The 4-year university degree programme in Physiotherapy was launched in 1947. Since then 50 batches of graduates- physiotherapists have been promoted - a considerable part of them from different foreign countries.
The 4-year full-time after secondary school and after university entrance examination graduate programme in Physiotherapy (BSc university degree in Physiotherapy) has been evolved for more then 50 years, but the basic concept has remained the same: physiotherapists should be able to conceptualize their treatment on the basis of clinical assessment and evaluation and be able to set up research project on their own.
The graduates from the NSA speciality Physiotherapy may legally practice as full-fledged physiotherapists without limitation in Bulgaria.
The Faculty of Physiotherapy, Tourism and Sport Animation at NSA - Sofia is a Member of the European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education and a partner of respected European universities in TEMPUS and SOCRATES/ERASMUS projects.

Programme description
The 4-year BSc university degree programme in Physiotherapy (240 ECTS credits) is designed in five blocks of subjects/courses/modules:

• BEHAVIOURAL and PHYSICAL EDUCATION SUBJECTS - provide the necessary background to understand human behavior (in health and disease); physical exercise and sport activities as a locomotory and psychosocial behavior and related pedagogical and psychological problems (in healthy people, patients, disabled); organization and evaluation of scientific research & medical statistics.
• BASIC BIOLOGICAL and MEDICAL SUBJECTS - provide the necessary background for understanding the human body structure and function, also related to movements, physical exercise and sports, their benefits and jeopardy.
• SPECIAL SUBJECTS - integrate knowledge on pathological processes and the impairment of function with the total holistic approach and in particular with the physiotherapy.
• OPTIONAL SUBJECTS - provide possibilities for the student to satisfy his/her personal interests in the area of basic and special subjects.
• SPECIALIZED PRACTICE - provides the student with the opportunity to integrate theoretical studies with supervised clinical practice (over 1500h part-time and full-time), also for clinical research required for course works and graduation thesis.

For each section of the programme professors are recruited from their specific departments of the Academy. Pathology and Clinical Medicine subjects are taught by professors-medical doctors from the Faculty of Medicine - Sofia. Professional Physiotherapy topics are instructed by physiotherapists professors and lecturers PhDнs employed within NSA physiotherapy departments and the teaching hospitals. The higher academic level of the Faculty facilitates the integration of research into study programme.
A three-year part-time bridge programme is available as a possibility for physiotherapists-graduates from 3-year colleges to upgrade to BSc in Physiotherapy university degree. Post-graduate MSc and PhD programmes and short-term continuing education courses are available as well.
For holders of Bachelorнs degree the Faculty of Physiotherapy, Tourism and Sport Animation offers full-time, part-time and distance Masterнs programmes in Physiotherapy with specilaisation in:

• Physiotherapy in Orthopaedy and Traumatology,
• Physiotherapy in Neurology and Psychology,
• Physiotherapy in Internal Diseases

TOURISM AND SPORT ANIMATION
The 4-year BSc university degree programme in Tourism and Sport Animation is designed in three blocks of courses:

1. Obligatory courses, which provide basic knowledge of the specialty. These courses are: general theoretic (pedagogy, psychology, history of physical culture and sports); social (philosophy, sociology, foreign language); medical- biological (anatomy, biomechanics, biochemistry, physiology, sports medicine, hygiene); special (theory and methodology of sports training for each kind of sport and for the different sport disciplines, fundamentals of research, sports management, physiotherapy, track and field athletics, gymnastics, competitive games, rhythmic and dances, etc), tourism, sport animation;
2. Elective courses, which the students are invited to choose according to their personal interests and individual needs (general economic theory, sport for all etc.);
3. Optional courses (Olympic movement, sports for different professions, concentration techniques, nutrition and sport, sports injuries etc).