Our consultant Edwin had the opportunity to join a select number of counsellors from across North America on an “Explore England” tour that will cover visits to Northumbria, Lancaster, The University of Manchester, Keele, and the University of Birmingham. We’ll post updates and photos from his trip so follow along to see where he’s headed!
Fourth stop: Keele University
The campus feel and natural ambience that greet students in the first few moments they set foot on the grounds of a university could be a strong influential factor for best fit. The modern Med Innovation Centre (Med IC) buildings situated along the main driveway at Keele University are the striking embodiment of the progressive Health Science programs available, while Keele Hall, a 19th century Tudor style house that is now used as the university conference centre, demonstrates that traditions are well preserved and revered at the school. All of the 600-acre campus is nestled in the rich, lush English countryside, near Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Notable accolades
- Top half of the world’s leading universities (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016)
- 1st in the World for Green Setting and Campus Infrastructure (UI Green Metric Ranking, 2016)
- 1st for graduate employability and Top 10 for university for employment (Destination of leavers from Higher Education 2015 and 2016, Higher Education Statistics Agency)
- Top three in Student Satisfaction in 2014 & 2015 (National Student Survey)
- 97% of academic research is world leading, Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, 2015, 2016, as well as on League Tables)
- Ranked as one of Britain’s most beautiful universities (The Daily Telegraph)
Programs
Top programs
- Medicine (Direct-entry)
- Natural Sciences
- Biosciences
- Pharmacy (Direct-entry)
- Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (Direct-entry)
- Nursing and Midwifery (Direct-entry)
- Forensic Science (Direct-entry)
- Law and Criminology (Direct-entry)
- English, History and Liberal Arts
- Politics and International Relations
- Business and Management
Dual honours programs are available for students who wish to study two subjects equally over three years. The same depth of knowledge in each subject can be achieved as that for a single honours degree, with choices of options in each subject.
Examples: Chemistry and Forensic Science, Criminology and Psychology, Neuroscience and Psychology, Business Management and Marketing, Computer Science and Astrophysics, Law and Criminology, and Music and Music Technology.
Feature: Forensic Science at Keele University
When you walk through the front door of the two-level Crime Scene House at Keele, four huge LED panels greet you with camera views of the rooms in the house. The interior décor, furnishings and various household items create a stage for students to test their crime scene investigation skills. As a student of Forensic Science, you will be tasked to problem solve cases based on analytical science, which includes the science of measurement, characterizing materials (normally at the molecular level), and determining what is in a sample.
“Such scientific investigations are applied to physical evidence – that is materials found at crime scenes or associated with potentially illegal activities, such as explosives’ residues, glass fragments, drugs, inks, fibres and hairs.” (Dr. David Thompson, Course Director, Forensic Science)
Apart from the use of scientific laboratory equipment for sample identification, Forensic Science includes the pattern matching as applied to fingerprints, shoe-marks, tool-marks and tire-marks, as well as a number of specialists’ study areas in forensic investigation, such pathology, blood-spatter analysis, ballistics, geosciences and digital sciences.
Keele University offers the following degrees in Forensic Science:
- Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Forensic Science (Single Honours), 3 years
- Bachelor of Science (BSc) Dual Honours (Forensic Science and another subject), 3 years
- Bachelor of Science (BSc) Major/Minor (Forensic Science and another subject), 3 years. Classes for both subjects are taken in years 1 and 2 and 3. The major route would allow you to continue on to the MSci Forensic Science and Analytical Investigation.
- Master of Science (MSci) in Forensic and Analytical Investigation, 4-year integrated master’s degree.
Student Experience
What two students are saying about Keele University’s Medicine and Health Science programs
Ali is a Canadian, fourth-year student in the Master of Pharmacy, 4-year program. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, he said that he is very lucky to be receiving the best and most recent research in the field and full training in clinical and professional practice towards registration as a Pharmacist. He emphasized that some key features of the program are: the clinical placements offered at Keele University, competency-based assessments throughout the course and the leading-edge teaching techniques such TRIPSEs (tri-partite structured exercises) and the technical simulations via the KAVE (Keele Active Virtual Environment), where students can experience the human anatomy, proteins and clinical practice with response to drug and medication in an immersive 3D simulator. Keele’s School of Pharmacy is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). Currently, Ali intends to transfer back to practice in Canada, but in the future, he believes Canadian students might require external placement for clinical practice in Canada for registration to practice. For information on UK transfer to practice Canada, please consult the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP).
Erin, a former high school student from Vancouver, BC, is in her first year of the direct-entry Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) 5-year Medicine program. Accepted at a couple of other universities for study in Medicine in the UK, she was thrilled to be one of four international students last year to be accepted here because she has heard about its 7th place ranking among 33 medical schools in the UK. With the current funding by the National Health Services (NHS) changing and the 6.5% limit on international seats for UK programs under review, Keele University has increased the number of places to 10 for 2018 entry, out of 133 available seats.
She tells me that the teaching is really hands-on and follows the Problem-Based Learning approach, where medical students are given medical cases and scenarios to identify their learning object and solve through virtual diagnostic, clinical procedures, and working as a self-directed learning group. She feels one of the stand-outs of the program is a state-of-the-art anatomy suite, which ranked as one of the best anatomy facilities in the country. At the facility, they have the chance to practice dissections on cadavers and work on developing their surgical skills. In the programs, she has access to three clinical sites: one on the Keele University campus, one at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, and a third at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in Shropshire.
At this point, she does not know whether she will return to Canada for practice yet, but she is aware of the option to return as an International Medical Graduate, and seek residency back home with specialization. If she stays in the UK, she would consider pursuing the Foundation Year 1 and 2 training program towards clinical practice offered in conjunction with the NHS.
