BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care with integrated foundation year
Course Overview
The health and social care sector plays a critical role in maintaining the physical and mental health of the public. In the UK, the National Health Service is embedded deeply in British society, providing support to residents since 1948. By studying your BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care with integrated foundation year qualification with UoBM, you can develop essential knowledge and understanding of health and social care principles and practices while experiencing life in the multicultural heart of Manchester.The foundation year is the first year of this four-year degree, offering an outstanding opportunity to develop fundamental study, research, and transferable skills. It's designed to prepare you for degree-level study and enhance your future employability.
As you progress through the course, our experienced team will support you in developing core knowledge in critical health and social care areas, emphasising the social, political, ethical, and global contexts in which the industry operates. We'll explore how health and social care providers are managed, regulated and integrated to meet the needs of the population they serve. We'll also examine the biological, psychological, and sociological factors of human development and analyse their influence on health and wellbeing.
By considering individual personal, social and cultural circumstances, you'll analyse how lifestyle and environment influence a person's decision and ability to seek professional health or social care. We'll also guide you as you explore professional roles and responsibilities, safeguarding, risk assessments and safe working practices.
The degree is expertly structured to combine academic, practical and employability skills development so you graduate with the confidence to navigate the professional health and social care landscape. We'll coach you in developing a wide range of high-level intellectual abilities and sought-after skills such as communication, time management, teamwork and problem-solving. We also aim to help you build lifelong learning skills so that you can take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.
Working in health and social care is both exciting and challenging. This course focuses on helping you develop the attitudes, abilities and competencies needed to thrive in this sector. As a graduate of our BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Care with integrated foundation year, you'll have the skillset and resilience from real-life experience and case studies to flourish in careers across the health and social care spectrum in the UK and internationally.
Highlights
- UoBM's highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic health and social care lecturers offer face-to-face sessions, online classes and one-to-one support, ensuring you can access help and advice when needed.
- Alongside specialist health and social care knowledge, you'll have the chance to develop your skills in research, data evaluation, critical reasoning and analysis, as well as in areas such as communication, team working, problem-solving and self-reflection.
- You'll also have the opportunity to undertake a major project in your final year that allows you to explore an area of professional interest in greater depth. This dissertation enables you to combine your new skills with academic research. We'll guide you as you learn to apply your knowledge and prove your critical understanding of health and social care.
- Our emphasis on supporting you to build study and critical thinking skills will help you engage with further learning and prepare you for postgraduate study.
- Our highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers have a vast range of professional experience in health and social care, as well as close links with the sector, the NHS, and voluntary and charitable organisations.
- UoBM offers excellent IT facilities, WiFi and well-appointed teaching, learning, and study areas.
Key Features
- UoBM is partnering with the University of Bolton to bring the University's highly regarded teaching-intensive, research-informed approach to a new campus in Manchester city centre.
- You can benefit from excellent student-centred and innovative teaching close to Oxford Road in the heart of Manchester's student hub.
- We use small group and tutorial teaching so that you can benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
- Guest lectures and talks by health and social care service providers and users give alternative perspectives to enhance your understanding.
- Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work in advance and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
- We weave contemporary research findings into our teaching and offer a robust academic underpinning to your health and social care studies.
- A link tutor provides academic communication between UoBM and the University of Bolton so that the experience you receive as an off-campus student is equivalent to that of an on-campus student.
- As an off-campus student, you'll have access to the support of the University's dedicated Off-Campus team and resources.
- You'll also have access to the University's e-learning resources, an extensive e-library and the support of University librarians.
Entry Requirements
- 48 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
- Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
- You should also have five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
- We'll be happy to consider your application if you have non-traditional entry qualifications and relevant experience or a suitable portfolio of work that we consider a reasonable substitute for the qualifications we typically accept for this course.
- You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- If English isn't your first language, you'll also need IELTS 5.5 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- This course is open to Home students only. Applications from International and EU students cannot usually be accepted because the study location for this course is not licenced by UKVI to sponsor students. Therefore, if you require sponsorship under the Student Visa Route to study in the UK, then, unfortunately, we'll be unable to consider your application for this course. Some EU students are eligible to study this course under the EU Settlement Scheme or Common Travel Area arrangement – for details, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students.
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.
Career Opportunities
Manchester provides many employment and work experience opportunities for our graduates, with more than ten hospitals in the Greater Manchester area and many NHS, council, private and third-sector health and social care settings seeking qualified health and social care professionals.
Our BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care with integrated 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 understand the need for multi-disciplinary working and can work flexibly to accommodate the increasingly complex health and social care needs of individuals, families and communities.
This degree also supports you in developing 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?
In addition, as a graduate with a health and social care background, you'll be in a good position to apply for roles in health education and promotion, welfare, health research, community mental health, and commissioning and care management services. You'll be able to pursue careers in service management and coordination or advocacy, education and training. You might also seek work as a technician and support worker helping children and families, older and disabled people, drug and alcohol abusers, and people with mental health problems.
Postgraduate study is a popular option for health and social care graduates. For some career areas, such as social work, nursing, research and teaching, additional study is required to achieve professional recognition.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into various other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possibilities include the following:
- Probation work
- Substance misuse
- Victim support
- Youth work
- Social housing
- Learning support
- Counselling
- Mental health
- Occupational therapy
- Community education
- Teaching and training
- Journalism
- Dietitian
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: 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.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
Please apply directly to UoB Manchester. Details of how to apply can be found on the UoB Manchester website .
International Applicants
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Teaching & Assessment
We understand that our students' learning needs and preferred learning styles vary, so we use a range of learning and teaching methods, including online (where appropriate).
Lectures introduce the core course content, while seminars and discussion groups allow you to explore subjects in greater detail. Tutorials offer space to ask questions, ensuring you understand your study topics. We use case studies, practical scenarios and workshops to help you learn to apply academic theory to real-life practical scenarios, allowing you to gain insights into contemporary practice in working health and social care environments. We'll also expect you to undertake considerable guided independent study, for instance, library research and background reading, preparing for seminar and tutorial activities, and working on assignments.
Guest lectures and presentations by visiting speakers from relevant employment areas will allow you to develop your knowledge and understanding further.
You can expect time-constrained exams, essays, reports, presentations, portfolios, and others in terms of assessment. These contribute to your final module mark and demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes.
We also use other assessment forms to help you learn, provide feedback, and inform your development. These do not, however, count towards your final module mark.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Communication Skills
- Data Skills
- Professional Development Skills
- Research Skills
- Academic and Professional Skills
- The Health and Social Care Professionals
- Fundamentals of Human Anatomy and Physiology
- Working Safely in Health and Social Care Environments
- Lifespan Development
- Promoting Health and Wellbeing
- Safeguarding in Practice
- Significant Life Event and Resilience
- Comparative Healthcare Systems
- Inequalities and Social Justice
- Leadership and Change Management in Health and Social Care
- Undergraduate Major Project
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 0 | Coursework 38% Practical exams 50% Written exams 13% |
| Level 1 | Coursework 50% Practical exams 38% Written exams 13% |
| Level 2 | Coursework 50% Written exams 50% |
| Level 3 | Coursework 57% Practical exams 43% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 0 | Guided independent study 76% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24% |
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 76% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24% |
| Level 2 | Guided independent study 76% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24% |
| Level 3 | Guided independent study 76% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24% |
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.
