Health and Social Care
BL95Working with vulnerable or marginalised adults and children, helping people reach their full potential and supporting healthy lifestyles adds up to a challenging and rewarding career. With an ageing population and cuts to social care, there is a pressing need for qualified workers, particularly in the most deprived communities in the country.
Course overview
Our Health and Social Care course ensures that students graduate with a clear understanding of the global challenges that relate to health and social care; and the role of the individuals, communities and organisations in addressing them. The role of health, community and social care practitioners who can pro-actively meet global challenges, in innovative and meaningful ways, is vital in creating sustainable futures for us all.
2nd in the UK for student satisfaction (Health Studies subject rankings, Complete University Guide 2025) (CUG,2024)
With 1.5 million people employed in the social care sector alone — a figure projected to increase to 3.1 million by 2025 — employment prospects are excellent for those who want to make a difference in people’s lives and seek to promote social justice and tackle inequality.
Our course focuses on the part we all play in making society and its systems fairer for all people. You explore a broad range of issues within health and social care with an emphasis on effective, collaborative work with those who use, design and shape services. Issues within different professional settings are expanded and linked to how practitioners can support people's needs in their communities.
Theory and literature about how people and communities behave and the importance of understanding and reflecting our own response to service users' needs is also a key focus. There is a core theme of empowering practice and user-led approaches in health and social care practice throughout the programme.
Year 1 is foundational and provides an understanding of the contexts for health and social care. You are introduced to theories concerning how people come to be labelled as vulnerable or marginalised. You also explore the political and ethical influences on service provision and develop effective skills for working with individuals and groups.
During Years 2 and 3, you gain the knowledge needed to be a proficient worker across a range of community and care settings. You study an array of key issues such as understanding mental health, physical impairments, communities, law and ethics. Optional modules include Dementia and Substance Use and Misuse and a Volunteering module.
Our talented teaching team has a wide range of practical experience in different health, social care and community settings. They are reinforced by guest lecturers who bring experience and expertise to the programme.
Study in the library and lecture theatre is balanced by participating in schemes to help members of vulnerable or marginalised groups. You also work alongside service providers and carers.
The fields of health, social care and community offer challenging and rewarding careers. Our graduates work with children, families, people who use substances such as drugs or alcohol, disabled people, elderly people, people with intellectual and neuro-developmental disabilities and people with mental health issues. They take up employment in a variety of settings: in residential or daycare services, with the NHS, social services or voluntary and private service providers.
What you need to know
Course start date
September
Location
Winchester campus
Course length
- 3 years full-time
- 6 years part-time
Apply
BL95
Typical offer
88-104 points
Fees
From £9,250 pa
Course features
- Our course empowers you to make a difference to people’s lives, particularly in vulnerable or marginalised groups
- Take the opportunity to work with a variety of service users and organisations through the Volunteering module
- Learn from supportive and accessible lecturers who have experience of working in a wide range of services
- Course considers the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- Study a broad curriculum that can lead to a variety of potential career paths
Course details
Our aim is to shape 'confident learners' by enabling you to develop the skills needed to excel in your studies here and as well as onto further studies or the employment market.
You are taught primarily through a combination of lectures and seminars, allowing opportunities to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups.
In addition to the formally scheduled contact time such as lectures and seminars etc.), you are encouraged to access academic support from staff within the course team and the wide range of services available to you within the University.
Independent learning
Over the duration of your course, you will be expected to develop independent and critical learning, progressively building confidence and expertise through independent and collaborative research, problem-solving and analysis with the support of staff. You take responsibility for your own learning and are encouraged to make use of the wide range of available learning resources available.
Overall workload
Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning and assessment activity.
While your actual contact hours may depend on the optional modules you select, the following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each level of the course.
Year 1 (Level 4): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 288 hours
Independent learning: 912 hours
Year 2 (Level 5): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 288 hours
Independent learning: 912 hours
Year 3 (Level 6): Timetabled teaching and learning activity*
Teaching, learning and assessment: 252 hours
Independent learning: 948 hours
*Please note these are indicative hours for the course.
Students will engage with the issues and experiences of a wide range of individuals within different community contexts. They explore the real life situations for a number of groups including:
- Families
- Substance users
- Older people
- Disabled people
- People with mental health issues
The programme has been developed to support learning through formal scheduled time in lectures and seminars, through support from staff in tutorial, and from peers in independent learning. The teaching and learning throughout the module content will seek to explore and link key aspects of the programme in terms of;
- Key policy agendas and issues
- Underpinning theories
- Understanding practice issues
Location
Taught elements of the course take place on campus in Winchester.
Teaching hours
All class based teaching takes places between 9am – 6pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Wednesday afternoons are kept free from timetabled teaching for personal study time and for sports clubs and societies to train, meet and play matches. There may be some occasional learning opportunities (for example, an evening guest lecturer or performance) that take places outside of these hours for which you will be given forewarning.
Assessment
Our validated courses may adopt a range of means of assessing your learning. An indicative, and not necessarily comprehensive, list of assessment types you might encounter includes essays, portfolios, supervised independent work, presentations, written exams, or practical performances.
We ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve module learning outcomes. As such, where appropriate and necessary, students with recognised disabilities may have alternative assignments set that continue to test how successfully they have met the module's learning outcomes. Further details on assessment types used on the course you are interested in can be found on the course page, by attending an Open Day or Open Evening, or contacting our teaching staff.
Percentage of the course assessed by coursework
The assessment balance between examination and coursework depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose. The approximate percentage of the course assessed by different assessment modes is as follows:
Year 1 (Level 4)*:
74% coursework
13% written exams
13% practical assessment
Year 2 (Level 5)*:
87% coursework
0% written exams
13% practical assessment
Year 3 (Level 6)*:
95% coursework
0% written exams
5% practical assessment
*Please note these are indicative percentages and modes for the programme.
Feedback
We are committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to you on your academic progress and achievement in order to enable you to reflect on your progress and plan your academic and skills development effectively. You are also encouraged to seek additional feedback from your course tutors.
For more information about our regulations for this course, please see our Academic Regulations, Policies and Procedures.
Modules
Please note the modules listed are correct at the time of publishing. The University cannot guarantee the availability of all modules listed and modules may be subject to change. The University will notify applicants of any changes made to the core modules listed. For further information please refer to winchester.ac.uk/termsandconditions
Modules
More information will be coming soon.
More information will be coming soon.
More information will be coming soon.
More information will be coming soon.
Modules
More information will be coming soon.
More information will be coming soon.
More information will be coming soon.
- Caring Communities - 15 credits
- Volunteering for Health and Social Care - 15 credits
- Dementia - 15 credits
- Substance Use and Misuse - 15 credits
Modules
More information will be coming soon.
More information will be coming soon.
- Leadership, management and Employability - 15 credits
- The Media, Health and social Care - 15 credits
- Law and Ethics in Care - 15 credits
- Community Development, Activism and Social Entrepreneurship - 15 credits
Entry requirements
Our offers are typically made using UCAS tariff points to allow you to include a range of level 3 qualifications and as a guide, the requirements for this course are equivalent to:
A-Levels: CCD-BCC from 3 A Levels or equivalent grade combinations (e.g. BCC is comparable to ACD in terms of tariff points)
BTEC/CTEC: MMM from BTEC or Cambridge Technical (CTEC) qualifications
International Baccalaureate: To include a minimum of 2 Higher Level certificates at grade H4
T Level: Pass (C or above on the core) in a T Level
Additionally, we accept tariff points achieved for many other qualifications, such as the Access to Higher Education Diploma, Scottish Highers, UAL Diploma/Extended Diploma and WJEC Applied Certificate/Diploma, to name a few. We also accept tariff points from smaller level 3 qualifications, up to a maximum of 32, from qualifications like the Extended Project (EP/EPQ), music or dance qualifications. To find out more about UCAS tariff points, including what your qualifications are worth, please visit UCAS.
In addition to level 3 study, the following GCSE’s are required:
GCSE English Language at grade 4 or C, or higher. Functional Skills at level 2 is accepted as an alternative, however Key Skills qualifications are not. If you hold another qualification, please get in touch and we will advise further.
If you will be over the age of 21 years of age at the beginning of your undergraduate study, you will be considered as a mature student. This means our offer may be different and any work or life experiences you have will be considered together with any qualifications you hold. UCAS have further information about studying as a mature student on their website which may be of interest.
If English is not your first language, a formal English language test will most likely be required and you will need to achieve the following:
- IELTS Academic at 5.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all four components (for year 1 entry)
- We also accept other English language qualifications, such as IELTS Indicator, Pearson PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and TOEFL iBT.
If you are living outside of the UK or Europe, you can find out more about how to join this course by contacting our International Recruitment Team via our International Apply Pages.
2025 Course Tuition Fees
| UK / Channel Islands / Isle of Man / Republic of Ireland |
International |
|
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Year 2 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Year 3 | £9,250 | £16,700 |
| Total | £27,750 | £50,100 |
| Optional Sandwich Year* | £1,850 | £3,340 |
| Total with Sandwich Year | £29,600 | £53,440 |
Additional tuition fee information
If you are a UK student starting your degree in September 2025, the first year will cost you £9,250**. Based on this fee level, the indicative fees for a three-year degree would be £27,750 for UK students.
Remember, you don’t have to pay any of this upfront if you are able to get a tuition fee loan from the UK Government to cover the full cost of your fees each year.
UK Part-Time fees are calculated on a pro rata basis of the full-time fee for a 120 credit course. The fee for a single credit is £77.08 and a 15 credit module is £1,156. Part-time students can take up to a maximum 90 credits per year, so the maximum fee in a given year will be the government permitted maximum fee of £6,935.
International part-time fees are calculated on a pro rata basis of the full-time fee for a 120 credit course. The fee for a single credit is £139.14 and a 15 credit module is £2,087.
* Please note that not all courses offer an optional sandwich year.
**The University of Winchester will charge the maximum approved tuition fee per year.
Additional costs
As one of our students all of your teaching and assessments are included in your tuition fees, including, lectures/guest lectures and tutorials, seminars, laboratory sessions and specialist teaching facilities. You will also have access to a wide range of student support and IT services.
There might be additional costs you may encounter whilst studying. The following highlights the mandatory and optional costs for this course:
Optional
Trips: There may be additional costs for off-campus activities, some of which may be supported by the Faculty. For trips further afield, there may be costs incurred by the student for travel. Indicative cost £20.
Core texts: Multiple copies of core text are held within the library and e-books are identified where possible, however due to limited availability students are recommended to purchase a copy for their own use. Indicative cost £100 per year.
SCHOLARSHIPS, BURSARIES AND AWARDS
We have a variety of scholarship and bursaries available to support you financially with the cost of your course. To see if you’re eligible, please see our Scholarships and Awards.
CAREER PROSPECTS
Our graduates have the knowledge and understanding to develop careers working with children; families; people who use substances such as drugs or alcohol; disabled people; older people; people with intellectual and neuro-developmental disabilities; and people with mental health issues. Moreover, as qualifications become increasingly important in this sector, and with an increasing need for workers to understand the dynamics of effective practice based in communities, our students are well placed to progress in a challenging and rewarding career. Graduates have taken up employment in a variety of settings, working in residential or daycare services, with the NHS, Social Services or voluntary and private service providers.
The University of Winchester ranks in the top 25 in the UK for graduates in employment or further study according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2024, HESA.
Pre-approved for a Masters
If you study a Bachelor Honours degrees with us, you will be pre-approved to start a Masters degree at Winchester. To be eligible, you will need to apply by the end of March in the final year of your degree and meet the entry requirements of your chosen Masters degree.
OUR CAREERS SERVICE
‘You can literally save the world by studying health and social care’. Hear from our students and staff on what you can expect studying Health and Social Care at Winchester.
