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Health and Social Care with Foundation Year

Course details
  • BSc (Hons)
  • 4 Years
  • Full-time including foundation year
  • 14 September 2026
  • Undergraduate
Course location
University College Birmingham

Course summary

OVERVIEW
Our BSc (Hons) Health and Social Care with Foundation Year leads to rewarding careers, making a meaningful difference to the complex needs of individuals and communities. Our friendly and supportive teaching team are experienced health and social care practitioners, putting us in a unique position to offer specialised optional modules in subjects such as neurodiversity, criminology, and substance misuse. This means you can tailor your studies to suit your particular interests or career goals. Our dedicated employability tutors will support you in completing vocational work placements one day a week throughout your studies, to boost your employability, apply your learning as a practitioner, help you discover your area of passion and give you a real edge as a graduate.

We co-deliver our programme with ‘experts by experience’; those who have used social care services, or their parents and carers. This participatory approach is best practice in the health and social care sector, and as part of your degree, leads you to an authentic understanding of the issues, powerfully boosting your skills, vocational performance and career prospects.

You will have the opportunity to progress on to a wide range of rewarding careers in areas such as family support, community mental health, care management services, alternative education provision, addiction services, domestic violence, housing, social prescribing, disability support and health education. Alternatively, you could progress to master’s level study in areas such as social work, counselling, teaching or psychology. The foundation year offers tailored support and inclusive teaching to build your academic confidence, especially if you're returning to study or come from a non-traditional background.

WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?

  • FOUNDATION YEAR - From level 3 you will explore how to develop essential academic and learning skills, and develop a sense of belonging through teamwork and collaboration. You will identify and practice essential learning and educational skills, enhancing your ability to succeed in higher education.

  • NO EXAMS - If you are not keen on exams, this course is for you. Unlike many degrees in this field, you will have no written exams during or at the end of the course and will be assessed through practical assessments and coursework only

  • WORK PLACEMENTS – Gain essential, real-world work experience throughout your degree by going on placement one day per week, with opportunities in a huge variety of health and social care settings

  • ENRICHMENT – Enhance your CV and professional development with further training and qualifications, including key areas for care workers such as mental health first aid, basic life support, infection prevention and control and autism awareness.

  • SPECIALISE YOUR STUDIES – Pick a research topic to study in depth and choose from a wide range of optional modules, including themes such as substance misuse, mental wellbeing and criminology

  • AWARD-WINNING UNIVERSITY – Study at the highest-ranking university in the region according to student choice (Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2024)

PLACEMENTS
Throughout the BSc Health and Social Care course, you will undertake a vocational placement one day per week within the health and social care sector. Our Hired team can help find the ideal placement for you.

CAREERS AND PROGRESSION
Examples of careers you could pursue following this course:

  • Family support worker (graduate)

  • Community education officer

  • Health promotion specialist

  • Community development worker

  • Learning mentor

  • Advice worker

You could also progress onto one of our postgraduate courses at University College Birmingham.

  • Please refer to our website www.ucb.ac.uk for the latest updates to this course

Modules

Foundation year - Academic and Study Skills for Healthcare - Health & Wellbeing; Culturally Responsive Healthcare - Introduction to Healthcare Professions - The Social Context of Health and Wellbeing YEAR 1 - Academic Skills - Foundations of Health and Social Care - Lifespan Psychology - Safeguarding Children and Adults - Communication for Health and Social Care Professionals - Sociology of Health YEAR 2 - Developing Research in Health and Social Care - Promoting Health and Wellbeing - Advocacy, Coproduction and Empowerment - The Health and Social Care Professional - Coaching and Mentoring Plus two options from: - Managing Acute and Chronic Conditions - Substance Misuse - Supporting Individuals and Families YEAR 3 - Counselling and Guidance Skills - Leadership in Health and Social Care Plus one options from: - Criminology and Offender Management - Neurodiversity - Mental Health Plus one option from: - Applying Research in Health and Social Care Practice - Research Project (SEHC)

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
L55F
Institution code:
B35
Campus name:
University College Birmingham
Campus Code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff
48 points

A level
DDD

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
PPP

Access to HE Diploma
D: 0 credits M: 0 credits P: 45 credits

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE·English Language at grade A-C / 9-4* or equivalent

T Level
Pass (D or E)

Find out more about qualification requirements for this course.

Additional entry requirements

Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)

Historical entry grades data

This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).

It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.

Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Per year tuition fees

LocationFeeYear

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

UK:
This is a yearly fee, and will increase with inflation in subsequent years (in line with the government’s permitted rise).
If you are an English student studying your first higher education qualification, you can apply for a tuition fee loan from the Student Loans Company. You will not start repaying this loan until you leave the course and are earning over £25,000 a year.
If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, you should apply to Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland, or SAAS. The loans and grants available to you will differ from those available from Student Finance England.
UCB does not charge for 24 or 48 week placements.
More information about UK Fees please go to our website here -
https://www.ucb.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/undergraduate-fees/

EU and International:
More information about International Fees please go to our website here - https://www.ucb.ac.uk/our-courses/international/tuition-fees-and-scholarships.aspx

Clearing contact details

University College Birmingham Admissions

Apply Direct

Email:admissions@ucb.ac.uk

Phone:0121 604 1040

Course Clearing information

Additional information

If you've missed out on your entry requirements for a conditional offer, changed your mind about what you want to study, or simply want to expand your choices, then Clearing is for you!

To secure your place with us, get in touch today with our friendly admissions team, who will help you look at your options and tell you all about our free £6,000 for all UK full-time undergraduates starting in September 2026. Not a loan. Not means-tested. No repayment.

Our practical degrees range from nursing and psychology to business, finance, engineering and construction, marketing, food, sport and prosthetics, many of which have placements and no exams. We have also invested £300 million into our facilities to give you the best learning experience.

To secure your place with us, simply call our Clearing hotline on 0121 604 1040. Our team are there to guide you through your application and you can also book onto our Clearing open day on Saturday 15th August. We hope to see you in September!

University College Birmingham

Summer Row
Birmingham
B3 1JB

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