Description
The BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care degree gives you the opportunity to gain critical understanding of integrated health and social care welfare structures and processes, as well as advanced theoretical knowledge and skills in practice and management in the sector. You can study this course on either a full-time or part-time basis. The completion of at least one (and optionally two) placements enables you to gain practical, real-world experience of a health and social care environment.
The integration of different degree routes within the Health and Social Care course is available and these are chosen at the end of Year 1. Each of the routes maintain a strong basis in social sciences and have been developed to address both student and employer needs. The new routes allow you to develop the attributes you need to succeed in these roles and graduate with a named degree in one of four routes:
BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care: focus on broad topics and theories relating to health and social care, applying them to contemporary issues such as mental health, substance use, and domestic abuse.
BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care: Health and Wellbeing: focus on public health-related issues such as health promotion, health inequalities, health ethics, and health wellbeing.
BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care: Management and Leadership: focus on skills for management related to working effectively with other employees and considerations about wellbeing at work. You'll also focus on management and leadership, as well as project management and social entrepreneurship.
As well as the new routes, this Health and Social Care degree is also integrated with our Social Sciences sister course, Criminology. This way we are better able to combine teaching across the school to enable you to choose from a wider range of options. The option choices increase as you progress through the course, allowing you to focus more on your preferred areas of study in the final year.
Why us?
Our Health Studies courses are ranked 22nd in the UK (The Complete University Guide 2023)
Health and Social Care students have participated in extra-curricular activities such as volunteering for local support organisations, as well as national and international trips. Read more about their life-affirming trip to Kenya in their guest blog.
Complete two route-specific placements during your course – one research-based and the other practice-based
Learn from our concurrent three-year skills programme throughout your Health and Social Care degree as you prepare to move on to each subsequent level of study, allowing you access to additional qualifications such as SuPA
Career Ready
Our BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care graduates work with a variety of service user groups in areas such as mental health, domestic abuse, substance abuse, and older people. They work for organisations such as the NHS, Local Authorities, schools, colleges, and universities, as well as charities or private organisations such as Age UK, MIND, and Turning Point to name a few.
Further study is also a route chosen by many of our graduates. Some choose professional routes such as nursing, social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, counselling, or teaching. Others choose business and management routes such as human resources, or research degrees such as a PhD.
Guest speakers
As a professions-facing course, we have active relationships with a number of local and national organisations in the health and social care sector. Past speakers have included workers from Children North East, Lifeline, Healthworks, Headlight, and Local Authority Social Workers. This enables our students to hear from frontline workers, as well as begin to develop professional networks.
Work placements
As part of your Health and Social Care degree, you'll have the opportunity to complete two work placements (core module in Year 2 and optional module in Year 3). The placement is chosen by you and should relate to the specific route you have chosen in Year 2. Previous students' placements have been with organisations such as local hospices, residential care homes, disability support, schools, mental health services, drug and alcohol services, the North of England Refugee Service, and Age UK.
Extra-curricular opportunities
We encourage our students to actively seek out CV-enhancing employment and volunteering opportunities with local organisations throughout their Health and Social Care degree. Many of these relationships are formed through students completing placements and continuing to work with organisations after graduation.
Our students have taken part in international development work on gender and education in Kenya and have worked with international NGOs on projects associated with girls rescued from bonded labour in Nepal. Students have also benefitted from trips to London and locally to enhance their subject knowledge and cultural awareness through museum exhibitions and public talks linked to topics in the curriculum.
Many of our Health and Social Care students have published their first class degree work on our Social Sciences Blog. Check out their excellent assignments.
Requirement
A copy of your High School Diploma (O LEVEL & A LEVEL) e.g (WAEC, NECO, SAT, KCSE, ZIMSEC, GCE)
A copy of your International passport Bio-data page.
A copy of your recent Passport Photo.
A valid copy of your Result Checker Card.
All applicants for undergraduate degree courses must possess a minimum qualification of five (5) credits, in the Senior Secondary School Certificate (WAEC, NECO, SAT, KCSE, ZIMSEC, GCE).
Structure
The range of modules available during the Health and Social Care degree are both academically and vocationally focused. You'll be provided with a detailed understanding of health and social care theory, policy, and practice, and will also be supported to understand key contemporary issues that influence health, social care, and the wellbeing of individuals and communities – a topic of global significance. Across all modules, the inclusion of formative work will support you with your learning.
Overall, this degree combines academic rigour with practical experience. You'll have the opportunity to test your new knowledge and skills in a placement in Year 2 and an optional placement in Year 3 (placement area depends on route chosen). Both placements will help you develop and understand the application of research methods for improving practice in health and social care.
A typical week for you will include workshops, seminars, blended learning, group work, and meeting with supervisors at each level of your degree. You will also take part in computer-based learning using specific social research software and statistical programmes for surveys and questionnaires such as SPSS, and software for interviewing such as NVivo.
Your progress will be assessed through traditional essays, but also through innovative assessments (module dependent) which aid your employability skills. These may include research and organisational reports, portfolios, source reports, e-resources such as blogs and podcasts, presentations, reports for global bodies and organisations, and community studies.
You will be allocated a personal tutor in each year of the course who will offer one-to-one support.
Student, Social, Personal and Professional (SSPP) programme
We run our innovative and mandatory SSPP programme at each stage of your degree. In Year 1, the weekly programme is designed to support your academic skills in writing university-level assignments and offering you opportunities for internships and volunteering. In Year 2, the programme develops your practice through workshops and training, such as community empowerment skills, managing organisations, writing fundraising bids, and safeguarding training. In the final year, we prepare you for graduate employment through designing a graduate-level CV, and engaging with graduate job opportunities and opportunities for postgraduate study. Alongside this, we encourage you to gain additional bronze, silver and gold SuPA Awards each year, which are an extra qualification you can gain to boost your credentials and show employers your extra-curricular experience.
Part-time study
Part-time students study the same Health and Social Care course as full-time students, but over a longer period of time. If you study this course on a part-time basis, you will typically complete 60 credits in a year, rather than the 120 credits of full-time students. You'll be studying alongside full-time students.
Flexibility
The BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care is a flexible degree, offering you the opportunity to choose the route that most interests you. In addition to a broad range of Health and Social Care modules, you can choose from options in Criminology.
Reasonable adjustments to teaching and assessments will be made for students who hold a current University of Sunderland Support Plan (in line with their stated entitlements and/or accommodations).
Fees
The annual, full-time fee for this course is:
£9,250 if you are from the UK/Europe*
£14,000 if you are an international student
Part-time fees are £6,935 per 120 credits. Please note that part-time courses are not available to international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK.
*European Union (EU), EEA (European Economic Area), and Swiss nationals who do not qualify for the EU Settlement Scheme are classed as international, however, for 23/24 admission you will receive a European student fee scholarship and will pay the home tuition fee rate for the duration of your studies. The discounted fee will be reflected in your offer letter. Learn more in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
Tuition Fee £14,000 annually
Application Fee £20
Acceptance Fee £300
Housing Fee £700- £1,200 monthly
Living Fee £300- £500 monthly