BSc (Hons) Public Health

Public health covers three key areas:

• Health improvement: this includes work to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities by promoting health lifestyle changes. This can include helping people to quit smoking or improve their living conditions; promoting healthy eating, or tackling underlying issues such as poverty and reduced access to healthcare.
• Health protection: this area can cover the safety and quality of the environment, food and water, preventing the spread of communicable disease and managing outbreaks – such as pandemic flu – and addressing the health effects of climate change.
• Healthcare: public health professionals help to make sure that health and care services are fit-for-purpose and accessible to all sectors of the population.

By studying BSc (Hons) Public Health at ARU, you’ll gain practical skills and the confidence to work collaboratively in groups.

As a student here, you’ll take part in simulated scenarios and community-based research, as well as creating reports, presentations and demonstrations to present to panels and judges.

You’ll gain the research and analytical skills to interpret data. When you graduate you’ll be equipped to use evidence to help plan and implement health solutions for individuals and communities and to develop effective health policies. You’ll also be aware of important issues like health inequalities and social justice, be familiar with health needs assessment and data analysis tools, and have developed effective communication skills.

We’ve worked with public health stakeholders, including Public Health England, the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) and Health Education England to create our course, and our teaching staff are part of international networks which inform everything we do.

Throughout the UK practitioners work to protect and improve health and wellbeing. The UKPHR operate a register of Public Health Practitioners to ensure that workers meet and maintain a high standard of competency within the Public Health profession. Our degree in Public Health aligns with these UKPHR practitioner competencies ensuring that through a combination of employment focussed content, work placements and lectures, our programme will help you prepare for UKPHR registration.

From developing technologies and health trends to your social media presence and campaigning, we monitor the public health landscape and change with it, so your degree is always relevant.

As a Public Health student, you’ll constantly consider your career; engaging with public health occupational frameworks and demonstrating a range of UKPHR standards. This will be supported by a work placement and the portfolio that you’ll create from day one – and take you right through to interviews and registration.

In the National Student Survey 2022 our students noted that they value the learning opportunities at ARU.

What career path can I follow graduating from an undergraduate degree in public health?

See our Careers section for career paths opened by a BSc in Public Health.

What degree is best for public health?

Our Public Health degree was created with Public Health England, the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) and Health Education England. It aligns with UKPHR practitioner competencies to prepare you for UKPHR registration and employment with public health bodies.

Public Health roles are varied, and some roles such as environmental health practitioner or nutritionist will require other specialist training.

What is the qualification for public health?

At ARU you can study for a BSc in Public Health, which will equip you for a wide range of careers. You can also use it as a basis for specialist further study, for example our Masters degrees in MPH Global Public Health or MSc Public Health and Community Wellbeing.

How many years is a Public Health university degree?

Our BSc in Public Health is a three year full-time course.

You have the option to take this course as a four-year degree with foundation year. If you choose to learn in Chelmsford, you'll study with our partner, ARU College, in either Cambridge or Chelmsford for Year 1, then Chelmsford for years 2-4. If you choose to study in Peterborough, you'll stay there for all four years of your course.

Our postgraduate degrees in Public Heath take either one or two years.

What do you do in a Public Health degree?

You’ll learn the types of factors that can impact individual health, how the human body works, how behaviours and policies can affect health and how these can be brought about, about epidemiology, assessment and analysis, disease patterns and control measures, communications for health campaigns, healthcare systems and funding, as well as other skills useful for the workplace.