How long is the BSc in Public Health?

Three years full-time on-campus. The BSc in Public Health offers part-time online and distance routes that extend study to four years for working applicants.

Can the BSc in Public Health be studied online?

Yes. The BSc in Public Health is delivered on-campus in London, online with live seminars and required fieldwork blocks, or via distance learning.

Is the BSc in Public Health recognised by UK employers?

The BSc in Public Health is aligned with Royal Society for Public Health practitioner standards used by UK local authorities and NHS prevention teams.

What are the entry requirements for the BSc in Public Health?

Three A-levels at BBC or equivalent, GCSE English and Maths at grade 5, and IELTS 6.5 for non-native English speakers applying to the BSc in Public Health.

How much does the BSc in Public Health cost?

Fees for the BSc in Public Health vary by route and domicile. Means-tested bursaries and instalments are offered — contact LSCT admissions for the current schedule.

BSc in Public Health — UK Honours Degree (Online) | LSCT | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BSc in Public Health sits within LSCT's Health & Social Care department and is a three-year UK honours degree designed for students preparing for local-authority public-health teams, NHS prevention roles or charity-led population work. Taught from central London, the BSc offers on-campus, online and distance routes, with structured fieldwork and a community-based project across years two and three.

You will move from public-health foundations into epidemiology, behavioural science, health-inequalities research and the structures of UK public-health practice — Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), local-authority directors of public health, integrated-care boards and the UK Health Security Agency. The degree closes with a community-based capstone project and is aligned with Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and HCPC public-health competencies.

Health and care work depends on supervised, ethical practice, and the programme is structured so that observation visits and reflective practice carry equal weight with classroom teaching. The cohort schedule respects shift work, and tutors are available outside conventional working hours where clinical and operational rotas demand it.

Across the three years, students take a structured progression from foundational modules into electives and a final-year capstone or dissertation, with year-two industry placement built into the calendar. The course design balances academic rigour with applied practice, and students leave with both a UK honours degree and a portfolio of working-context evidence for employer applications.

Key Features

UK system focus — OHID, UKHSA, ICBs and local-authority public-health teams.
Aligned with the Royal Society for Public Health practitioner standards.
Epidemiology and statistics taught with R and basic STATA for live UK datasets.
Year-two placement with a UK local authority or NHS public-health team.
Three study modes with mandatory fieldwork blocks for online and distance learners.
Final-year community project on a London or UK regional health-inequalities issue.

What You Will Learn

You will graduate able to read an OHID indicator pack without flinching, design a small evaluation study, and brief a local-authority cabinet member on a public-health priority. The BSc in Public Health is structured around ten taught modules and a community-based capstone project.

Epidemiology fundamentals — study design, bias, confounding and basic inference.
Health inequalities — Marmot Review, deprivation and place-based UK evidence.
Behavioural science for public health — COM-B, Behaviour Change Wheel and UK trials.
Health protection — communicable disease, screening, vaccination, environmental health.
UK public-health structures — OHID, UKHSA, ICBs, local-authority teams.
Quantitative methods — R, basic regression and surveillance data interpretation.
Qualitative methods — interviews, focus groups and ethics in sensitive community work.
Health policy and economics — NICE guidance, prevention investment and ICB priorities.

Assessment is structured around the documents and decisions students will actually make in UK health and care practice: care plans, safeguarding referrals, quality-improvement project reports, evaluation summaries and reflective practice journals. Faculty include working NHS, local-authority and care-sector practitioners, and feedback is delivered to UK statutory expectations.

Who This Course Is For

A-level leavers aiming for UK local-authority public-health graduate routes or NHS prevention work.
International students seeking a UK-recognised public-health degree.
Care, NHS or charity staff in their twenties wanting structured population-health training.
Career changers in their thirties moving into public health from teaching, social work or environmental health.

Career Pathways

UK public-health practice has expanded across local authorities since 2013 and the NHS prevention agenda has only grown. Typical first roles after the BSc in Public Health include:

Public Health Officer with a UK local-authority public-health team
Health Improvement Practitioner inside an NHS prevention programme
Community Health Worker on a place-based partnership
Healthcare Administrator with public-health responsibilities
Patient Services Coordinator on a screening or vaccination programme
Healthcare Assistant or Senior Care Worker progressing into prevention roles

Graduates progress into MSc-level study (public health, epidemiology, health economics) or onto the UK Public Health Training Programme.

The LSCT alumni network across UK NHS trusts, local authorities and CQC-registered providers supports mentoring and first-job introductions, and graduates regularly return as practice educators for the next cohort. The school's working relationships with UK professional bodies, ICBs and the third-sector health community feed into placement conversations and continuing professional development.

Entry Requirements

Three A-levels at grades BBC or above (including a relevant science where possible), or an equivalent UK / international qualification.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C and Mathematics at grade 5/C for the BSc in Public Health.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A personal statement; mature applicants (21+) may apply with NHS or community-sector experience and a short interview. Lab and data coursework experience strengthens an application.

Why Study at LSCT

The London School of Commerce and Technology (LSCT) is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. We teach in small cohorts so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule that students can rely on, and partner with UK professional bodies so qualifications carry weight with employers. London puts Whitehall, the City, Silicon Roundabout, the Royal Courts of Justice, the West End and the NHS estate within a short tube ride of every classroom — and our students use that proximity in their projects, placements and graduate job hunts. For public-health students, that means observation visits to London borough public-health teams and UKHSA-affiliated events.

The Health & Social Care department runs a structured guest-speaker programme each term with working NHS trust leaders, ICB managers, local-authority directors of public health and third-sector practitioners. Students on all three study modes are invited, and sessions are recorded for catch-up review.

Apply for BSc in Public Health

The BSc in Public Health is built to launch your career in the Health & Social Care sector. Click Enrol Now to submit your application; admissions reply within one working day. Mention any community-health or research interest in your statement so we can pair you with a relevant placement.

If you are unsure whether the programme can fit around your NHS shifts or care-rota commitments, the LSCT admissions team can arrange a short conversation with a current tutor — observation visits and placement attendance are scheduled in advance, and we work with students to align study with operational reality.