Three students sitting and conversing in the City Campus courtyard, with two more students in the background near the Millennium City Building entrance

School of Health and Society

Our School of Health and Society houses a number of courses including Social Work, Social Care, Public Health, and Health & Wellbeing. 

Our Courses

Introduction to Health and Society

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The School of School of Health and Society, located in the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing is a professional home for a team of committed, supportive, research-informed teaching and research staff who share their ambitions in the discovery and dissemination of health knowledge, and enhancement of health and well-being.

Combining teaching, research, and knowledge exchange are at the core of all educational philosophy, and we are proud to produce graduates who are ready to face the evolving and demanding environment of the contemporary world. With a dynamic and multi-faceted approach, our teaching focuses on various perspectives on the health and well-being of individuals and populations. The mission of our school is to contribute to the knowledge of public health studies and to train highly competent health professionals who are all well prepared in their disciplines and furthermore well-rounded global citizens.

Our School hosts the Department of Health Studies, the Department of Public Health, and Research Group of Population Health investigating different dimensions of health and well-being of individuals, communities and populations. Our students study foundation degrees and undergraduate courses in Public Health, Health Studies, Health and Well-being, Health and Social Care; and also prestigious postgraduate courses in Public Health or Health and Social Care. Our courses particularly invest in the quality of our graduates, and this is evidenced by many inspirational success stories of our alumni.

Through our commitment to innovation and critical thinking, as well as Interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues in the Faculty of Education, Health and Well-being, we aspire to transform the quality of life of individuals, enhance health and well-being, support disadvantaged communities, improve population health, and contribute to the UN sustainable development goals.

We are proud of your approach and achievement in learning and teaching, research, and knowledge exchange and welcome those who share our ambitions in the discovery and dissemination of health knowledge.

Our proactive and supportive team of academics, researchers, and public health professionals bring their experience and expertise to offer our students unique learning experiences. We are a diverse group of academics welcoming those of any ethnicity, culture, religion, or sexual orientation to join our community and contribute to Public Health Studies.

Our colleagues are members of many professional bodies – including Advance HE, the Royal Society of Public Health, the Royal Society of Medicine, International Epidemiology Association,  International Society for Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, the UK Public Health Register, the Association for Nutrition, the European Epidemiological Association, the Health & Care Professions Council, the British Psychological Society, the Indian Association for Preventive and Social Medicine, the World Public Health Nutrition Association, the Society for Education and Training, the Institute of Health Promotion and Education, the Institute for Food Science and Technology, the Dental Council of India and the Nutrition Society.

Our School is made of two Departments and a Research Group on Population Health, including multidisciplinary health researchers.

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The study of our Public Health Studies courses at the University of Wolverhampton offers many exciting opportunities to develop students’ knowledge, skills and experiences to enter into a range of careers relating to health.

With a long history of offering courses in public health, health studies and health and social care, we have a large network of alumni, many of whom occupy senior positions in health-related roles across the globe. These connections, networks and links assist us in ensuring our courses meet the needs of potential employers but also provide students with a network of contacts for work experience and placements and can assist in their search for employment.

We have great relationships with our local Public Health and Social Care Directors and their teams, as well as Local Authority staff and voluntary and community sector organizations.

We have also built good relationships with the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) and are one of only two higher education institutions to have secured a formal partnership with them - we also offer our students the opportunity to receive complimentary student membership of the RSPH.

To enhance the employability of our students our courses are also aligned to many frameworks and competencies; such as Public Health Professional Practice Framework, Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework, UKPHR Practitioner Registration Competencies, IUHPE Health Promotion Competencies and ASPHER's European Public Health Core Competencies.

We are very proud of providing international opportunities as we have a long and well-respected history of providing public health, health studies and health & social care programmes to our overseas and international students. For example, our Master of Public Health (MPH) is one of the longest-running MPH courses in the UK and is an internationally recognised programme that is respected across the globe.

International students who have studied this and other programmes in the public health subject area have contributed to the development & enhancement of public health practice and policy, both in the UK and internationally, benefiting from our focus on the wider social determinants of health & wellbeing and those that focus on the socio-ecological model of health.

Students are also encouraged to engage in our International Conference on Global Public Health that is held in Wolverhampton, and the many other international opportunities available across the University.

Our SPHS research includes (1) epidemiological studies, (2) bio-psycho-social sciences, (3) health care, and (4) public health nutrition, while we have expertise in the evaluation or intervention of public health.

We focus on the impact of sociodemographic factors, lifestyles, environmental exposure, dietary intake and behaviours, exercise and physical activity on people's health, and examine health inequalities in the communities to improve public health. We are particularly interested in the global majority population and health inequalities.

Our research has been funded by prestigious grants including European Commission. With funding support from the BUPA Foundation and Alzheimer’s Research Trust, UK, we have identified high levels of under-detection of dementia in older Chinese, and low socioeconomic status could be one of the influencing factors.

We investigate determinants for low awareness of cognitive impairment and poor brain health in older people and develop strategies to improve the detection of dementia in the community. We analyse nutrients and their impact on health in young people. We have investigated mental health in adolescents, including suicidal behaviours through analysing the big data of the Global School-based Health Survey. 

We have built up wide collations in research locally, nationally and internationally. Our SPHS research has produced significant evidence of disease prevention and improving well-being in the population.

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