Health and Social Care

Health and social care covers the systems, policies, and practices through which societies support people whose wellbeing requires professional attention. It is a discipline that draws on sociology, psychology, public health, ethics, and policy studies to develop practitioners who understand not just what health and social care services do but why they are organised as they are, and how they could be improved. At Anglia Ruskin University's London campus, the BSc Health and Social Care is a three-year full-time programme developed in collaboration with employers from the healthcare sector, ensuring that the skills and knowledge embedded in the curriculum reflect what employers are actually looking for.

The programme engages with the social determinants of health, the structure of the National Health Service and social care provision, the experience of service users and carers, the ethics of care, and the policy landscape that shapes what services are available and to whom. You will develop skills in research and evidence appraisal, professional communication, and critical thinking about complex care situations. The involvement of practising healthcare professionals in course design means the programme stays connected to the realities of contemporary practice, and your lecturers bring significant industry experience to their teaching.

You will also develop an understanding of how inequalities of income, housing, ethnicity, and disability shape health outcomes, which is increasingly central to good practice across health and social care.

Graduates of health and social care programmes move into a wide range of roles in the NHS, local authority social care, the independent and voluntary sectors, and public health organisations. Roles in care management, health promotion, community development, commissioning, policy analysis, and service development are all accessible to graduates with this foundation. The degree also provides a strong basis for further professional training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, or public health, and some graduates progress into these pathways.

Others go on to postgraduate study in health policy, public health, or health service management. The programme's design around real employer needs makes it a practical and well-connected route into the health and social care workforce.