Health & Social Care Policy
The BSc in Health and Social Care Policy is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to work in graduate level roles within the health and social care sector. Based in the discipline of social policy, this specialist degree has a strong emphasis on developing your intellectual, professional and personal skills. The degree focuses on the policy and theoretical context for the management and delivery of health and social care in Northern Ireland and further afield.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Ulster University |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Ulster University |
Duration
Attendance
Three years full-time, four years for those completing the optional module in Diploma in Professional Practice. Teaching takes place over two 12 week semesters. Contact hours during the teaching weeks are 9 hours a week, supplemented by at least 25 hours of independent study. In final year, students have additional dissertation supervision sessions and throughout the course students have access to their studies advisor and year tutor when the need arises. All course team staff are available for individual consultation at set times and by arrangement.
Entry Requirements
Irish Leaving Certificate
112 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at Higher Level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher Level or 04 if studied at Ordinary Level.
Careers / Further progression
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course are now working for:
AgeNI
Barnardos
Cedar Foundation
Disability Action
Health and Social Care Trusts
NI Civil Service
Youth Action
Job roles
With this degree you could become:
Care Co-ordinator
Civil Servant
Community Health Advisor
Disability Support Worker
HSC Graduate Intern
Policy and Advocacy Worker
Research Officer
Career options
This degree is excellent preparation for a wide range of careers within the health and social services sector and further afield. Graduates have high employment rates with many working in health and social care or related areas and are well-equipped with the knowledge and skills to develop a career in local and central government, in consultancy or management and in research settings. This degree will enable students to apply for the fast-track relevant graduate route in social work. Our graduates have also progressed to postgraduate study in related areas such as health promotion, public health and community and youth work.
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Overview
Health and Social Care Policy focuses on policy issues facing our society such as providing and financing healthcare, health inequalities and ageing.
Summary
The BSc in Health and Social Care Policy is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to work in graduate level roles within the health and social care sector. Based in the discipline of social policy, this specialist degree has a strong emphasis on developing your intellectual, professional and personal skills. The degree focuses on the policy and theoretical context for the management and delivery of health and social care in Northern Ireland and further afield.
About
This course provides a strong grounding in the development and implementation of health and social care policy regionally, nationally and internationally. You will study key issues around the funding and delivery of health and social care in a dynamic and fast-changing environment. You will also explore concepts relevant to health and social care policy such as human need, welfare, the sharing of risk and citizenship in contemporary globalised societies. The course will provide you with practical and transferable skills in research and policy analysis. There is a strong emphasis in developing your theoretical, intellectual and personal skills to equip you for graduate employment in a range of fields. Teaching is research-led and grounded in the course team’s close contact with research and practice. A key feature of the course is a six-week work placement at the end of Level 5.
As a passionate team of internationally recognised researchers and educators, we are dedicated to the pursuit of evidence-based policy-making and committed to facilitating students’ personal, intellectual, and professional development.
All staff are members of the Social Policy Association and many are members of the Advanced Higher Education Authority.
Modules
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
Year 1
Social Justice and the Welfare State in a Precarious World
Policy Making and the Delivery of Welfare
Qualitative Research Methods
Contemporary Social Policy Issues
Introduction to Health and Social Care Policy
Changing Images of Welfare
Year 2
Social Survey Methods
Social Policy: Concepts and Theories
Placement
Poverty and Social Security
Adult Social Care
Policy for Children and Families - Optional
Housing and Society - Optional
Year 3
Diploma in Professional Practice - Optional
Diploma in International Academic Studies (DIAS) - Optional
Year 4
Dissertation
Health and Social Care Economics
Disability and Social Policy
Contemporary Issues in Health Policy
Gender and Social Policy
Civil Society, NGOs and Social Movements - Optional
Migration, 'Race' and Ethnicity - Optional
International Social Policy - Optional
Ageing and Society - Optional
Mental health and society - Optional
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
Associate awards
Diploma in Professional Practice DPP
Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS
Work placement / study abroad
A key feature of the course is a six-week block work-based placement at the end of year two and an optional module in Diploma in Professional Practice, lasting 12 months, taken in year 3. Opportunities to study abroad include the Erasmus Scheme and International Student Exchange Programme.
Ulster University,
2-24 York Street,
Belfast
BT15 1AP
T: 02870 123 456