Health and Social Care

Health and social care is a field that sits at the meeting point of individual wellbeing and the social structures that shape it, asking how healthcare and support services are organised, delivered, and experienced by different communities. It draws on sociology, public health, psychology, and policy analysis to understand how social factors, including inequality, poverty, ethnicity, and disability, shape health outcomes and the experience of care, and how services can be designed and managed to meet diverse human needs.

At Sunderland, this two-year full-time foundation degree explores both global and local issues in health and social care, developing your critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills in a way that is directly relevant to professional practice. The programme benefits from CPD-focused accredited content and employer partnerships, improving your career options and ensuring that your learning is connected to the realities of work in the sector. You will engage with questions about policy, ethics, equality, and service management, building the knowledge base and reflective capacity that professional roles in health and social care require.

The typical entry tariff is 104 points.

Graduates of health and social care programmes pursue careers in social care management, health promotion, NHS administration, community health, housing support, disability services, voluntary sector management, and public health. The programme also provides a foundation for further study, including undergraduate degrees in nursing, social work, public health, or health management, giving you a pathway to more senior or specialist roles. The combination of academic grounding and professional relevance makes this degree well suited to those already working in the sector and those starting their healthcare career.