Education & Training

In the School of Health & Social Care (HSC) we are committed to providing an excellent student experience, with degrees underpinned by high-quality research, which will ultimately benefit the health and well-being of the people locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

As a student in of HSC, we can offer you a high-quality learning opportunities, support from personal tutors, excellent library facilities including a wide range of electronic resources, a Virtual Learning Environment to support your studies, a university support centre and, of course, learning from the experiences of your fellow students.

Our courses are designed to enhance your employability, help you specialise in a specific area of health/social care and refine your skills. Whether you work in healthcare, health promotion, public health, social work, governmental or non-governmental agencies our degrees and units of study will enable you to improve your knowledge and assist you in taking the next step in your career.

Please visit our web-pages to see the full range of education opportunities that we can offer you as a health or social care professional.

Five Reasons to Study at the School of Health & Social Care (Bournemouth University):

• We have excellent links with local health and social care users and providers, ensuring our courses are relevant to practice.
• We have a strong research profile with (RAE 2008 BU Nursing and Midwifery was ranked as ‘World Leading’)
• Our reputation in specific areas, for example, social work has been awarded the ‘Skills for Care Accolade for Best Involver of Service Users/Carers for Adults.
• You have the opportunity for interprofessional learning alongside a range of health and social care practitioners
• We offer a student-centred, supportive learning environment with highly skilled academic staff.

We have been an important contributor to education and research since 1992. We have major contracts with the NHS to educate a variety of health and social care professionals at pre- and post-qualifying levels and also have a broad portfolio of related degrees.

Our courses offer a mix of interprofessional learning and discipline specific study including professional practice, public health and medicine.

Some examples of our collaborative research projects include:

• The management of low back pain in primary care – the Health Foundation has provided substantial funding to bring together staff from BU, the Anglo European Chiropractic College and the NHS to implement a strategy to improve care for patients for back pain
• The Citizenship, Opportunities and Safety Training Project (COAST) project – a local initiative between BU, Advanced Housing & Support and Streetwise (an interactive safety centre in Bournemouth) to promote citizenship training and skills development for adults with learning difficulties
• The Poole NHS Foundation Trust has set up a link with Wau hospital in South Sudan and HSC has been involved in linking educational initiatives. Following a preliminary visit in the Spring of 2009, further visits will include a more detailed exploration of the training facilities and how HSC can support the needs of health professionals in Wau.

For more details on current projects and events, please feel free to visit our News and Events pages.

Welcome to the School of Health & Social Care (HSC). We recognise that our students, as health and social care professionals, need an approach to their learning that fits with demanding workloads and personal commitments, which is why we have designed our units and courses to be as practice-based as possible and have incorporated more distance learning elements. The range of courses and individual units we offer support the drivers embedded in the latest national reviews and policy documents, including Lord Darzi's review of the NHS (High Quality Care for All) and the General Social Care Council's (Social Work in Mental Health, 2007).

Our established links with service providers, service users and Centres of Academic Excellence have been invaluable in developing our education portfolio. We are unique in bringing together education, research and practice development across a range of health and social care professions at local, national and international levels.

Please find listed below the various course options available to you. If you are not sure which level, type of course is right for you, please consult our guidance pages.

1. Post-Qualification Undergraduate courses (Bachelors degrees, Graduate Diplomas - Level H) - A range of complete courses that are designed to allow you to top-up your existing qualifications, branch into new areas of practice or just to allow you to focus on your own professional/practice development.
2. Postgraduate courses (Masters qualifications - Level M) - Letting you take your experience and existing qualifications to the next level, helping you to further your practice and professional development.
3. Individual Units of Study (Levels H and M available) - If you feel that a complete course isn't right for you, you have the option of studying in more manageable 'bite-sized' chunks. You can chose to study an individual unit that will allow you to focus and develop your skills in a specific area of practice, whilst gaining academic credits for the work you have done.
4. Build your Own Qualification - Our individual units of study also offer you the chance to combine the academic credit you will have gained and use this towards a named academic award, an alternative and more flexible route to gain a Bachelors or Masters degree.
5. Research at BU (MPhils/PhDs and Professional Doctorates) - Within the School of Health & Social Care we have six research centres, and our academic staff are active in research, education and practice development. As a result of this research activity we are well equipped to support research students; a hallmark of our success.

School of Health & Social Care, Bournemouth University

askBU Enquiries Team
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Phone: 08456 501501 or + 44 (0) 1202 961916 (UK and International/EU alternative number
Website: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/hsc/profdevel
Email: askBUenquiries@bournemouth.ac.uk