Prosthetics and Orthotics

Prosthetics and orthotics is a specialist clinical discipline concerned with the design, manufacture, fitting, and management of artificial limbs and supportive devices for people with physical disabilities or impairments. Prosthetists provide artificial limbs to those who have lost a limb through injury, disease, or congenital difference, enabling them to regain function and independence. Orthotists design and fit braces, splints, and supports to correct or assist the function of people with neurological, muscular, or skeletal conditions such as scoliosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, and diabetes-related foot problems.

Both roles combine engineering and biomechanical knowledge with patient-centred clinical care.

At the University of Salford, this three-year full-time programme provides the specialist training required to practise in this regulated health profession. You will study anatomy, biomechanics, pathology, and the engineering principles underlying device design and fabrication. You will learn to assess patients, formulate clinical goals, design and fit devices, and evaluate outcomes, developing the technical precision and clinical reasoning that the work demands.

The programme includes substantial clinical placements, which are an essential component of professional training and allow you to develop patient-facing skills in real healthcare settings alongside qualified practitioners.

The work requires both scientific competence and sensitive communication: you will work with people at significant moments in their lives, often after traumatic injury or progressive disease, and the ability to listen, explain, and collaborate with patients and their families is as important as technical skill. You will also engage with the ethics, evidence base, and professional standards that govern clinical practice in prosthetics and orthotics.

Graduates from prosthetics and orthotics programmes are eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council, which is required to practise in the UK. Most graduates enter NHS or independent sector clinical roles, and with experience many move into senior clinical positions, specialist practice, service management, or research. Postgraduate study is available for those seeking further clinical or academic specialisation.