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.

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.

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.