PgCert Health and Social Care
Course Overview
This course aims to help you identify and lead your own professional development for your health or social care career. The modular structure of the University of Bolton's Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care allows you to personalise the programme to your specific interests, working on a module-by-module basis for maximum flexibility. You'll study one compulsory module focused on developing analytical skills for professional practice and move on to modules of your choosing.Studying the theory of your chosen subjects, you'll have the opportunity to develop a broader awareness of current issues in health and social care practice. You'll research themes in-depth, develop evidence-based concepts and have the chance to work in our advanced Clinical Simulation Suites. Alongside your core studies, you'll also be able to focus on developing transferable skills such as problem-solving, leadership and teamwork, and build your abilities in information and communication technology.
The course aims to help you achieve your potential and enjoy your work. By encouraging you to reflect on your performance and take charge of your own development, we aim to help you advance your health and social care career.
Please get in touch with the programme leader for an up-to-date list of option modules and to discuss how this course can help you achieve your professional development goals.
Highlights
- The University of Bolton's part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care is a modular course, allowing for flexibility of study to fit around your commitments.
- You'll have access to our state-of-the-art Bolton One facility, where you can get hands-on experience in our specialist Clinical Simulation Suites if you choose a clinical module as one of your elected studies.
- Upon successfully completing this course, you'll be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care and have the option to continue your studies to the master's level.
Key Features
- Our dedicated academics have a wealth of experience working in NHS settings and are engaged in relevant research, bringing their expertise and passion for service excellence to their teaching.
- We've been offering high-quality courses specifically designed to meet the needs of the health and social care sector for over 30 years.
- As you study this course, we'll encourage you to develop employability skills, values and behaviours, action planning, personal impact and confidence, self-awareness, social and ethical responsibility, respect and commitment to quality.
- Practice-based learning is integral to the programme, and we'll encourage you to draw on your practice learning experience to help you apply theory to practice and consolidate your learning.
- The course is designed to provide you with the key transferable knowledge and skills required to work across both acute and community care.
Entry Requirements
- You may be required to attend an interview with the admissions tutor. This will allow us to explore your prior learning and establish where you may start on the programme.
- As a modular degree based on continuing professional development, it's essential that your prior experience and learning are considered when deciding on any advanced standing to which you may be entitled. This may be based on qualifications already gained through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), or it may be based on making a claim for significant work experience known as Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL). This process of granting an applicant appropriate advanced standing will be overseen by the Health Pathway Admissions team and RPL Panel.
- Normally, you're expected to have successfully completed an honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject and have appropriate work experience. We'll be happy to consider your application if you have a relevant professional qualification and/or substantial experience in a relevant field of practice.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 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.
- Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.
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
The University of Bolton's Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care examines health in its broad context and investigates contemporary health issues. There is 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 course aims to develop your analytical and critical thinking, written and verbal communication skills, IT skills, and research and data analysis skills. It's also designed to enhance your ability to work independently and in a team, improve your leadership and management skills, and give you the confidence to progress your career into more challenging senior roles.
What can I do with this qualification?
Graduates with a health and social care background are also in a good position to seek careers in health education and promotion, welfare, health research, community mental health, and commissioning and care management services. Graduates may seek roles as service managers and senior coordinators in advocacy, education and training, working with a range of people in services across the age spectrum and addressing a diverse range of health and social care needs.
You may also have the option of continuing your studies and working towards the Postgraduate Diploma or MSc in Health and Social Care.
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone for entry into a range of other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Possible careers include:
- Healthcare management
- Community education
- Teaching
- Health education training in the UK and internationally
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
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.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
The Royal College of Nursing may offer educational grants. Please visit https://rcnfoundation.rcn.org.uk/Apply-For-Funding/Educational-grants for information.
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
You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:
You should have to hand:
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Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
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Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
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Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
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Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
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Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference
Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.
Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.
If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk
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Apply online: University of Bolton PGCert Health and Social Care - 22 September 2025
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 adopt a blended learning and teaching style, including online delivery and engagement, where appropriate. We use a variety of teaching methods to ensure you receive the broadest of opportunities to fulfil your potential. Our expert team will introduce the programme's core content through lectures, which we'll build on in seminars. You'll have the chance to participate in group discussions, small group workshops, and one-on-one and group tutorials.
Independent study is a key component of this course. You'll have access to eLearning packages via our virtual learning environment Moodle, and you'll need to undertake background reading and preparation for lessons.
The programme comprises 60 credits at level HE7. The core module is 20 credits. The remaining 40 credits at level HE7 are achieved by successfully completing option modules (normally 2 x 20 credits) from a range available and in consultation and agreement with the programme leader.
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.
- Developing critical analytical skills for professional practice
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 100% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 74% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 26% |
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.
