Undergraduate BA (Hons)
Health and Social Care
Learn to offer considered responses to complex issues and help to change and improve lives.
Health and social care policy attempts to address numerous challenging problems within society. Our programme will give you a systematic and rounded understanding of the major challenges and opportunities facing health and social care and how, through social policy, they can be tackled and solved.
From day one, you will discuss and confront key issues facing society, giving you confidence to take on the important questions of today. We cover a wide ranging and fast moving set of health and social care issues, and equip you with the means to understand and analyse them. From navigating complex ongoing debates concerning the profound crisis in adult social care to analysing the challenges of perceived over-prescription of medications in mental health care You will be guided throughout by leading academics and researchers, who are able to keep you in touch with the latest developments in the field that they both study and lead in.
Through our innovative teaching and research, studying health and social care at Kent equips you with the subject-specific knowledge essential for a career in health and social care, as well as developing the skills and the confidence needed to pursue careers in other fields of public service and welfare. This means that as a graduate, you are free to forge your own path and effect change in the places you want to see it.
Discover how we support your journey to Kent. Succeed in SSPSSR is your path to securing your place at Kent and excelling as a student.
Social Policy at Kent achieved the third highest score for research quality in The Times Good University Guide 2023.
Our degree programme embeds employability at every turn, preparing you for a successful and rewarding career. Discover where your degree could take you.
With a wide range of modules to choose from, you are able to tailor your degree to your interests. Making your degree and your career your own.
Hear from Poppy, who is in the second year of her health and social care course at Kent as she shares her course highlights so far.
Our typical offer levels are listed below and include indicative contextual offers. If you hold alternative qualifications just get in touch and we'll be glad to discuss these with you.
BBC
Distinction, Merit, Merit
112 Tariff points from your IB Diploma, Typically H5, H5, H6 or equivalent.
English Language at grade C/4
Pass the University of Kent International Foundation Programme.
The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.
Obtain Access to HE Diploma with 45 at level 3 Credits with 18 credits at Distinction and 24 credits at Merit.
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
You are required to take 120 credits (60 credits in the spring term and 60 credits in the autumn term), including one of SOCI3050 or SOCI3440.
The module aims to develop the understanding of the policy making process and the role of the different actors within the wider context of the tools and limits of the ability of the UK national government to influence behaviour. It has a particular focus on processes of social control as they relate to social policy. Learning will be centred around two main tasks:
i. Understanding the links between social policy and the regulation of behaviour e.g. the uses and outcomes of incentives, sanctions and educative communication to promote behavioural changes sought by policy makers.
ii. Taking topical examples of policy issues, contextualised analysis of the policy making process, its 'stages', key actors and institutions will be used to explore how and why particular policy options emerge and evolve. A central concern will be to help students understand the nature of support and opposition for particular policy proposals and the implications for developing alternative policies.
Module information TBC
Module information TBC
Sociology is the study of human societies. It is a discipline committed to the attempt to map out and explain the constitution of society. It also aims to attend to and explain the distinctive character of people's social experience of the world. Sociologists operate from the premise that, by working to explain human characteristics and behaviours in social terms and as relative products of society, they stand to offer insights into some of the major forces that determine our thoughts and behaviours. They work under the conviction that human beings are fundamentally social beings and are products of distinct forms of society. This course is designed to provide you with a basic introduction to Sociology. A particular focus is brought to how sociologists venture to understand the social structures and determinant social forces that shape our living conditions and life chances. It also outlines some of the ways in which such matters are addressed as problems for sociological theory and empirical sociological research.
This module is designed to help students understand and critique the numbers and research they encounter in their everyday lives. The first half of the course focuses on teaching the knowledge and skills need to critically evaluate factual quantitative claims. Each lecture uses example quantitative claims, largely drawn from the news media, to teach a particular quantitative skill. For example, highlighting a statistic based on a biased sample to teach students the principles of sampling. The seminars build on the content of the lectures and aim to teach students the practical, computer-based skills needed to evaluate quantitative claims.
The second half of the module is based around students conducting their own research, and also brings in qualitative skills element. Students apply the critical and quantitative skills they have learned to conducting their own mixed-methods project.
Module information TBC
Crime is a major social and political issue and the source of much academic and popular debate. Key criminological issues will be examined during the course of the module within their wider sociological and social policy context. There will be a particular focus on understanding the nature and extent of crime and victimisation, analysing public and media perceptions of crime, and exploring the relationship between key social divisions (age, gender and ethnicity) and patterns of offending and victimisation.
This module introduces students to discussions and debates surrounding modern culture. It looks at why culture has always been such a contested sphere and has a decisive impact on society at large. Students will look at culture in the widest sense, ranging from 'the arts' to the banalities of everyday life in our consumer society; at how culture has expressed and organised the way people think and live from the days of 'protestantism' to those of post-punk. Books, magazines, radio, TV, movies, cartoons, fashion, graffiti, the cult of celebrity, youth subcultures and pop music will be used to understand class, history, sexuality, colonialism, revolution, conflict and globalisation.
Going abroad as part of your degree is an amazing experience and a chance to develop personally, academically and professionally. You experience a different culture, gain a new academic perspective, establish international contacts and enhance your employability.
You can apply to add a Year Abroad to your degree programme from your arrival at Kent until the autumn term of your second year. The Year Abroad takes place between Stages 2 and 3 at one of our partner universities. Places and destination are subject to availability, language and degree programme. For a full list, please see Go Abroad.
To be eligible for the year abroad all students must obtain an average of 60% in the first and second years of their degree. In addition, those students studying on a Tier 4 visa must ensure they comply with the prevailing UKVI visa regulations governing course changes that are applicable to their individual circumstances.
You are expected to adhere to any academic progression requirements in Stages 1 and 2 to proceed to the Year Abroad. The Year Abroad is assessed on a pass/fail basis and will not count towards your final degree classification.
Teaching involves a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops and one-to-one sessions with academic staff.
Most modules in the School are assessed by 50% coursework and 50% end-of-year examination.
For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.
Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.
Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
This programme aims to:
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
You develop the following intellectual skills:
You gain subject-specific skills in how to:
You gain transferable skills in the following:
As a Health and social care student at Kent, you will benefit from being taught by academics and researchers who are leaders in the field, both for teaching and research. So not only will you be taught by people who are at the forefront of development and debate around health and social care policy, you can be assured that they are also excellent teachers. Meaning they can keep you in touch with the leading debates around issues that matter most to you.
This means that when you graduate, you are well informed on the areas you want to effect change in and well placed to kickstart your career. You’ll be ready to enter a dynamic and diverse labour market with key skills that appeal to employers. These include the ability to analyse information, excellent communication and negotiation skills, planning, teamwork and leadership, as well as an understanding of, and sensitivity to, the values and interests of others, which is crucially important when pursuing a career in health and social care.
Ultimately, the skills and confidence you graduate from Kent with put you in the perfect position to realise your ambition. This could be in health and social care, or any area you want to explore and change. The adaptability of the skills you develop, and the degree programme itself gives you the autonomy to make your degree and your career your own, making health and social care at Kent the first step to wherever you want to go.
I absolutely love it, honestly. I really enjoy it. I’ll go home and all I do is talk about university
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Fees for undergraduate students are £1,850.
Fees for undergraduate students are £1,385.
Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
We are no longer accepting applications for this course for entry in 2024.
We welcome applications from students all around the world with a wide range of international qualifications.
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