Condensed first year
Our condensed first year degrees allow you to start your course full-time in January and continue your second year in September.
Explore your study optionsOverview
Public health is considered the science and art of promoting and protecting health and wellbeing, preventing ill-health and prolonging life through the organised efforts of society.
The Public Health & Community Studies BA (Hons) Degree has been designed to equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to excel in a multidisciplinary community environment and to effectively support a variety of agencies, communities and individuals in promoting health and wellbeing.
With increased attention from government on the improvement of population health, this is an excellent time to study the underlying factors that contribute to ill health and how you as a practitioner can work to promote health and wellbeing as well as tackling the social inequalities within the localities you serve.
Why CU London
We offer a style of education which is flexible and designed to fit around your life, allowing you to benefit from a modern, forward-thinking higher education institution, reinforced by the quality and reputation of Coventry University. We aim to provide career-focused courses, wherever possible, coupled with placement opportunities to help prepare you for the world of work. We are dedicated to making higher education accessible and enjoyable to everyone, so we keep our fees low and made it a policy to cover one module at a time, allowing you to become a specialist in each topic before moving onto the next.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, CU may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses.
Employability
Dedicated Careers & Employability department who will assist you in finding employmentTop Quality Courses
Taught by industry professionals, awarded by Coventry UniversityNo End of Year Exams
Our modern teaching techniques mean no last-minute cramming and less stressProfessional Recognition
Specific courses contain additional industry recognised qualifications from awarding bodies
Accreditation and Professional Recognition
Royal Society for Public Health
We are an approved centre for The Royal Society for Public Health, an independent health education charity and the world’s longest-established public health body. Their vision is that everyone should have the opportunity to optimise their health and wellbeing.
What our students say
My time at CU has been a positive, life changing experience. Tutors were always on hand to help either face to face or online. I also have peace of mind that a degree from Coventry University has given me good employability prospects.
Course information
The Public Health & Community Studies BA (Hons) degree aims to teach the skills and knowledge relevant for progression into statutory, voluntary or private sectors. Opportunities can be found in areas that address the wider determinants of health, such as education, housing and transport by developing public approaches to promote health.
Throughout the course, you will address health inequalities, including tackling the damaging effects of smoking, alcohol, drugs and poor nutrition as well as analysing government initiatives.
Course Specification
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Modules
Coventry University is ranked 15th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2020. CU London is part of the Coventry University Group.
In more detail...
If you’ve ever thought of becoming a social entrepreneur by setting up your own organisation, or considered how you can make a positive change in the community, our course will equip you with all the skills, knowledge and experience needed to start your journey into the public health sector.
Facilities
Located on the Coventry University campus, you will have access to our Library and Learning Services (LLS), fully equipped seminar rooms and impressive IT suites. Plus, you can take advantage of reading rights in Coventry University’s Lanchester Library, make use of sport centre facilities and receive full membership to Coventry University Students’ Union (CUSU).
Staff
This course has been developed and is taught by practising professionals and industry experts. Our academics bring a wealth of expertise to the classroom with many continuing to undertake research and other projects alongside teaching, meaning our students gain a well-rounded and relevant teaching experience.
Practical Experience
Throughout your studies, you will find that the course is underpinned with practical elements. In previous years, students have visited a variety of public institutions, such as the Museum of Mental Health, Parliament, housing charities and CU Social Enterprise to experience modern organisations and how they operate in the public sector.
Placements
At CU London, we put a strong focus on getting our graduates ready to enter the job market. This can be done in a variety of ways—one key element is work placements. With this degree, you are given the opportunity to undertake short and long-term placements in between your second and third year.
- Upon completion of this course, you will receive a qualification awarded by Coventry University.
- We have a dedicated careers team who will assist you with finding work, both while you're a student and after you graduate.
- In order to make higher education accessible to as many people as possible, we keep our tuition fees competitively priced.
- Small tutorial group sessions ensure that you receive the mentoring help and support you need.
- We deliver one module at a time during each block. This means you can dedicate your time to specialise in each subject without the distraction of numerous modules and multiple deadlines.
- You will have the opportunity for multi-campus learning in London, Coventry and Scarborough.
Your main study themes are:
- Inequality: Inequalities in health run throughout the programme. You will look at several factors that contribute to the inequality, such as geographical locations and financial incomes. You will critically appraise inequalities and learn to identify bias and injustice in communities.
- Social Determinants: Social Determinants are key to public health practice and can affect communities and public health. Themes explored in this programme include, infrastructure, classism, education, social networks and area of residency.
- Vulnerable Communities: You will develop the ability to identify vulnerable communities. Many communities that suffer from bad health are vulnerable; you will be able to critically assess significant correlations and demonstrate how help and support can be provided to encourage better health.
- Social Enterprise: Throughout the course you are encouraged to develop independently and academically, through reflection, information searching and experimental projects. You will learn to work autonomously, understand and assess communities critically and create solutions confidently.
The learning outcomes of modules, assignments and projects will be clearly stated. Your work will be marked according to how well you achieve these learning outcomes and your final feedback will refer to each outcome, as well as providing an overall percentage grade.
Assessment methods vary and include practical class and project performance, written practical reports, project thesis, oral presentations, tutorial tasks and assessments which take place at the end of each six-week block.
Breakdown of final grade assessment (approximate):
60% Coursework
40% Assessments
On completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the theoretical, analytical and practical aspects of legislation, strategies and policies within a changing environment, to meet stakeholder interests.
- Critically appraise theories related to the development of a health promotion strategy, considering social determinants that could influence the effectiveness.
- Develop appropriate research and analysis techniques, alongside the ability to undertake reliable market research activities.
- Operate, lead and collaborate in a team to solve problems of a practical (experimental) nature and to provide appropriate solutions.
- Apply appropriate presentation and evaluation tools to establish the significance of research data produced.
Full-time
If you choose to study full-time you can expect up to 20 hours of learning activities per week. The majority of this will be face-to-face teaching, with the addition of individual and group tutorials and independent/online learning.
Classes usually run Monday to Friday at a fixed time each day, either in the morning (9am-1pm) or afternoon (1.30pm-5.30pm).
Part-time
If you choose to study part-time you’ll usually receive seven hours per week direct face-to-face delivery and three hours per week blended learning. Outside of this, there will also be independent study and online support.
Teaching normally takes place on Saturday 9am-6pm, or if the demand is high enough, selected courses may be able to run on weekday evenings.
Please note: part-time courses run subject to numbers.
Class groups are kept low. This way, students can take advantage of small numbers to increase contact time with lecturers.
With the Online International Learning (OIL) Project, students of the Public Health & Community Studies course gain access to exciting international opportunities with universities across the world, such as the University of Venice, where students can take part in online seminars, network with students and course leaders and sit in on relevant lectures.
What our students say
My time at CU has been a positive, life changing experience. Tutors were always on hand to help either face to face or online. I also have peace of mind that a degree from Coventry University has given me good employability prospects.
Entry Requirements
Unconditional offers
We want to recruit the best students to CU London. We assess an applicants' past, current and predicted performance and commitment to the course, and we may feel that it is appropriate to reward consistently high-achieving students with an unconditional offer to CU London. It is a commitment from us with regard to an applicants’ potential as an excellent undergraduate and we hope that this will encourage such applicants to join CU London.
Personal statements and references will also be taken into account and, for some degree courses, an interview will form part of the assessment. Requirements for specific courses differ and not all degree courses will be taking part in the scheme. The unconditional offer will be confirmed once a selected applicant has made CU London their firm choice.
CU London has assessed that you can achieve the required grades and we have demonstrated this belief by making you an offer. This is our commitment to you so then we ask that you reciprocate this commitment by selecting us as your ‘firm’ choice and activating your offer.
We will consider other qualifications for a pre-result unconditional offer if you have an appropriate proven performance at GCSE (or equivalent) level and predicted grades in line with grades that we expect to see at A-level. Other qualifications that we may consider for a pre-result unconditional offer include: The International Baccalaureate Diploma, BTEC Level 3 qualifications, Cambridge Pre-U and combinations of qualifications (e.g. BTECS plus A-levels).
An unconditional offer is what it says it is. So, if you don’t meet your predictions then your place is still guaranteed. However, we would hope and expect that you continue to work hard to make the most of your potential and be best prepared to study at university level.
No, the unconditional offer is only available to those who will take up their place in the year for which they applied.
If you don’t meet the entry requirements for this course, we have a number of programmes which upon successful completion and meeting any additional entry criteria, qualifies you onto a place on this degree course, such as Foundation Years.
What our students say
My time at CU has been a positive, life changing experience. Tutors were always on hand to help either face to face or online. I also have peace of mind that a degree from Coventry University has given me good employability prospects.
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
Fees & Funding
We price our courses competitively in an attempt to make higher education accessible for a wide range of people. Your tuition fees will cover all of your classes, online tutorials, some of the learning materials and access to our Library & Learning Services.
Funding
As a full-time or part-time student resident in the UK or EU, you can apply for a loan to cover the cost of your tuition fees at CU London from Student Finance England.
What our students say
My time at CU has been a positive, life changing experience. Tutors were always on hand to help either face to face or online. I also have peace of mind that a degree from Coventry University has given me good employability prospects.
Career prospects
With a growing demand for skilled health professionals, graduates of this course have an expansive list of career paths to explore.
With the majority of students going directly into a public health profession, other students have also chosen to study further in the field, with several students undertaking a master’s degree, in subjects such as Public Health and Nutrition, International Business Management and Social Policy.
Where our graduates work
Graduates have gone on to work successfully in leading companies such as the Royal Derby Hospital and Coventry University.
What our students say
My time at CU has been a positive, life changing experience. Tutors were always on hand to help either face to face or online. I also have peace of mind that a degree from Coventry University has given me good employability prospects.
Disclaimer
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we 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. Following the UK’s planned exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance at that time.
