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BSc (Hons) Health and Social Science

UCAS CODE: L51L (Full-time) or L52L (Foundation Year)

TARIFF: 88 - 112 (Full-time) or 32 - 56 (Foundation Year)

On this course you will explore the theories, policies, processes and relationships that influence attitudes, beliefs and behaviour relating to healthcare. You will also develop a range of research skills that enhance your employability, such as critical thinking and data interpretation. You’ll also have the opportunity to volunteer for work experience in a relevant organisation.

I enjoy that my classes are small because I have found that it has enabled me to get to know my tutors on a more personal level, it’s also helped me to boost my confidence in voicing my opinions when we are in class. The facilities at BNU are great, the library offers a bright, relaxing space to study and see out over the scenery of the town centre and blue sunny skies - when the British weather allows it!

Samiha Ali

Why study this subject?

Our course is perfect for anyone who is interested in how society effects our health and wellbeing. We will study society and its impact on our health and wellbeing, including how harmful trends within our society are dealt with. We examine the impact and the cause of poor wellbeing both in terms of national policy and general healthcare practises.

This subject is perfect if you want to pursue a career in the public sector, either working in policy or politics, with ambition to change the landscape of healthcare and the health sector in the UK. Health and social science will help you to attain key transferable academic skills which are needed to pursue a career in the wellbeing, health, social and voluntary sectors.

You’ll be well qualified for positions such as a health assessment officer, exercise coordinators and lifestyle coaches. Social policy positions will also be within your grasp, or you may choose to work in the voluntary sector working with people in recovery.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

Throughout your time here we’ll support you on the route to your chosen career. On this course we’ll help you to develop crucial skills, encouraging you to become enterprising, employable and a good leader.

Our teaching will help you to become more independent as a student and more certain of your expertise. As you learn you'll develop important skills that employers’ value, such as understanding and working in diverse social settings as well as critical thinking, report writing, presenting, and research methods.

In addition to the great new employability potential and the skills you gain from the course, there are other benefits to studying at BNU, such as our easily accessible campus within 35 minutes of London.

We also offer you the big deal, this means all our societies, trips to institutions, extracurricular activities and more are free to you.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.

What facilities can I use?

Our library is packed with all the information you need for your assessments and there’s plenty of room to knuckle down for some quiet study.

Whilst studying with us you will also use our BucksAnywhere web service, which provides access to many of the software applications you use for learning and studying. BucksAnywhere can be used from your own device or from a University owned PC or laptop, from any location.

What will I study?

Our BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Science programme brings together the study of health with the study of wider society and its impact on health. Health and well-being are central to this degree programme and learners will examine national and international policies in these areas.

Problems and issues facing societies in relation to health and well-being will be examined throughout this programme with a strong focus on possible health policy solutions. There is a strong focus on employability throughout this programme and you will have the opportunity to volunteer for an organisation relevant to this degree, which will help enhance your CVs for future graduate level employment.

Your course will offer you an innovative and varied degree which enables a coherent journey through health and well-being alongside and in the context of social sciences. We will provide you with advanced knowledge and critical perspectives on a range of topics in Health and Social Science including a critical appreciation of leadership skills and activities in communities and organisations.

How will I be taught and assessed?

There are a wide range of assessments which are designed wherever possible to mirror real world problems and issues you may encounter while working in the professional world. The assessments are designed to be positive to your learning, providing feedback and ways to improve. There are a variety of practical, coursework based and exam-based assessment methods throughout the programme.

Assessments vary according to modules and are designed to test your understanding of the modules. Some of the ways you will be assessed include:

reports
exams
presentations
coursework

BSc (Hons) Health and Social Science Programme Specification

What are the course entry requirements?

A typical offer will require a UCAS tariff score of: 88 - 112 (Full-time) or 32 - 56 (Foundation Year)

A minimum of 2 A-levels (or equivalent) is required. Every application is considered on an individual basis.

For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our international pages.

Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements for the three-year undergraduate programme, or those who do not feel fully prepared for a degree course, can apply for a four-year programme including a Foundation Year; find out more.

Modules

This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.

This course has Opportunity modules.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers. Find out more.

Foundation Year

Core Modules

Credits

Preparing for Success: Knowledge and Creativity

Credits

The module will prepare you for successful progression into academic study while allowing you to learn about and prepare yourself for employment in the twenty-first century through inquiry-based learning, problem solving and critical and creative thinking.

Preparing for Success: Self Development and Responsibility

Credits

This module enables you to begin developing the Bucks Graduate Attributes associated with leadership and self-development and social and ethical awareness and responsibility, which are essential for success in higher education and in the world of work.

Inquiry Based Learning

Credits

Delivery of this module is based on ‘confirmation inquiry’ – a foundational level of inquiry geared for developing your understanding of key concepts and themes as well as basic methodologies and approaches to academic work, relevant to your discipline. You’ll then have the opportunity to analyse a problem or question that relates to your subject a...

Ways of learning about the social world

Credits

The aim of the module is to introduce you to the social world. The module will introduce you to key themes, concepts and approaches in the social sciences, including criminology, sociology and applied areas such as sociology of Health. It introduces standard disciplinary language, definitions and ways of investigating society.

Year 1

Core Modules

Credits

Wellbeing in Society

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module explores the emergence of the wellbeing agenda. The significance of physical and mental health to experiences of wellbeing across the life-course and for diverse social groups will be discussed. It also examine the importance of community diversity and appraising how policy and service interventions impact on health and wellbeing.

Sociology of Health

20.00

Credits

20.00

On this module, you’ll explore the social construction of health and illness in contemporary society. It introduces the theory of sociology of the body, mental health, and the role of both the professions and the relationship between health and society. It explores the anthropology of health and relate this to notions of illness across cultures.

Making Sense of Society

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module has two strands, the first introduces you to issues in contemporary British (and other) societies. You’ll explore debates relating to society, identity and diverse social groups. The second strand is the ‘Academic Skills’ programme which introduces you to the use of academic evidence and integrity as well as other key academic skills.

Policy and Society

20.00

Credits

20.00

On this module, you’ll examine the scope of policy and the policy-making process. You’ll discuss what is meant by a ‘social problem’ by examining political ideologies and the shifting relationship between state and citizen. We’ll explore policy issues and how research is used to produce evidence to influence governments and other agencies.

Media, Communication and Society

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module introduces you to the key debates, issues and relevance of the character, role and impact of all forms of media in contemporary societies. You’ll explore the many ways in which media infiltrates and shapes our social worlds, giving you a working understanding of the social science of the many-sided facets of media. As most workplaces...

Opportunity Modules

You must choose 2 x 10 credit Level 4 Opportunity modules from the Opportunity module catalogue.

Year 2

Core Modules

Credits

Employability and Professional Development

20.00

Credits

20.00

On this module, we’ll support your work-related learning activities and encourage you to reflect on your development as future graduate employees. You’ll apply learning from your degree to practice and set goals for your development as future professionals. You’ll be supported in setting goals and developing plans for your work- related activities.

Contemporary Social Research

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module builds your knowledge of research methods. You’ll examine key concepts from social research and discuss the important contribution of research to your discipline area. You’ll be introduced to research issues and gain a foundation for the understanding of research methods required for your dissertation and career development.

Ethical Issues in Social Science

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module allows you to analyse ethical issues within the social sciences and apply ethical principles to moral dilemmas. It draws on every-day experiences and case studies to explore contemporary problems, conflicts and tensions for individuals, agencies and practitioners in optimising individuals’ autonomy alongside the needs of wider society.

Optional Modules

Credits

Social Diversity: Race, Gender and Sexuality

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module explores the concepts, significance and lived realities of social diversity in contemporary societies. It draws on everyday experiences of social diversity. The module makes sense of these by critically engaging with academic work on discrimination, late modernity, feminisms, social harm, and multi-culturalism/integration and identity.

Work, Welfare and Policy

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module examines the changing nature of work and employment, the changing character and aims of welfare provision, and the way both remain involved in the production of individual and social welfare in different contexts. This entails examining social and organisational structures relevant to work and employment in contemporary society.

Human Rights and Global Development

20.00

Credits

20.00

The module explores the main systems for the protection of human rights, allowing you to develop sound knowledge and understanding of the linkages between human rights and development from a historical, theoretical, and practical perspective. You’ll develop knowledge of relevant concepts and principles underpinning human rights frameworks.

Opportunity Modules

In addition, you must choose 2 x 10 credit Level 5 Opportunity modules from the Opportunity module catalogue.

Year 3

Core Modules

Credits

Dissertation

40.00

Credits

40.00

This module provides a supportive framework for undertaking an independent extended research study. You’ll choose which type and methodology of research to follow in this project, such as a literature-based project; an empirical project using various methods; or an applied dissertation. The bulk of teaching involves individual supervision sessions....

Global Health

20.00

Credits

20.00

We’ll examine health, wellbeing and environment issues, applying theoretical perspectives from medical anthropology, epidemiology, globalisation and risk, and relate these to socio-cultural determinants of health and impact of global demographic changes. You’ll gain skills to make a difference in the search for equity and global justice in health.

Optional Modules

Credits

Disability, Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module critically examines the issue of vulnerability in relation to the criminal justice system. It focuses on issues pertaining to disability and mental health, both in the context of offenders and victims. You’ll develop a critical analytical approach by applying relevant concepts to contemporary practices to aid understanding.

Ageing through the life course

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module explores the significance of how people age through the life course in contemporary societies, from childhood to old age. Through the lens of age and ageing as a social construct, you’ll explore societal impacts on people’s experiences of age and ageing as well as on ways in which wellbeing can be achieved through the life course.

Body, Culture and Society

20.00

Credits

20.00

The module examines the social and cultural construction of the body in contemporary society and lived experiences of embodied agents. It draws on insights from the sociology of the body, and conceptual frameworks that foreground the body in order to deepen understanding of health and illness and their social determinants, and to situate this withi...

Leadership and Teamwork

20.00

Credits

20.00

This module is designed to provide you with an understanding of leadership in diverse settings. It aims to give you a framework of knowledge and practice of leadership, addressing challenges in organisations, communities and contemporary society. This includes different levels of leadership and in different forms of groups, organisations and teams....

What are the tuition fees

Home

Home, Academic Year 2023 - 2024

£9,250 per year

International

Overseas/International, Academic Year 2023 - 2024

£15,000 per year

What are my career prospects?

Throughout your time with us we’ll support you on the route to your chosen career. We’ll help you to develop crucial skills, encouraging you to become enterprising, employable and good leaders. We also help you find employment after graduation. Have a look at our Careers and Employability pages to find out more.

Our BSc (Hons) Health and Social Science course will help prepare you for a range of career possibilities in the leisure, health and social sectors, such as: