Program Overview

BA (Hons) Health and Social Care

Why study this course with LJMU?

• Learn from lecturers with first-hand professional experience of working in the health and social care sectors
• High levels of student support and care
• Optional placement experience will help you consolidate your future career aspirations
• Study abroad option in Level 5
• Available to study part-time

About your course

Our BA (Hons) Health and Social Care degree will prepare you to work in a variety of settings which meet the needs of individuals, families, and communities.

As people live longer, there is an increasing demand for care and support. Technology in health and social care has also enhanced the opportunities available.

Working in health and social care can provide you with an unlimited number of opportunities and roles. Health and social care is required in every country in the world, and so your skills will not be limited to the UK.

To respond to this, the programme includes modules focusing on a variety of valuable and exciting themes including Environment and Sustainability, Health and Crime, International Perspectives on Health, and Working with Disadvantaged Individuals, Families, and Communities.

Course modules

Year 1

• Political Context of Health and Social Care (20 credits)
  • The aim of this module is to allow you to articulate contemporary political, social, and economic perspectives as they impact on the delivery and development of health and social care provision in the UK.
• Media, Technology, Health and Society (20 credits)
  • You will be able to discuss relevant theoretical models of media engagement and technological advancement as they relate to health and social care, and the effect this has on individuals and contemporary society.
• Humans and Health (20 credits)
  • The focus of this module is to introduce you to contemporary perspectives on health. This will explore the theoretical, historical, and political context of health, illness, and medicine to consider how these matters affect society.
• Equality and Diversity (20 credits)
  • The aim of this module is to introduce you to themes that relate to equality and diversity. You will be encouraged to identify and recognize how these issues relate to health and social care.
• Skills for Higher Education (20 credits)
  • The aim of this module is to support the development of your academic and personal skills for effective learning at undergraduate level and to enable you to explore the relationship between academic skills and personal and professional development in the context of health and social care.
• Development Across the Human Life Course (20 credits)
  • This module will introduce you to key themes and theoretical approaches to life course development. You will also be given the opportunity to relate specific stages of life course development to real-life experiences and challenges and begin to develop transferable graduate skills when undertaking the module.

Year 2

• Changing Contexts of Health and Social Care (20 credits)
  • This module will enable you to develop your understanding of the range of organizations and individuals who make up the contemporary health social care sector. It will build upon your personal interests, motivations, and career aspirations.
• Gender and Sexuality (20 credits)
  • The aim of this module is to recognize gender and sexuality as contestable concepts that have a profound impact on health and social care.
• Safeguarding (20 credits)
  • The aim of this module is for you to be able to apply knowledge of safeguarding to real-life situations where children or vulnerable adults might be at risk and to formulate context-specific information for service users as well as safeguarding policies for work-based settings.
• Research Methods in Health and Social Care (20 credits)
  • The module will provide you with grounding in the key research methods used in health and social care. It will prepare you for your own research activity, as well as enabling you to become more critical consumers of the quality of evidence used in the development of health and social care policies and practices.
• International Perspectives on Health (20 credits)
  • This module allows you to develop your knowledge on health from an international viewpoint, focusing on low and middle-income countries and understand the challenges of health and health care in context of resource-poor nations.
• Health and Social Care in Action (20 credits)
  • After completing this module, students will be able to analyze the impact and consequences on provision, in relation to health and social care in society.

Year 3

• Dissertation (40 credits)
  • This module focuses around a major project or dissertation related to health and social care. It will offer an opportunity for data analysis and reporting based on empirical study or desk-based research.
• Sex Drugs and the State? (20 credits)
  • The aim of this module is to be able to critically analyze aspects of health-related and potentially risky behavior in various groups. You will also be able to critically analyze the role of health care policy makers and the media in decision-making processes.
• Critical Perspectives on Mental Health (20 credits)
  • This module focuses on the current service frameworks for mental health provision, mental health policy and practice, and the impact on the mental health and wellbeing of service users.
• Environment and Sustainability (20 credits)
  • You will be able to critically discuss the effect of climate change on health and well-being and will also explore the extent of the global challenges to apply thinking to local cities and local communities.
• Working with Disadvantaged Individuals, Groups, Families, and Communities (20 credits)
  • This module will address cross-professional issues to explore the inter-relatedness of healthcare and social work related to understanding the position of and supporting disadvantaged people.

Your Learning Experience

• Teaching: Excellent facilities and learning resources
• Support: Dedicated personal tutor, plus study skills support
• Assessment: Varies depending on the modules you choose, but will usually include a combination of exams and coursework

Career paths

Our Health and Social Care degree provides a fantastic foundation for a career focused on improving services for individuals and communities across the sector.

Health and social care services are growing and changing all the time, which means there are lots of opportunities to develop and progress.

Students who studied on our earlier health and social care-focused programmes have progressed onto a variety of employment opportunities linked to health and social care, as well as postgraduate programmes such as MA Social Work, MSc Public Health, and MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Tuition fees and funding

• Home: £9,535 per year
• International: £17,750 per year

Entry requirements

• GCSEs and equivalents: Grade 4 or grade C or above in English Language and Mathematics/Numeracy
• A levels: BBC-ABB
• BTECs: Extended Diploma: DMM-DDM
• Access awards: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications
• International Baccalaureate: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications
• IELTS: 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5, taken within two years of the course start date.

How to apply

• UCAS is the official application route for our full-time undergraduate courses. Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here.