The Bradford Curriculum

Dimensions and principles

Learning, teaching and assessment should strive to be:

1. Programme-centric: coherent, challenging, progressive and co-owned.
2. Liberated: accessible, empowering, representative, decolonising and stimulating.
3. Research-engaged: inspirational, systematic, developmental and collaborative.
4. Future-focused: enterprising, experiential, authentic and flexible.

Programmes are self-assessed by a curriculum scorecard which defines expectations for high-quality academic experience for each of the principles. The scorecard is used within our academic portfolio lifecycle to help manage risk and promote enhancement.

Staff course teams implementing the Bradford Curriculum are supported by professional education developers, a series of programme design workshops and an online hub of teaching resources:

• Developing Your Teaching At Bradford (Staff Canvas)
• The Bradford Curriculum (2023 PDF)

Make a difference!

We want to be known as the place to make a difference. That's why an identifiable element to integrate, consolidate and apply learning through a student-defined lens is evident at each stage of a course.

Examples include formative research projects for students to develop research skills, modules where you learn to build and manage projects of increasing complexity and depth, and collaborations between computing students and social scientists on deploying AI models.

Make a difference activities that are not credit bearing can often be recognised on the Higher Education Achievement Record, including our endorsed Bradford Employability Award schemes. (Student Intranet)

We draw on these co-curricular and extra-curricular activities to develop Bradford Qualities so that our students leave us as individuals who are:

• Confident: articulate, proactive and reflective.
• Connected: collaborative, inclusive and networking.
• Critical: analytical, communicative and inquisitive.
• Creative: adaptive to change, receptive to new ideas and responsible.

Academics must ensure the programme specification is clear about any specific regulatory requirements or special requirements that must be met to gain the award, over and above successful completion of the modules; for example, placement requirements or professional body examinations; and commit to deliver the programme as specified to the best of their ability.

Modules and course details may still change as detailed by our regulations. The University reserves the right to alter or withdraw courses, services and facilities under some circumstances without notice, and to amend Ordinances, Regulations, fees and charges at any time, but, unless there is no alternative, we will not make substantive changes to programmes detailed in Programme Specifications without student consent.

We work towards continuous improvement and actively seek to change programmes for the better in-year where students raise issues and concerns (through their Course Rep or the Students Union). These meetings can take place during UCAS application periods or over the summer. Students should enquire as to the up-to-date position when applying for their course of study and when re-enrolling. For more detail about your rights as a student at Bradford and our responsibilities related to course changes, see Section H of your Student Contract.

We regularly review our programmes to ensure that their content is current, relevant, aligned to Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body requirements as appropriate, and to ensure that we are offering the best possible learning experiences for students. As part of this, it is very likely that we will make changes to modules within programmes. We believe that this is beneficial to students, ensuring that their programmes are up to date, linked to innovative research and provide the best possible overall experience. Changes are carefully monitored to ensure they are only made in the best interests of students or to ensure regulatory or legal compliance.