Accessibility
The University is the sole provider of Allied Health Profession education in Northern Ireland and has built a strong reputation for high quality delivery across the range of disciplines including; Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography and Speech & Language Therapy.
These clinical vocations have clear employment pathways and as a result, demand for these programmes is very high. This popularity is set against a background of strictly controlled DHSSPS commissioned places which constrains numbers for workforce planning reasons and the availability of work placement opportunities.
The University considered alternative entry criteria in the light of these developments and, as part of its widening participation agenda, put in place arrangements whereby factors other than state examination performance be taken into account in the selection process. An admission test has been introduced specifically designed for these professions and the academic entry requirements have been reduced appropriately.
The test will take place on Saturday 31 January 2009 on the Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee University campuses and comprises an assessment of three elements: interpersonal understanding, critical reasoning and written communication. The test protocol has been developed for Allied Health Professional applicants by the Australian Council for Educational Research, an independent non-profit making body which has been operating in this field for many years. Applications to take this test should be made alongside the UCAS process, and details are available on the HPAT-Ulster website. The fee for the test is £90 and the results are valid for two years. All applicants must have completed HPAT-Ulster to be considered for entry to University of Ulster Allied Health Profession programmes. Subject requirements which are essential for the more science-based programmes have not been changed as a result of the introduction of the test.
In 2008 a separate test, HPAT-Ireland, was introduced for entrants to undergraduate medicine in the Republic of Ireland in 2009. This does not provide entry to Ulster Allied Health Profession programmes and is held on a different date from HPAT-Ulster.