Diagnostic Radiography BSc(Hons)

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If your application is successful, you will be invited to attend an interview.

Interview dates for applicants starting in September 2025 will be published soon.

Top reasons to choose this course

• Approved by the College of Radiographers and the Health and Care Professions Council.
• On-campus Clinical Imaging Suite with X-ray table and tube, and PACS/DICOM image store.
• Clinical placements in each year with opportunities in hospitals, community and private sector settings.
• Opportunities to gain experience with CT, PET scanning, nuclear medicine, MRI, neuroradiography, interventional radiography, cardiac cath labs, ultrasound and contrast media.
• Learn with a teaching team that includes experienced radiographers.
• Visiting guest lecturers from collaborating healthcare organisations.
• Non-repayable grant of at least £6,000 each academic year.
• Brighton is in the UK top 25% for graduate earnings in allied health, three years after graduating – Longitudinal Education Outcomes 2022.

Course structure 

The Diagnostic Radiography degree course is delivered full-time over three years. Theoretical modules are delivered in blocks alongside clinical placements.

Teaching at the university includes lectures, seminars, workshops, simulation and skills laboratory sessions.

You’ll go on placement to healthcare settings throughout each academic year to gain hands-on learning and assessment opportunities with a range of diagnostic imaging modalities. 

The final dissertation provides you with the opportunity to undertake a project on a topic of your choice. 

Recognising that patients are at the heart of everything the NHS does, we have embedded the core values of the NHS Constitution — respect, dignity, compassion and collaboration — into our curriculum.

As a student on this course you’ll also get to participate in Schwartz Rounds – hour-long sessions where students come together to listen to stories and share reflections in a supportive and confidential environment. The sessions offer the opportunity to reflect on the emotional aspects of clinical practice and are designed to support students and recent graduates working in complex settings.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through Student View.

Areas of study

Our Diagnostic Radiography degree will ensure you graduate as a competent diagnostic radiographer. You’ll be able to obtain high-quality diagnostic images using a range of complex imaging equipment such as X-rays, cross-sectional imaging methods (computed tomography or CT) and fluoroscopy. 

You’ll also have opportunities to gain experience in other imaging modalities for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), breast imaging and nuclear medicine. 

You will also experience working with a broad range of patients of all ages, including those with mental and physical disabilities, and the terminally ill.

Year 1 

Modules

• Introduction to Diagnostic Radiography

  This module introduces you to diagnostic radiographic practice and will help you to understand the patient pathway all the way through from referral to discharge. You will begin to develop the clinical skills that will enable you to provide high-quality patient-focused care.

• Radiation Physics

  In this module you will learn about radiation physics, radiographic equipment, radiation protection, legislation and radiobiology. You’ll explore the principles of radiography equipment design and how X-rays are generated. You will also examine the factors affecting radiation dose, its effects on the body and how to minimise these through good practice.

• Foundations of Professional Practice in Diagnostic Radiography

  You will be provided with all the required mandatory training for clinical practice and develop your understanding of the role of the radiographer in the clinical setting during this module. Areas covered include healthcare legislation and how it impacts on patient care; effective communication skills; professional standards; an introduction to human factors; and patient-focused care.

• Introduction to Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology

  Develop your understanding of human anatomy and function and anatomical relationships on radiographic imaging. You will develop a comprehensive knowledge of the normal anatomy and physiology of the musculoskeletal, respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

• Practice Learning Diagnostic Radiography 1

  Put diagnostic your radiography learning into practice in this clinical-based module. You will develop your clinical and professional skills in various examinations and healthcare settings. Practice will include observing and undertaking supervised diagnostic radiography examinations of the chest, abdomen and appendicular skeleton and evaluating the results, and observing and assisting in fluoroscopy testing.

Year 2 

Modules

• Research Methods in Healthcare

  This module introduces research methods and core philosophical and scientific approaches to research to provide a balanced perspective of both quantitative and qualitative research within the context of health research. You will explore different approaches to planning and conducting research and consider the translation of research findings into clinical practice.

• Science and Technology in Diagnostic Radiography

  This module builds on the Radiation Physics module from year 1 to expand your knowledge of different methods of imaging production and their applications. Course content includes digital image acquisition, storage and transfer of images; variation in X-ray tube design for different applications; theoretical principles of computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine and mammography; applications of specialist modalities; and safety legislation.

• Applied Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology

  This module provides you with a comprehensive knowledge of the normal anatomy and physiology of the digestive, endocrine, genitourinary, immune, lymphatic and neurological systems and the special senses. You will learn the normal and abnormal imaging appearances of these body systems and become familiar with using different imaging systems.

• Practice Learning Diagnostic Radiography 2

  In this module of clinical-based learning you will undertake clinical placement blocks at designated placement providers. This will help further develop your diagnostic radiography skills and apply classroom learning to practice for an expanded range of examinations and settings. You will also use imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound.

• Professional Practice in Diagnostic Radiography

  Building on the foundations of year one, this module will expand your understanding of professionalism and patient-centred care in radiography and introduce you to more complex patients and their needs. Topics studied include quality assurance and quality control; contrast media to include management of adverse reactions; public health, health promotion and screening programmes; mental health; and paediatric radiography.

Year 3

Modules

• Image Interpretation

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the radiographer’s role in image reporting and the skills needed to undertake image interpretation of the skeleton, chest and abdomen. You will cover topics including the principles and governance related to radiographer reporting; medicolegal aspects of radiographer reporting; pattern recognition and visual perception; normal and abnormal radiographic appearances of the skeleton, chest and abdomen; and performance measurement and causes of error.

• Practice Learning Diagnostic Radiography 3

  This module of clinical-based learning will reinforce your diagnostic radiography skills and increase your professional autonomy in preparation for independent practice. This placement will also include specialty rotations and care of the major trauma and critically ill patient. The module will involve a range of healthcare settings to fulfil learning outcomes and provide experience in specialist imaging services.

• Research-based project

  In this module you will look at the implications of research for clinical practice and how it is key to improving development and effectiveness. The module builds upon the content explored in the year 2 module Research Methods in Healthcare. Through facilitated activities you will justify your research methods, evaluate literature or collect and analyse data and undertake self-appraisal so you can defend your work and respond to scientific scrutiny.

• Enhanced Professional Practice in Diagnostic Radiography

  Through this module you will study the enhanced care and communication needs of complex patients and the key issues in imaging service development and leadership. Topics covered include the management of risk in radiographic practice; multidisciplinary team working and review; leadership; service improvement; human factors in healthcare; special care groups: critically ill/major trauma; ageing, death and dying; and technical advances in imaging.

Placements

Placement learning is integrated into the degree as the 40-credit module, Practice Learning Diagnostic Radiography. The module is taken in each year and will account for around 50% of your degree.

There is a focus on competence, rather than a set number of hours or a set number of X-rays taken.

Clinical placements will be provided by our local trusts partners who are located throughout the South East in Sussex, Surrey and Kent. You will need to be prepared to travel the region for your placements to ensure exposure to a broad range of practice settings.

You will do shifts, including weekends and school holidays, to ensure you are fully prepared for the realities of working in the healthcare sector upon graduation.

Placements will take place in a variety of diagnostic radiography settings in hospitals, the community and the private sector.

All areas of projectional radiography will be covered for theory and practice learning in general radiography, A&E (minor injuries/major trauma imaging), operating theatres, fluoroscopy, paediatrics and community settings.

There will also be opportunities for experience with CT, PET scanning, nuclear medicine, MRI, neuroradiography, interventional radiography, cardiac cath labs, ultrasound and contrast media.

You will be supported and overseen by a mentor in each healthcare setting.

Facilities for learning

The University of Brighton has a wide range of facilities to support the learning of our health students which enable you to develop your skills in real-life scenarios.

For this new course we have created a Clinical Imaging Suite for our diagnostic radiography students which includes:

• X-ray table and tube
• PACS/DICOM image store
• Clinical imaging simulation software.

In our well-stocked libraries you will have access to relevant books and journals to support your development as a radiographer.

Meet the team

Peter Dick, course leader

Peter Dick is a diagnostic radiographer who currently still works within the NHS. Peter completed his Diagnostic Radiography BSc(Hons) at the University of Hertfordshire and immediately started working at a local hospital in East Sussex. After initially honing basic radiography skills he progressed into the interventional radiology and cardiac catheter imaging teams providing precise imaging for delicate and often life-saving procedures. At one point he led these teams of specialist radiographers before shifting the focus of his career. 

In 2016 Peter completed a postgraduate diploma in Clinical Reporting, allowing him to provide definitive reports on musculoskeletal X-rays followed by postgraduate certificates in chest and abdominal reporting. His clinical work entirely focuses on reporting images and he leads a team of 12 radiographers who also report. 

Peter’s career has always involved teaching radiography students, but as his skill set increased this expanded to teaching more senior radiographers, other health professionals and trainee radiologists. Teaching more formally was a natural progression and he began working at the University of Brighton in 2021 alongside his clinical role. He was a part of the team involved in creation and validation of the course and is excited to see many more students study and qualify here.

View Peter’s full academic profile. 

Other members of the team

• Charlene Wallace, senior lecturer
• Sara Savidge, lecturer
• Silvia Cori, lecturer
• Huda Ali, lecturer
• Michela Cleri, lecturer
• Vicky Ballard, lecturer

Course fees

Additional funding support

UK students studying nursing, midwifery and some allied health professions subjects receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each academic year. Shortage specialisms, such as radiography, receive an additional £1,000. Find out more on the NHS website.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Brighton Boost – cost of living help for our new undergrad students. Find out about how we can help with your study, accommodation or travel costs and more...
• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• Read our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf) for more on University of Brighton tuition fees.

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