More about this course

With the increasing emphasis on health promotion, public health and the social determinants of health, this top-up degree has been designed for those who aspire to make a difference to people’s health and wellbeing in this fascinating and expanding field.

We’ll develop your knowledge and skills to address key public health issues, including health inequalities, health enhancing strategies and community engagement.

The course is delivered through a mix of classroom and distance learning. The teaching materials will be mapped and developed in line with the Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (2013) to address market needs and enhance your employability.

During the course you will learn about contemporary public health challenges and consider development while undertaking a practice-based project. The course may be taken over one year (full-time) or two years (part-time) and is designed to be flexible for those in work, with self-directed elements and a distance learning module.

It is ideally suited to those who have a foundation degree or a Diploma of HE in a relevant area such as nursing or health and social care who wish to broaden their career opportunities through an honours degree.

Assessment

The course will use a variety of teaching and learning styles that includes traditional face-to-face and online distance learning.

A variety of assessment tools is employed throughout the course, supported by the general principle of mixed mode formative and summative assessments. These include: group presentations, practical reports and reviews, online discussions and essays. The BSc also includes a practice based project based on the student’s own area of practice or interest.

Entry requirements

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a relevant Diploma in Higher Education eg Nursing or Health and Social Care or Foundation degree (eg Public Health and Social Care, Health and Social Care)
• GCSE English and Mathematics at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)

Applicants with relevant professional qualifications or extensive professional experience will also be considered on a case by case basis.

You should demonstrate your knowledge base; strong analytical abilities that are underpinned by academic skills, as well as high levels of organisation, motivation and IT skills necessary for independent learning.Please note: registered nurses with substantial relevant work experience must be registered with the UK's Nursing and Midwifery Council (or if applicable an equivalent professional body) otherwise they won't be considered.

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2023/24 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 3 modules include:

Practice Based Public Health and Health Promotion Project (core, 60 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start)

The Practice Based Public Health and Health Promotion Project module will enable you to design and conduct a small project in public health relevant to a specific area of practice or interest. You will conduct a project by collecting and interpreting secondary data analysis, and designing an intervention for health improvement using one particular intervention method. A key focus will be on the identification of the social determinants of health at the local area level in the UK and on a strategy to improve public health and reduce health inequalities within the area of practice and with a view to consolidating transferable skills for future employment in Public Health and Health Promotion. The syllabus is informed by the public health core and defined areas established in the Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (2019).

The module will give you the opportunity to use the learning gained through the Project based Research and Evaluation and the Public Health and Health Promotion modules. Within the project guidelines, you will be studying independently with support from your supervisor and members of the module team. In addition, you will analyse and debate Public Health issues from your practice, using student-centred learning approaches such as self-directed learning and online and face-to-face group discussion.

Module aims:

● To enable students to integrate and apply the skills and knowledge base underpinning their public health education in a sustained piece of independent academic work (practice-based project).
● To develop students capacity to identify contemporary public health issues and to propose strategies of service improvement as a result of independent learning from different sources and experiences.
● To provide learning opportunities that support the public health role within the context of the social determinants of health i.e. to improve priority public health conditions and reduce health inequalities.
● To help students develop research and evaluative skills to support an evidence-based approach to their Public Health practice.

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Public Health and Health Promotion (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Thursday afternoon

This module aims to:

• Develop a deeper understanding, knowledge base and skills for engaging with historical and contemporary public health discourses, problems, theories, research methodologies, policy and practice issues.

• Provide a social science based contextual and critical understanding of the impact of the social determinants of health on population health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the importance of community engagement as part a public health response.

• Evaluate a range of projects and research studies; identify the impact on public health issues.

• Understand and evaluate the key principles and concepts underpinning developments in public health at the community level.

• Critically analyse the influence of various national policies on health promotion practice.

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Research and Evaluation in Public Health (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Thursday morning

1. You will have opportunities to engage with different approaches to research and evaluation;

2. You will link a critical approach to data sources to own professional knowledge and practices;

3. You will place research in the wider context of policy and professional practice;

4. You will evaluate the role of stakeholders, including service users, in the research and evaluation process; and

5. You will be equipped to develop a robust proposal for further research and evaluation.

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What our students say

"This top-up [degree] in Public Health and Health Promotion was filled with in-depth learning and knowledge for a successful path in public health. [There were] very clear learning materials, which I still use in my career.

"This course equipped me [with] report writing skills through the various assignments and structure of the course. It is interactive and encourages peer learning, which helped me to understand different perspectives needed for analytical writing.

"The lectures were very supportive and created a 'you can do it' environment, which made me work harder. I cannot thank them enough. If you have a passion for public health, community development or health promotion, this is the course for you."

Deborah Dokubo, graduate 

Where this course can take you

Our health, social care and early childhood studies graduates have gone onto to work as early years practioners, nursery teachers and managers, mental health officers, support workers and nurses at various employers including Kings College Hospital, the NHS and various schools and nurseries.

Important information about this course

We're committed to continuously improving our degree courses to ensure our students receive the best possible learning experience. Many of the courses in our School of Social Sciences and Professions are currently under review for 2023-24 entry. We encourage you to apply as outlined in the how to apply section of this page and if there are any changes to your course we will contact you. All universities review their courses regularly and this year we are strengthening our social sciences and professions courses to better reflect the needs of employers and ensure you're well-equipped for your future career.

Additional costs

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.

When to apply

The University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) accepts applications for full-time courses starting in September from one year before the start of the course. Our UCAS institution code is L68.

If you will be applying direct to the University you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only be able to consider your application if there are places available on the course.