Your invite to interview email will explain the date, time and venue for your selection event.  Please take note of the 'Things to bring with you' section as there are some important documents that we must see on the day.

These are necessary to determine your academic qualifications, eligibility for funding and necessary vetting procedures.

The selection session will normally take half a day and will consist of meeting with admission tutors and having a one-to-one interview. The interview panel will normally include a college lecturer, a paramedic and a service user.

The School works closely with colleagues from clinical practice and also members of the local community who have a vested interest in paramedic education. Please do not be alarmed if you are spoken to by a variety of people; this is quite normal and is part of selecting our future students.

The School is continuously developing the structure of the selection day to ensure that candidates have ample opportunity to demonstrate their skills and experience.

After the event you will be free to leave. Please make sure you have been handed back all your documents before you leave.

The aim of the interview process is to ascertain your:

• academic potential
• awareness of your chosen programme and its demands
• communication skills: verbal and non-verbal
• motivation for a career in your intended health profession
• awareness of current issues in health
• personal integrity- honesty, trustworthiness, reliable, punctual
• caring attitude in dealing with the public

Please be assured that interviewers are not trying to catch you out; if you do not understand any of the questions just ask for them to be repeated. This is an opportunity for us to find out about you and for you to find out about us. At the end of the selection process you will be given the chance to ask any questions you may have. You are most welcome to prepare these in advance and write them down.

If you have any special needs for the interview day then you may wish to inform the School as soon as possible prior to your interview in order that appropriate arrangements can be made. We are happy to support any reasonable request but may find this difficult to accommodate on the day without prior notice.

You will be informed of the outcome of your interview via by Commissioned Programmes Recruitment and Selection Team, School of Health and Social Care, Swansea University.

We will follow our own timescales for making decisions. You will normally be told at the interview when decisions for your course will be made.

You will be required to make your decision within a set time limit. It is recommended that if you have applied for numerous courses that you await the decisions of all of these before making your decision. This way you know what all your options are.

If you are offered a place as a direct applicant your response must normally be submitted in writing to the School within three weeks of the date of the offer letter. If a written response is not received within this time the offer of a place will normally be declined by default.

Deferring your place

None of our programmes allow candidates to defer their place to a later date. Should you feel that you have extenuating reasons then consideration will be given to the reason for the request, length of deferral and individual circumstances.  Please contact your relevant admissions tutor for more advice.

You need to be aware that should a deferral be granted, conditions will apply, examples of conditions include;

• Attending an informal interview with the admissions tutor prior to commencement to ensure that any changes to your circumstances will not prevent enrolment. 
• Keeping the School informed of changes to contact details.
• To update the ‘conditions of offer’ below.
• Meeting any new regulatory or government criteria

Please be aware that any additional expense such as re-application to the DBS, will need to be met by yourself.

The School is unable to recruit additional students on a non bursary basis other than pre arranged contractual agreements.

Please be aware than the Welsh Government has made changes to the bursary provision from September 2017 onwards. Information regarding these changes can be obtained from our NHS funding pages. 

If you have a specific learning difficulty or disability, any offer of a place is provisional subject to the School being able to provide reasonable support under the Equality Act (2010) and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act (2001). Additional information maybe required from the candidate as to the level of support needed; this information is kept confidential and is reviewed by the Fitness to Practise panel. You do not need to discuss these issues at time of interview. Dyslexia is not routinely reviewed at the Fitness to Practise panel and is not normally considered as part of the offer. However we are unable to offer clinical and academic support to students who do not have an educational psychologists report; should you have dyslexia and wish for support it is advisable to have a report available for our team to plan the appropriate assistance.

If you are offered a place you will be asked to complete a confidential health questionnaire prior to enrolment. This will be conducted independently by the Occupational Health Care team. There are three possible outcomes:

• You meet the health requirements and are accepted onto the course;
• The health questionnaire highlights a few issues and the Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner contacts you to discuss them. Reasonable adjustments which would enable you to complete the course might also be discussed at this stage.
• You may be invited to have a more in-depth occupational health assessment, possibly involving a medical examination, to determine whether you are fit to practise. Those who live a distance away from the university can ask to have this examination arranged via their GP but please be aware that the GP may charge for this.

All students must complete this process and be declared fit before commencing their programme of study. Candidates need to be aware that they are required to comply with the vaccination policy.

1. Disclosure and barring checks

If you accept an offer you will be required to complete an Enhanced DBS disclosure which will cost you £44. A satisfactory record is a condition of any offer and while the School will arrange your application you may wish to know more about the DBS check.

If you have a conviction or caution, your case will be considered by the School’s Fitness to Practise Panel. Again such consideration is in the strictest of confidence.  If you fail to tell the University about a conviction or caution which the enhanced DBS check subsequently brings to light, you may not be able to enrol or may be withdrawn from the Programme. If you receive a caution and conviction in the interim between making your application and your interview you are strongly advised to contact the School.

If you are concerned about your DBS check you are advised to contact Mrs Mary Paget, Director of Quality on 01792 602878 rather than other agencies (e.g. solicitors) to discuss your concern.  Please be assured that information is dealt with in the strictest confidence. 

2. References

All applicants are required to provide two references. One reference should normally be an academic reference, for example from your teacher or college tutor. The second reference will normally be determined by the admissions tutor. It is customary for the second reference to be a character reference from an employer or from where you have gained care experience. It is important that you make sure you have selected the right referee as family members, friends or family friends are not accepted. It is courteous to ask the permission from your referee prior to offering their details.

Candidates travelling to the Singleton campus will find that parking on campus is restricted and that spaces in the visitors’ car park fill up quickly. A less stressful option is to park in the Recreational Ground council car park which accommodates university students. The typical fee is £3.00 per day. Directions to the Swansea University campus, from all directions, can be found here

We need to see certain documents on the day to ensure that all the information we have about you is correct and that you are eligible to start the course should we make an offer.

Please bring with you the ORIGINAL and a COPY of the following documents (as relevant to you). The original will be checked and handed back to you and we will keep the copy for your file.

• All the certfifcates of the educational qualifications you mention on your UCAS form

Pre Interview Information Declaration Form

As you will be working towards a professional qualification you will be required to spend time with children and vulnerable adults and work with many public and private organisations. As such it is necessary for you to understand the additional expectations, health and safety regulations and workplace requirements which you must abide by in order to gain your professional registration.

The School needs to be sure that you have had this information prior to commencing the programme and that you have had opportunity to discuss any worries or concerns. It is also part of the selection process that you have an awareness of the demands of our programme.

Please will you print, sign and bring along to the selection event this declaration form. The form is not part of the interview or the selection process; we need it to know that you have had access to important information and have had the opportunity to discuss any of the content of this site.

There are two Paramedic Science programmes at Swansea University, these are:

• Diploma in Higher Edcuation Paramedic Science
• BSc(Hons) Paramedic Science [subject to approval]