Health and Social Care (FdSc)
Fd(Sc)
Key facts
UCAS code
New College Swindon University Centre: L514
Start dates
September 2025 / September 2026
Location
Course length
Full time: 2 years
This course is not available to students classed as International for fees purposes.
Overview
This highly flexible foundation degree allows staff working in health and social care settings to gain new knowledge and skills. It is taught at our Oxford Brookes partner college:
The course is primarily aimed at care workers who are taking on new roles, for example as assistant practitioners, associate practitioners or team leaders. It is also suitable for staff who have already achieved a level of responsibility but who want to consolidate that, with evidence of new knowledge and skills to enhance their practice. It is open to all who are interested in exploring new aspects of health and social care and who are in employment in a relevant place of work.
To find out more about what it is like to study at an Oxford Brookes partner college, visit our partnership course pages.
Note: this foundation degree does not award a registration in health and social care.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees
Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.
Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page
Financial support and scholarships
Additional costs
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.
How to apply
Further offer details
You should normally be in employment, as you must be able to continue working in an appropriate health or social care setting while undertaking the work-based learning component. However, there may also be a number of places available to applicants who are not currently in employment.
Each application will be considered on an individual basis following the University's principle of widening access to those who might not have the traditional academic entry criteria to degree level awards.
Normally the entry requirements are:
- The equivalent of 3 GCSE passes at Grade C (or Grade 4) or above
- An equivalent academic or vocationally related qualification, such as NVQ3 in health and social care, providing evidence of ability to study at academic Level 4
- Evidence of support from your employer.
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
Applicants are required to be undertaking a minimum of 16 hours per week in a paid or voluntary capacity, in an appropriate setting. You will be required to evidence that your line manager is willing to support your training needs.
Applicants will also need to evidence Occupational Health Clearance and a satisfactory DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
Screening
All applicants will be screened for fitness to practise and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be made.
English language requirements
If your first language is not English, you must also demonstrate that your level of English is acceptable, by achieving a score in a recognised test such as British Council IELTS: normally minimum level 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in the reading and writing components.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
International applications
New College Swindon cannot accept international applicants at this time.
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Many of our courses consider applications for entry with credit for prior learning. Each application is individually assessed by our credit entry tutors.
If you would like more information about whether or not you may be eligible for the award of credit, for example from an HND, partly-completed degree or foundation degree, please contact our Admissions team.
We operate the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Application process
Full time Home (UK) applicants
Apply through UCASLearn more about this course
Information from Discover Uni
Full-time study
Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been
published on the website. For more information, please visit our
changes to programmes page.