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Understand the key issues that affect health, social care, and wellbeing. Make a difference to some of society's most vulnerable groups. Gain a well-respected qualification to open doors in the sector.
The BSc (Hons) Health, Wellbeing and Care in Society degree gives you the opportunity to gain critical understanding of integrated health and social care welfare structures and processes, as well as advanced theoretical knowledge and skills in practice and management in the sector. The completion of a work placement enables you to gain practical, real-world experience of a health and social care working environment.
The course integrates different perspectives which all have a strong basis in social sciences and have been developed to address both student and employer needs. The course allows you to develop the attributes you need to succeed and graduate with a degree that balances broad topics and theories relating to health, wellbeing and social care. You'll apply these to contemporary issues such as mental health, substance use, and domestic abuse and also focus attention on public health-related issues such as health promotion, health inequalities, and health ethics.
The teaching staff are experts in their field, bringing with them practice-based experience. We also integrate important inputs from the Centre for Graduate Prospects to think about employability, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
This course is subject to approval.
The range of modules available during the Health, Wellbeing and Care in Society degree are both academically and vocationally focused. You'll be provided with a detailed understanding of health and social care theory, policy, and practice, and will also be supported to understand key contemporary issues that influence health, social care, and the wellbeing of individuals and communities – a topic of global significance. Across all modules, the inclusion of formative work will support you with your learning.
Overall, this degree combines academic rigour with practical experience. You'll have the opportunity to test your new knowledge and skills in a community setting and identify strategies/interventions for people with a variety of organisations. The Year 2 placement may help you develop and understand the application of research methods and ways to improve practice in health and social care.
A typical week for you will include workshops, seminars, blended learning, group work, and meeting with supervisors at each level of your degree. You'll also take part in computer-based learning using specific social research software and statistical programmes for surveys and questionnaires such as SPSS, and software for interviewing such as NVivo.
Your progress will be assessed through traditional essays, but also through innovative assessments (module dependent) which aid your employability skills. These may include research and organisational reports, portfolios, source reports, e-resources such as blogs and podcasts, presentations, reports for global bodies and organisations, and community studies.
You'll be allocated a personal tutor who will offer one-to-one support.
The University supports students with opportunities for internships and volunteering. In Year 1, we integrate support to develop your academic skills in writing university-level assignments, and in Year 2, you develop your practice further across the modules. We also integrate input from the Centre for Graduate Prospects and Work Integrated Learning. In Year 3, we help to prepare you for graduate employment with opportunities to learn about graduate jobs and postgraduate study. Alongside this, we encourage you to gain the Sunderland Professional Award (SuPA), which is an extra qualification you can gain to boost your credentials and show employers your extracurricular experience.
Part-time students study the same Health, Wellbeing and Care in Society course as full-time students, but over a longer period of time. If you study this course on a part-time basis, you'll typically complete 60 credits in a year, rather than the 120 credits of full-time students. You'll be studying alongside full-time students.
Reasonable adjustments to teaching and assessments will be made for students who hold a current University of Sunderland Support Plan (in line with their stated entitlements and/or accommodations).
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