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Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degree

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    Overview

    This programme is not available to international students. Instead, international students should apply for our international foundation programmes delivered by our International Study Centre on campus. For more information please visit International Study Centre.

    Are you looking for an exciting career in health or social care?

    Through this pathway you’ll be studying Year 0 (Foundation Year) of the Health and Social Care with Foundation Year BSc(Hons) course (a 4-year course).

    On successful completion of this year you could apply for Year 1 of a range of health professional courses. Alternatively, on successful completion of Health and Social Care with Foundation Year BSc(Hons) you’ll have the opportunity to progress to careers in diverse areas, including youth work, housing, domestic violence, social prescribing, and drug and alcohol support.

    Our Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) degree provides the opportunity for you to start your university journey and be part of a vibrant and diverse student community. You’ll have the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge and support required to progress towards your chosen profession. In this year of study, you’ll complete five modules in the following:

    • Preparing for Study: Foundations for Academic Success
    • Preparing for Study: Research Project
    • Working with People
    • The Context of Health and Social Care
    • Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology

    On successful completion of this year you can continue to study on the Health and Social Care BSc(Hons) or you could apply for Year 1 of one of the following courses:

    • Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy BSc(Hons)*
    • Diagnostic Radiography BSc(Hons)*
    • Midwifery Studies BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Adult) BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Blended Learning) Adult BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Blended Learning) Child BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Blended Learning) Learning Disability BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Blended Learning) Mental Health BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Child) BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Learning Disability) BSc(Hons)*
    • Nursing (Mental Health) BSc(Hons)*
    • Occupational Therapy BSc(Hons)*
    • Operating Department Practice BSc(Hons)*
    • Paramedic Science BSc(Hons)*
    • Physiotherapy BSc(Hons)*
    • Physical Education and Youth Sport Coaching BSc(Hons)***
    • Podiatry BSc(Hons)*
    • Speech and Language Therapy BSc(Hons)*
    • Sport and Exercise Science BSc(Hons)**
    • Sport, Exercise and Nutrition BSc(Hons)**

    *Eligibility to apply for Year 1 of the courses listed above is normally dependent on achieving an overall pass mark of at least 65 per cent. You'll also be expected to meet any GCSE/level 2 entry requirements of the degree course at the point of applying to join year 1 of the degree course. Any offer is subject to successful interview, references, satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and occupational health clearances.

    **Eligibility to apply for Year 1 of these courses is dependent on achieving an overall pass mark of at least 50 per cent. You'll also be expected to meet any GCSE/level 2 entry requirements of the degree course at the point of applying to join year 1 of the degree course.

    ***Progression into Year 1 of Physical Education and Youth Sport Coaching BSc(Hons) is dependent on achieving an overall pass mark of at least 50 per cent and obtain a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance prior to commencing year 1 of the degree course.

    Why study Health Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degree

    During this Health Foundation Pathway, you’ll have the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge, and receive the support required for academic success in higher education. This will help you gain the skills to work with people in a variety of settings, as well as foundation knowledge of health-related anatomy and physiology.

    You’ll have the opportunity to progress to careers in diverse areas, including youth work, housing, domestic violence, social prescribing, and drug and alcohol support. You'll be taught and supported throughout your degree by a supportive and experienced teaching team, who have worked in a range of health professional roles.

    Also, our Public Partnership Group (PPG) will support your development as a compassionate, person-centred professional. You’ll engage with service users and carers through lectures, discussions, and simulations. Their lived experiences will help to build your communication skills, empathy, and the critical thinking needed to deliver outstanding care across diverse communities.

    The University’s new Daphne Steele Building on the site of the National Health Innovation Campus will allow many of our students to benefit from specialist teaching facilities and world-leading research facilities.

    Entry requirements

    DDE at A Level .

    64 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

    Pass in T Level with D or E grade on core.

    MPP in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

    • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits, 15 at Merit, 30 at Pass.
    • 64 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.
    • NCFE CACHE Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma/Level 3 Extended Diploma at grade D.

    You do not require GCSE/Level 2 qualifications to join this course, however there might be GCSE/level 2 entry requirements for degree courses that you can apply for following completion of this course. Further information about entry requirements for specific degree courses is available from the University website.

    If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements pages. If you have alternative qualifications or do not meet the IELTS requirement we also offer a range of Pre-Sessional English Programmes.

    For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

    Course Detail

    Preparing for Study - Foundations for Academic Success

    This module provides the opportunity for you to develop the academic skills required to progress in higher education and successfully complete your academic studies. This will include a variety of transferable skills as well as life-long learning skills. You’ll learn about essay writing, referencing, numerical representations of data required for university study, and the how to use Summon in searching for scholarly material. You'll also learn how to evaluate sources of information and be introduced to personal development planning (PDP).

    Preparing for Study - Research Project

    This module provides you the opportunity to apply the skills required in higher education study. This will include finding suitable sources, using the University's search engine summon, and presenting your studies in an academic format. You'll learn how to plan and undertake a project whilst developing skills in the effective engagement with academic literature. You'll also be encouraged to evaluate your own academic skills and participate in peer review and feedback processes.

    The Context of Health and Social Care

    In this module you'll explore the contexts of health and social care services for physical and mental health, and wellbeing. You'll consider what shapes provision, as well as what impacts on the variations in health and wellbeing outcomes for different groups in society. You'll also learn about key issues such as social and welfare policies, austerity, and social inequalities.

    Working with People

    This module will explore the importance of effective communication in public services, along with providing insights into the differing individual preferences and needs of patients, clients, service-users and carers. You'll also have the opportunity to develop the basic knowledge, understanding, values and skills to support communication and personalisation when working with people.

    Plus one of the following option modules:

    Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology

    This module will help you develop your knowledge of the cells, tissues and organ systems within the human body, exploring their structure, function and associated medical terminology. You'll have the opportunity to develop your understanding of chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology and how these affect the function of the human body. You'll also explore how this knowledge can be applied to clinical scenarios. This module aims to help prepare you for further studies in courses related to the health professions.

    Introduction to Studying People and Society

    This module will introduce you to key issues relating to the study of society, social structures and systems, and also people as individuals. You'll explore important and topical issues relating to the psychology of human behaviour, how our society is organised and constructed, and how people experience social life. This will include consideration of crime and criminal justice, social structures, inequalities and social difference. This module aims to help prepare you for further study in core areas such as criminal justice and policing, criminology, psychology and sociology.

    This course has modules making up 480 credits over the 4 Years, with each credit being 10 hours of study (4800 hours in total). An average of approximately* 12% (807 hours) of the study time on this course is spent with your tutor’s face to face or online in tutorials, seminars, group work and lectures. The remainder of the time will be spent on independent study. Assessments takes place through a variety of coursework, presentations, practice-based learning and classroom-based tests.

    Subject to mode of study. *Based on current core modules.

    Calculated using data from the academic year 2024/25, as of November 2024.

    Teaching

    The teaching year for most courses normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Teaching on other courses including professional courses, postgraduate taught, research, distance learning and apprenticeship may have other start dates including January and May. All start dates can be found on each course page and term dates are also available. Students on a full-time course may have to attend every day of the week. Students who choose to study a full-time course on a part-time basis will generally attend modules at the same time as our full-time students. Timetables are normally available one month before registration.

    Our courses are taught at our University campus and you can expect that your lectures and seminars will be held face to face, except in cases of emergency or if specifically stated otherwise in the module description.

    Feedback

    Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

    Progression

    You may progress to the next stage of your course or research degree, subject to meeting University assessment criteria and professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines.

    1. The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.

    2. Our teaching staff rank first in England for the proportion with higher degrees and teaching qualifications, as well as being top five for those holding doctorates (HESA 2025). So you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

    3. We are second in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 24 since 2008 (2025 data).

    4. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

    Visit ‘Our experts’ page where you’ll find in-depth profiles of all our academic staff

    At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.

    Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.

    *full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.

    Daphne Steele Facilities Tour

    Discover how we’re shaping the future of healthcare education. Join student Ruth as she takes you on a tour of the University’s state-of-the-art Daphne Steele Building, part of our Health Innovation Campus. Explore cutting-edge learning spaces, including immersive simulation rooms, clinical labs, and real-world training environments like the Simbulance, Acute Ward and Podiatry Clinic. Designed to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals, this facility offers hands-on experiences across a range of healthcare disciplines.

    University campus
    Library
    Inside the University's extensive library.
    Student Central Building

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    Research Excellence

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    Important information

    When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

    Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:

    Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

    If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and if you are unhappy with the change we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

    Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

    Changes to option modules

    Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

    Major changes

    We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.

    Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.

    In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.