, compiling a theoretically informed piece of data driven work. The module is supported by a limited number of taught sessions where core skills such as literature reviewing and critical reflection will be addressed. The majority of the module is delivered via one-to-one supervisory sessions. You are responsible for arranging regular meetings with their placement supervisor in order that the placement can be closely monitored and steered in the right direction. You will also further enhance employability skills including project design, project management, data handling, independent learning and communication.
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