Health and Social Care

Health and social care as a field encompasses the organised systems through which societies support the health, wellbeing, and independence of their members, from NHS hospital care and primary health services through to social work, care homes, mental health support, and the voluntary sector. Understanding these systems, evaluating their effectiveness, and working effectively within them requires both knowledge of the people they serve and analytical skills to engage with policy, evidence, and organisational practice.

At the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, this three-year, full-time programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, making it a degree with a strong emphasis on applied and international experience. The placement gives you direct professional experience in a health or social care setting, while the year abroad provides the opportunity to encounter different approaches to health and care provision in other countries, which is genuinely illuminating for understanding what is distinctive and what is universal in the UK context. Northumbria has close connections to health and care employers across the North East, and the programme engages with contemporary challenges in the field, including the integration of health and social care, the management of long-term conditions, ageing populations, mental health, and digital transformation in care services.

You will study health policy, care ethics, the sociology of health and illness, public health, safeguarding, and the practical dimensions of care coordination and management. A typical entry tariff of 152 UCAS points indicates the entry expectations.

Health and social care develops analytical understanding of care systems alongside the interpersonal and professional skills that effective care leadership requires.

Graduates work in health and social care management, public health, social work, community health, commissioning, and the voluntary sector. Many proceed to postgraduate study in social work, public health, nursing, or health management.