Course options
Key information
Duration: 4 years full time
UCAS code: B90F
Institution code: R72
Campus: Egham
The course
Health Studies with Integrated Foundation Year
Our Integrated Foundation Year for science is a thorough, skills-building course that will give you everything you need to start your study of BSc Health Studies with confidence.
Healthy populations underpin society and can help us provide answers to fundamental questions. Our Foundation Year sets you up so that you’re ready to take on those questions - providing you with opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding in a progressive structure to get started on your chosen degree at university. Once you have completed your Foundation year, you will normally progress onto the full degree course, BSc Health Studies. There may also be flexibility to move onto a degree in another department.
Delivered by our new Department of Health Studies, the BSc Health Studies degree is designed to equip a new generation of health practitioners with the skills to address health protection, health promotion and sustainable living frameworks to address 21st -century issues that impact human and environmental health.
You’ll be part of a supportive learning environment with small group seminars and tutorials encouraging development, co-operation, and effective team-working. Through our collaborative approach to learning and practical experience, you will learn how to evaluate, discuss, and practice solution-focused approaches to various challenges that affect health and wellbeing in society. You’ll develop your understanding of the relationship between health frameworks and the environment through a global health focus and systems approach thinking.
Your course will include challenge led placements with community, national and international partners, plus frequent opportunities to network and collaborate with local and national partners in the sector, with a focus on developing your employability skills.
From navigating and influencing systems, writing policy, managing data and developing research skills, to having the confidence to build partnerships and drive essential projects, you will graduate with the knowledge and exposure to go on to a rewarding career promoting the value of health for our communities and environment, and to bring about lasting changes that save lives.
From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
Course structure
Core Modules
Foundation Year
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Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Issues and Academic Skills provides the underpinning for the Integrated Foundation Year programme and is key to helping students achieve the requirements for entry into first year undergraduate study and transition effectively from school / college to HE.
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Knowing how to program is a highly sought-after skill, and is becoming increasingly important. Also, it is fun. This course equips you with the basic and foundational skills necessary to be successful in programming. We mainly use Python, but the skills learnt are also applicable to other languages. The course will contain foundational programming topics, including: how computers work, introduction to algorithms, basic data structures, control flow, programming libraries, data manipulation, input/output, file manipulation, dynamic structures and objects. Upon completion of the until you’ll will be able to understand variables, types and simple data structures (lists, strings, dictionaries and arrays), use functions to simply programs and promote code testing and reuse. Throughout the course there will be lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on problem-solving.
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Mathematics. The foundation to all sciences. By engaging in mathematical reasoning you will develop your scientific thinking as well as problem-solving skills. Moreover, you will get to embark on a journey through the exciting world of maths and its application. This course will provide you with the skills to successfully continue onto a STEM degree. The course aims to aid you in developing familiarity and skills in differentiation and integration. The main mathematical topics and concepts in the course are algebra (simplification, rearrangement), sequences and series, number bases, logic, functions, graphing of functions, exponential and logarithm, trigonometry, vectors/matrices, complex numbers differentiation, integration, first order ordinary differential equations, probability, and statistics (mean, variance, normal, binomial distributions).
- Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Issues and Academic Skills 2
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Students will learn key topics in pre-HE-level biological and earth sciences through an interdisciplinary, chronological curriculum. The module content is divided into three broad sections: origins, present and future. The history of the earth affords the opportunity to learn topics in biological chemistry, metabolism and physiology alongside planetary science and palaeontology. The second section of the module gives students the chance to learn about key challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, climate change, biodiversity and the impact of environmental pollutants on human health. In the module’s final section the focus will shift to the future, and students will learn some of the opportunities presented in the management of ecosystem services, nucleic acid-based technologies and renewable energy sources.
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The aim of this module is to provide the calculus and statistics required for a foundation in engineering and physical science. This module will provide a foundation so that a student can apply calculus to real-world problems. The module also aims to aid students in developing familiarity and skills in differentiation and integration. The main mathematical topics and concepts in the course are differentiation, integration, first order ordinary differential equations, Probability, Statistics (mean, variance, normal, binomial distributions).
Year 1
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The aim of this module is to provide a holistic overview of the human structure and functioning through an interdisciplinary approach which enables students to understand the interconnecting perspectives across the biological, psychological, social and environmental sciences.
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This module will provide students with an understanding of the wider social and environmental determinants of health and how the determinants impact health attitudes, behaviours, and health outcomes. This will also address strategies and interventions at the individual, community, national and global levels.
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This module aims to provide an overview of health systems from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Students will gain understanding of the role of public and environmental health policy, organisational structures, technology and management on the health and wellbeing outcomes. It will equip students to be effective health leaders.
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The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the different health professional roles and how they play a vital role in treatment, rehabilitation and improving health and wellbeing in health and social care.
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This module will have some structured lectures and seminars to prepare, guide and supervise students before, during and after the four weeks of professional placement attendance. This module enables students to synthesize the knowledge and understanding gained from theory into practical application to gain and enhance skills required of a competent and reflective practitioner. The focus will be on experiential learning supported by reflection and critical analysis. The Professional Placement1 will focus on equipping students with communication, influencing, health practice competencies and team working skills for career development. Evidence of skills gained, a SWOT analysis and Personal Development Plan (PDP) will be collated into an E- Portfolio.
Year 2
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This module aims to provide students with an understanding of physical and mental health conditions. It explores the relationships between physiology, physical health, lifestyle factors and mental health and wellbeing.
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The aim of the module is to provide students with concepts and theories of health promotion and health protection frameworks. This will give students an understanding of the determinants of health, strategies and interventions that can be undertaken at the global, community, or individual levels to improve health.
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This module aims to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of sustainability and the way organisations and individuals can impact the environment and the population health outcomes. This will equip students to adopt a critical approach to solutions and strategies for sustainable living.
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The module aims to develop knowledge and an understanding of the purpose and process of research and enable students to demonstrate research awareness and evidence-based practice to support services and the wider healthcare outcomes.
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The module aims to explore the policy priorities in the health and social care sector and the impact policy has in key areas of local, national and global health and social care settings.
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The module aims to provide students with knowledge, understanding and skills essential for partnership working and ethical practice at organisational and individual practitioner levels. It addresses the theoretical, policy and practice challenges and provides students the opportunity to analyse and develop more effective inter-professional working.
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This module will have some structured lectures and seminars to prepare, guide and supervise students before, during and after the mandatory four weeks of professional placement attendance. This module enables students to synthesize the knowledge and understanding gained from theory into practical application to gain and enhance skills required of a competent and reflective practitioner. The focus will be on experiential learning supported by reflection and critical analysis. The Professional Placement2 will be building up on the previous year and focus on the student’s preparedness to navigate health systems, apply health policy, evaluating evidence and set targets for own development towards professional career. Evidence of skills gained (certificates of completion, induction records), an updated SWOT analysis and Personal Development Plan (PDP) will be collated into an E- Portfolio.
Year 3
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This module aims to provide knowledge and understanding of the issues and concepts relating to population health wellbeing and risk by investigating determinants of health and assessing causality. This will give students evidence-based understanding of the complexities and risk to human and population health from social, economic and environmental factors.
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The aim of the module is to provide students with an understanding of the influence of the determinants of health, power and discrimination, and the impact on social inclusion and exclusion. The students will use social theory and lived narratives to understand social issues and learn ways to challenge inequality in health across the population.
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The aim of this module is to enable a student to carry out their research plan drafted from the previous research methods module. This allows the student to plan, manage and carry out the research process using the methodology selected for investigation. Students will immerse themselves in the current literature to develop their research and navigate systems like ethics applications or access to resources for implementation as appropriate. They will manage their timeline and resources to be able to complete their project. Students will be able to choose their area of interest and will be provided with a supervisor for the duration of their project.
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This module will have some structured lectures and seminars to prepare, guide and supervise students before, during and after the mandatory four weeks of professional placement attendance. This module enables students to synthesize the knowledge and understanding gained from theory into practical application to gain and enhance skills required of a competent and reflective practitioner. The focus will be on experiential learning supported by reflection and critical analysis. The Professional Placement3 will focus on equipping the students to lead, manage and facilitate change in health settings and set targets for own development towards professional career. Evidence of skills gained (certificates of completion, induction records, project plans), an updated SWOT analysis and Personal Development Plan (PDP) will be collated into an E- Portfolio.
Optional Modules
Year 3
There are a number of optional course modules available in year 3 of your degree, these options will be confirmed here.
Teaching & assessment
In your Foundation Year, teaching methods include a mixture of lectures, practical classes and workshops, individual tutorials, and supervisory sessions. Outside of the classroom you’ll undertake guided and independent practice. You will be assigned a Personal Tutor in the Department of Health Studies and will have regular scheduled sessions. In the Foundation Year, you’ll also be assigned a Personal Tutor in the Centre for the Development of Academic Skills (CeDAS). Assessments are varied; practical exercises, weekly problem sheets, set exercises, written examinations, laboratory reports. In addition, the Foundation Year offers a full range of skills-based training.
For your degree course, teaching methods will include a mixture of lectures, seminars, individual tutorials, and practical field and laboratory work. Outside the classroom, students will be expected to undertake study to understand the taught material, and to carry out the assessed coursework. Assessment will be through a combination of examinations, project(s) and practical work.
Entry requirements
A Levels: CCC
At least five GCSEs at grade A*-C or 9-4 including English and Mathematics and one science or biology.
Mature students who do not have traditional study are invited to submit work experience or evidence of further study in line with university accredited or experiential evaluation requirements.
Other UK and Ireland Qualifications
EU requirements
Your future career
Our commitment to your future career is reflected in the diverse topics you will study on your degree course and through other initiatives. You’ll develop your knowledge of contemporary issues around global population health, the impact on the environment and of the environment as a health determinant with a multidisciplinary approach.
You will graduate with the knowledge, transferable research and employability skills that will make you a highly desirable candidate for employers in a variety of sectors, including employment in the NHS workforce, government health sector, social care as well as NGOs and charities.
This degree will provide you with critical thinking and research method skills, which are paramount in a number of careers. The degree has a strong vocational strand running throughout, utilising links with local authorities and charities in the health and social care sector. You will prepare for your future career, whether you are interested in working in a professional role or undertaking future training at the Postgraduate level.
Fees, funding & scholarships
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £9,250
Eligible EU students tuition fee per year**: £19,600
Foundation year essential costs***: TBC
How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students who have already taken out a tuition fee loan for undergraduate study should check their eligibility for additional funding directly with the relevant awards body.
*The tuition fee for UK undergraduates is controlled by Government regulations. The fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £9,250 and is provided here as a guide. The fee for UK undergraduates starting in 2025/26 has not yet been set, but will be advertised here once confirmed.
** This figure is the fee for eligible EU students starting this degree in the academic year 2024/25, and is included as a guide only. The fee for eligible EU students starting this degree in the academic year 2025/26 has not yet been set, but will be advertised here once confirmed.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase tuition fees annually for overseas fee-paying students. Please be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree. The upper limit of any such annual rise has not yet been set for courses starting in 2025/26 but will be advertised here once confirmed. For further information see fees and funding and the terms and conditions.
***These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2024/25 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing etc., have not been included.
