Cardiff School of Education & Social Policy>Courses>Health and Social Care - HND/BSc (Hons) Degree

Health & Social Care - HND/BSc (Hons) Degree

Entry Year

Are you passionate about making a difference in people’s lives? Do you want to drive change within the diverse and exciting health and social care sector? If so, the BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care degree at Cardiff Met is for you!

Through this exciting undergraduate degree, you will explore three core themes: Adult Health and Social Care, Child Health and Social Care, and Global issues in Health and Social Care.

You will be taught by expert lecturers who are actively involved in cutting edge research in the field, meaning that you will stay up to date with key ideas and practices that shape the health and social care sector. You will also hear from a variety of guest speakers from the sector including Health and Social Care Wales.

At Level 5, you will gain a highly regarded Level 5 Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) qualification, and take part in work-based learning, giving you valuable real-world experience of the health and social care sector. Placement settings include local and central government, third sector organisations, the NHS, drug and alcohol services and the St John Ambulance. At Level 6, our innovative social entrepreneurship module, provides an opportunity for you to propose an intervention to address a pressing health and social care issue, giving you the tools you need to create positive change in the sector.

There is a strong emphasis on creative research methods in each year of study, so you understand the connection between health and social care industry discoveries, leading to research, and subsequent government funded policies. This fully prepares you for an academic research poster exhibition and your dissertation on a relevant topic of your choosing in your final year.

On completion, the Health and Social Care degree at Cardiff Met will open up a wide range of career paths including working in the voluntary, charitable and private sectors.​

Foundation Year

This degree can be studied as a three-year full-time degree or a four-year full-time degree that includes a year of foundational study. Our foundation year is intended to prepare you for your subsequent years of studying, offering you the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence.

The foundation year will be relevant to:

  1. Students who aspire to enrol onto the first year of a social science-based honours degree programme, who have not achieved the standard entry requirements to enter at year one of the chosen degree.
  2. Students who have not studied subjects that provide the necessary background within the scientific disciplines required to enter at year one of the chosen degree.


Find out more about the foundation year.

Please note: You will need to apply using a specific UCAS code if you wish to undertake the 4 years including foundation. Please refer to Key Course Information at the bottom of this page.

Course Content

​The Health and Social Care programme is designed to equip you with the theoretical and experiential skills, knowledge and understanding to succeed in the health and social care sector.

HND/Degree:

Year One Level 4 (HND & BSc) modules include:

  • Introduction to Global Health and Social Care
  • Working with Adults
  • Health and Social Care in a Political Landscape
  • Working with Children
  • Academic and Employability Skills
  • Applied Sociology and Psychology of Health

Through these modules you will gain a good understanding of the sector, and be able to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with global health, working with different age groups, and the political context of health and social care.

Year Two Level 5 (HND & BSc) modules include:

  • Psychological Vulnerability
  • Critical Perspectives in Childhood and Youth Studies
  • Health and Social Care Industry Research
  • Leadership in Health and Social Care
  • Comparative Global Health and Social Care
  • Work-Based Learning

These modules will develop your critical thinking, alongside your research and leadership skills, and deepen your knowledge of the sector in an international context.

Year Three Level 6 (BSc) modules include:

  • Real-World Research and Employability
  • Applied Health and Wellbeing Across the Lifespan
  • Global Issues within Health and Social Care
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Independent Evidence-Based Project

These modules enable you to apply the practical and theoretical skills and knowledge you have developed at Level 4 and 5 to real-world situations both in the UK and internationally.

Learning & Teaching

The Health and Social Care programme uses a wide variety of different approaches to learning and teaching, including lectures and seminars, and with a focus on practical learning through work-based learning and field trips.

Contact Hours:

The Health and Social Care programme is mostly structured into 20 credit modules, each requiring around 200 hours of study over a semester. You will study three 20 credit modules side by side each semester. Most modules include 48 taught hours (36 hours of lectures and seminars and a further 12 for additional activities). A further 52 hours are allocated to directed study and preparation tasks, and a further 100 hours to allocated self-directed study, e.g. required reading and completing assessments. Some modules are an exception to this – e.g. your placement module (Work-Based Learning) and your Independent Evidence-Based Project both have additional hours allocated to independent study.

Support:

You will have access to pastoral support through your Personal Tutor. This is a really important relationship, and they are there to provide you with academic and personal guidance throughout your time at Cardiff Met. There are scheduled tutorial meetings that students attend, but tutors are also available to students outside the scheduled meetings. The University has well-established student support provision for students who have additional learning needs and is equipped to deal with issues that arise during a student’s studies.

Technology and Facilities:

The modules are supported using the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle, which is web based and so is accessible anywhere via the internet. All course-based material is held here, including lecture and seminar presentations, assessment information and additional reading or resources. Tutors also use Moodle to email students with information and updates.

Staff:

The programme benefits from highly research active staff, meaning that the teaching on the programme is at the cutting edge of current research in the field. Some of staff current research interests include wellbeing of frontline workers (including those in the health and social care sector), D/deaf experiences of accessing services, educational opportunities for Gypsy and Traveller children, gender-based violence, homelessness and welfare rights, and intentional communities. Our staff have a range of backgrounds, including operational and strategic practice, social work, psychology, the criminal justice system, welfare rights and community justice and social policy.

Facilities:

The Health and Social Care programme is delivered from the Llandaff Campus, where students benefit from a range of facilities, including on-site shops, restaurants and coffee shops, a gym, and modern teaching rooms. With millions of pounds of recent investment, Llandaff is a busy and bustling campus, offering state-of-the-art learning facilities for our students.

Assessment

The Health and Social Care programme uses a variety of assessment methods such as essays, presentations, portfolios and independent and group projects. Your assessments are designed to develop your learning and are aligned with the learning outcomes for the module. Modules have two assessment points, staggered through the term.

You will have access to academic support from your lecturers, and from the University library. We see feedback as critical to supporting your learning, and provide you with detailed and timely feedback on your work, including guidance on areas for improvement. We also encourage students to discuss assessment feedback with their personal tutors and lecturers in order to identify strategies for improvement.

Employability & Careers

Graduates from the BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care at Cardiff Met will be equipped with the knowledge, theory and skills required for a wide range of career options including working in the voluntary, charitable and private sectors.

Your second year placement is an ideal opportunity to gain experience of the Health and Social Care sector. We are especially keen for you to use this to gain an insight into graduate careers within Health and Social Care – leadership, management, research and policy roles. You will also gain understanding of real-world opportunities in the sector throughout the programme, through the wide range of guest speakers and field trips we offer, to help you decide what career path you may wish to take.

What can I do with my degree?

A Health and Social Care degree opens the door to a wide range of careers:

  • Policy roles – working for local and national government, third sector and thinktanks to influence decisions.
  • Research – gaining a masters (e.g. our MRes Social Policy, or PhD programmes, and other taught masters programmes), or moving directly into research within the Health and Social Care sector.
  • Further vocational training – graduate entry to nursing, midwifery, social work and other allied careers.
  • Leadership and management roles in Health and Social Care – the NHS and social care sector, housing and homelessness and welfare sector roles.
  • For students undertaking the HND, upon successful completion can progress to year three of the BSc (Hons) degree.

Entry Requirements & How to Apply

Typical Offers

​The following requirements are based on typical offers relevant to entering year 1 of the degree.

If you do not meet these entry requirements, we also offer a Foundation Year which allows progression to Year 1 upon successful completion.​

HND

  • Tariff points: 96
  • Contextual offer: See our contextual offers page.
  • GCSE: Five GCSEs at Grade C / 4 or above to include English Language / Welsh First Language, Mathematics / Mathematics – Numeracy.
  • English Language Requirement: Academic IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in all elements, or equivalent.
  • A level subjects: Grades CC. No specific subjects required.
  • BTEC National / Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma: MMM
  • T Level: Pass (C+).
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma: No specific subjects required.
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: No specific subjects required.
  • Irish Leaving Certificate: 2 x H2. No specific subjects required. Higher level subjects only considered with a minimum grade H4.
  • Scottish Advanced Highers: Grade DD. No specific subjects required.

BSc

  • Tariff points: 104
  • Contextual offer: See our contextual offers page.
  • GCSE: Five GCSEs at Grade C / 4 or above to include English Language / Welsh First Language, Mathematics / Mathematics – Numeracy.
  • English Language Requirement: Academic IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in all elements, or equivalent.
  • A level subjects: Minimum three A levels to include grades CCC. No specific subjects required. Welsh Baccalaureate – Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate considered as a third subject.
  • BTEC National / Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma: MMM
  • T Level: Merit.
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma: No specific subjects required.
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: No specific subjects required.
  • Irish Leaving Certificate: 2 x H2. No specific subjects required. Higher level subjects only considered with a minimum grade H4.
  • Scottish Advanced Highers: Grades DD. No specific subjects required.

Exceptional Entry:

Candidates who do not fulfil the above admission requirements but who have relevant experience and aptitude, are interviewed, requested to submit a piece of written work, and on the submission of satisfactory references, may be offered a place on the course. A standard essay and interview sheet has been developed for this purpose.

Combinations of the above qualifications are accepted if they meet our minimum requirements. If your qualifications aren’t listed, please contact Admissions or refer to the UCAS Course Search.

Further information on Overseas qualifications can be found here.

If you are a mature applicant, have relevant experience or RPL that you would like us to consider, please contact Admissions.


How to Apply

Further information on how to apply can be found here.

Contact Us

For general enquiries please contact the Admissions Team on 029 2041 6044, email askadmissions@cardiffmet.ac.uk or tweet us @CMetAdmissions.

For course specific enquiries, please contact the Programme Leader:

Email: EAAEngland@cardiffmet.ac.uk

We endeavour to deliver courses as described and will not normally make changes to courses, such as course title, content, delivery, and teaching provision. However, it may be necessary for the university to make changes in the course provision before or after enrolment. It reserves the right to make variations to content or delivery methods, including discontinuation or merging courses if such action is considered necessary. Please read our Terms and Conditions for the full information.

Key Course Information

​​​​​UCAS Codes:
HND:
015L - 2 years
015F - 3 years (including foundation year)
BSc:
L511 - 3-year degree
L51F - 4-year degree (including foundation year)

Place of Study:
Llandaff Campus

School:
Cardiff School of Education & Social Policy

Course Length:
HND: Two years full-time or three years full-time for those undertaking the foundation year.
BSc: Three years full-time or four years full-time for those undertaking the foundation year.

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