BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care with international foundation year

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

Our BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care with international foundation year looks at health in its broad context and investigates contemporary health issues. There's a growing demand for health and social care workers who are not restricted by boundaries and can work flexibly to accommodate the increasingly complex health and social care needs of individuals, families and communities.

This degree will also enable you to develop a range of key transferable employability skills, including written and verbal communication skills, IT skills, the ability to work independently and in a team, research and data analysis skills, the ability to provide support and guidance, and work in complex and demanding situations.

What can I do with this qualification?

Alternative career options

Graduates can use this qualification as a stepping stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:

• Probation work
• Substance misuse
• Victim Support
• Youth work
• Social housing
• Learning support
• Counselling
• Mental health
• Occupational therapy
• Community education
• Teaching and training
• Journalism
• Dietitian
• Social prescribing
• Care leadership and management roles

Funding your studies: From January 2027, eligible students may be able to use the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) to access tuition fee loan funding for this course. The LLE is designed to make student finance more flexible and support people to study, retrain or develop their skills at different stages of life. Find out more about the LLE and eligibility Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) | Skills for Careers

Home/EU Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Greater Manchester’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@greatermanchester.ac.uk for more information.

International Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Greater Manchester’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@greatermanchester.ac.uk for more information.

Important note regarding tuition fees: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

Home Undergraduate Tuition Fee Adjustment

The tuition fee applicable to the first year of your programme of study is confirmed in your offer letter. The tuition fee set is based on the regulations and guidance in force at the time of offer but remains subject to adjustment in accordance with any government-approved inflationary increase. The University reserves the right to amend tuition fees for all years of study, including the first year, by no more than the maximum increase permitted under legislation and regulatory guidance issued by the UK Government and the Office for Students.

Where such increases are approved, they will not exceed the rate of inflation, as measured by an appropriate index such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), or any successor measure specified by government. The University will apply any adjustment consistently across affected student cohorts and will give reasonable notice to students of any confirmed change to the published fee before the start of the relevant academic year.

This approach ensures that tuition fees remain compliant with applicable legislation, proportionate to inflationary changes, and consistent with government policy linking permitted fee uplifts to the maintenance of high-quality education and outcomes. For more information, please refer to the government guidance at: gov.uk – Universities to deliver better outcomes in return for full fees.

Postgraduate and International Tuition Fee Adjustment

The tuition fee applicable to the first year of your programme of study is confirmed in your offer letter. The University reserves the right to amend tuition fees for subsequent years of study in accordance with its Course Fees Policy. Where such increases are approved, they will not exceed the rate of inflation, as measured by an appropriate index such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), or any successor measure specified by government. The University will apply any adjustment consistently across affected student cohorts and will give reasonable notice to students of any confirmed change to the published fee before the start of the relevant academic year.

We use a wide variety of learning, teaching and assessment methods. These aim to help you develop the skills, knowledge and competencies you need to achieve the learning outcomes of this course and, more importantly, the values and attitudes essential to good health and social care practice that will support you to succeed in your future career.

Lectures introduce the core course content, while seminars and group-based activities allow you to explore subjects in greater detail and consider the policies and practices involved. In tutorials, you can ask questions to ensure you understand the topics covered in lectures and seminars. We use case studies, practical scenarios, and role-play to help you learn to apply academic theory to real-life problems, allowing you to gain insights into health and social care practice in the working environment. You'll also have the chance to gain practical skills in our skills laboratory with simulated patients. We'll encourage you to use online learning resources to enhance your studies.

In addition, we offer masterclasses with practitioners from the health and social care sector, sessions with guest speakers who use health and social care services and applied work experience. These seek to enhance employability and bridge the gap between theory and professional practice.

Our assessment methods aim to replicate activities that are required in the workplace. For example, we'll expect you to write reports, give presentations, create leaflets, develop your portfolio of practice, analyse care plans, review relevant literature, analyse complex cases and discuss how to manage change. You'll also be required to write essays and reflective accounts, take practical and written tests and get involved in group discussions. Some assessments will contribute to your final module mark and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. In contrast, others are designed to help you identify areas that need extra attention on your part or where you need additional support from your tutors.

This programme adopts a blended learning and teaching style, including online delivery and engagement where appropriate.

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.