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Public Health BSc (Hons)
Study level: Undergraduate
From developing strategies to tackle health inequalities and rising levels of obesity to promoting mental, physical and environmental health, this course prepares you for a wide range of roles and opportunities in the field.
Course option
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Duration
3 years full-time
UCAS codes
HU13
Start date
September 2026
The information on this page is for 2025-26 entry and should be used as guidance for 2026-27 entry. Please keep checking back on this course page to see our latest updates.
Course overview
The course explores practical strategies for tackling disease, preventing ill health and reducing health inequalities, including health promotion programmes and approaches to health protection in response to emerging challenges. We aim to give you a real-world experience of the tasks and challenges you may face as a public health practitioner. You will have the opportunity to participate in practical activities, problem-based learning and workshops that could help you prepare for your future career.
- The course aims to equip you to work in a range of roles within public health where you can make a real difference to people’s health and wellbeing.
- Develop an understanding of health inequalities at local, national and international levels as well as the knowledge to be able to improve health outcomes through the effective planning, execution and evaluation of public health interventions to change behaviour.
- Explore differing health needs, influences on health, and how to prevent ill health and promote health and wellbeing. Develop the skills needed to address health challenges and improve population health.
Rated Gold Overall
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2026Why you should study this course
- Learning is inclusive, applied, interactive and creative with hands-on sessions related to real-life public health situations.
- You will be taught by enthusiastic and engaged public health experts from a range of practice, research, academic and leadership backgrounds.
- Our assessments use the same competencies, knowledge and skills that you might use in many public health job roles.
- Inter-professional learning opportunities allowing you to share, learn and work together with other students from health-related courses.
- You may have opportunities to attend out-of-classroom field trips related to aspects of public health.2
- Benefit from visits and career talks from alumni and public health practitioners.2
5th
Coventry University ranked 5th for Health Professions
Guardian University Guide 2024
Drawing from diverse experiences, commitment and passion for public health from a dedicated team, this course offers our students a catalyst for change, weaving together knowledge, empathy, and action to build healthier communities and foster equity for all. One key element of this course is the link of all our modules to the graduate attributes to empower our students with skills needed to succeed as future public health practitioners.
Dr Lawrence Bismarck Ndupu, Course Director for the Public Health BSc (Hons), 2024
What you'll study
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
You will be taught through a mixture of lectures and seminars, hands-on skills workshops, student-led discussions and interactive simulation. Course assessments encourage the development of skills required for successful careers in public health. This includes being familiar with Microsoft software packages (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Stream, Forms, Teams, etc).
These interactive learning sessions aim to support you in exploring important public health issues theoretically as well as practically. You'll also have the opportunity to learn and work with students from other health-related courses, sharing ideas and experiences.
You will have the opportunity to:
- work in smaller groups for seminars, workshops, and tutorials
- engage in student-led discussions (flipped classroom, problem-based learning, individual/group presentations, case studies and scenario-based analyses) to facilitate shared learning and practice experiences
- hear from professionals in practice drawn from a range of public health-related fields2
- utilise a virtual learning environment to access updates on the course and modules and other relevant materials for supporting learning, such as videos and podcasts2
- participate in a simulation exercise which mimics real-world challenges (e.g., infectious disease outbreaks, flooding, earthquakes, etc) and cross-professional working4
- attend a public health-related field visit (e.g., public health bus tour of Coventry)2.
These strategies should help you to connect concepts covered in the course with real-life experience and are designed to enhance your career options following graduation.
Teaching contact hours
As a full-time undergraduate student, you will study modules totalling 120 credits each academic year. You will normally study one 30-credit module at a time. A typical 30-credit module requires a total of 300 hours of study made up of teaching contact hours, guided and independent study.
Teaching hours
Teaching hours may vary depending on your year of study and selected modules. During your first year, you can expect 12-15 teaching hours each week. You will also have the option to attend additional sessions, including time with a progress coach or to meet with staff for advice and feedback. As you progress through your studies, teaching hours may reduce.
Guided and independent study
Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent study to make up the required study hours per module. You’ll be digging deeper into topics, review what you’ve learned and complete assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress through your studies, you’ll spend more time in independent study.
Online learning
As an innovative university, we use different teaching methods including online tools and emerging technologies. So, some of your teaching hours and assessments may be delivered online
Assessment
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending on the module.
Assessment methods may include:
- essays
- reports
- poster presentations
- group work
- multiple choice questions (MCQs)
- portfolios
- exams
- research project.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Entry requirements
Typical entry requirements:
Not got the required grades? We offer this degree with an integrated foundation year.
Fees and funding
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | 2026/27 fees TBC 2025/26 fees: £9,535 per year |
Not available |
| EU | 2026/27 fees TBC 2025/26 fees: £9,535 per year with EU Support Bursary** 2026/27 fees TBC 2025/26 fees: £16,800 per year without EU Support Bursary** |
Not available |
| International | 2026/27 fees TBC 2025/26 fees: £16,800 per year |
Not available |
If you choose to study this course with a professional placement2 or study abroad year, you will need to pay a tuition fee3 to cover your academic support throughout your placement year. Students commencing their professional placement in the academic year 2027/28 will pay £1,500 if they are paying UK fees, or £1,800 if they are paying international fees.
For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.
The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permits an increase in tuition fees, the university may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.
If you choose to study this course with a professional placement, the University will charge the tuition fees stated above for those on a placement during Academic Year 2027/28. The University will review professional placement tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study, but such that it will be no more than 5% above inflation.
For international students, we may increase fees each year, but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
- Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).
*Irish student fees
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
**EU Support Bursary
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
Facilities
Students will benefit from studying on our well-equipped, modern campus4.
- The Simulation Centre allows you to participate in simulation exercises which mimic real-world challenges and cross-profession working, e.g. managing a disease outbreak at Coventry University.
- The computer lab at Coventry University main campus allows you to participate in challenges to resolve public health issues within a given health-related scenario4.
Alison Gingell Building
You'll have the opportunity to study in our multi-million-pound Alison Gingell Building with facilities including a mock ambulance, hospital wards and full-size community houses as well as study spaces, classrooms and more.
Facilities are subject to availability. Access to some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and/or may have reduced availability or restrictions where the university is following public authority guidance, decisions or orders.
Careers and opportunities
On successful completion of the course, you will have the knowledge to enable you to:
- demonstrate knowledge of the underlying principles of public health - prevention, promotion, protection
- measure and interpret qualitative and quantitative data to make evidence informed decisions
- evaluate population health needs in order to initiate health interventions for preventing disease and improving health
- critically review relationships between health policy, strategies, health systems and service users’ experiences that influence health outcomes and inequalities
- assess and recognise the impact of wider social determinants of health, health inequalities and health inequity at all levels
- effectively communicate public health messages to specialist and non-specialist audiences using a range of approaches and media
- understand effective strategies for working with community groups and organisations in designing, managing and delivering services
- demonstrate effective leadership and ethical approaches to improve quality for public health
- appraise health systems differences in adopting foundational public health concepts, principles and methods of enquiry.
The course is designed to align your knowledge and skills with the requirements of employers in public health and for your skills to be able to make an immediate impact on populations and health outcomes in a range of roles and organisations. The course aims to enhance your employability by offering the skills and competencies that address employers' objectives and expectations from graduates wishing to pursue a career as a public health practitioner.
Graduates may be employed in such roles as public health practitioner, health protection practitioner, health improvement practitioner, health data analyst, healthy lifestyles co-ordinator, public health project manager or many other types of analysts, managers or researcher roles within the diverse field of public health practice.
This course aims to equip you with the tools for developing necessary competences for employment within a wide range of organisations, including local authorities, NHS, not-for-profit organisations and charities, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Further study
Graduates from this course may consider progression to master’s level courses in areas such as:
- public health
- global public health
- global health management
- public health nutrition
- public health and health promotion
- reproductive and sexual health research
- health economics and policy
- health data science.
How to apply
UK students
International students
Disclaimers
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