Congratulations on obtaining your place to study at Canterbury Christ Church University. Your course is part of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care and will also link with the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Social Sciences. Your degree will develop your skills and your graduate employability in crucial roles supporting the health and wellbeing of people in populations, focusing on the prevention of ill-health and how this be communicated using digital technologies. Our lecturers have a wide range of expertise and experience which we are keen to share with you. Our teams are approachable and provide an inclusive and supportive learning environment that nurtures your passions and interests. Whilst you are here you will become part of a thriving group of students and will have opportunities outside of the curriculum to become involved in university life. We are looking forward to meeting you, getting to know you and supporting you on your academic journey.

Murray Allen
Course Director

Key dates

Academic Calendar: Semesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.  

Welcome and Induction

Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to your course and student life at CCCU, helping you to feel confident and prepared for your studies right from the very start.

It is important to check your Welcome Schedule for all the activities you are required to attend during the week.

If any of your welcome activities are in groups, your course team will contact you before your arrival to let you know which group you will be in.

Your teaching timetable 

UniTimetables provides an overview of all teaching activities on a course. Your individual timetable will be available via MyTimetable and is personalised to show you what modules and groups you are expected to attend.

Your individual student timetable can only be produced once you have engaged with online registration and created your computing account. It is essential you complete these tasks when invited, so that your course team can assign you to your teaching activities and publish your individual timetable.

Find out more about all aspects of timetabling for new students including user guides.

Welcome

You will be keen to get as organised as possible before starting your degree course. We think it is important at this stage to help you put into place support and strategies to enable you to flourish at university. We are proud to be an inclusive University that supports a diverse community of students. Please note that if you have a disability or would like to learn more about the support that we can offer to students, please visit the Disability and Mental Health website.

The team appreciates that this is a time of change for you. The prospect of university can be somewhat daunting as it is a big step up from your previous education. It might also be the first time you are leaving home. To assist with the transition, you will be assigned a personal academic tutor. Your personal tutor will be your first point of reference for any personal or general academic matters you might have throughout your time at the university. There will also be opportunities for you to access a peer mentor if you would like one.

This is a full-time, academic course of study. You will receive direct teaching and learning activities and, you are also expected to do independent study. Being fully engaged with all taught sessions is crucial for your success. To support you in this, there will be induction activities at the beginning of the academic year that will help to get you organised and settled in and these will continue throughout the year.

The University has a wealth of student services that can offer you information and guidance to help you prepare for being at university and making the most of your time whilst here.

Getting started

We hope you arrive at the University eager and ready to start on your new course having taken some time to rest and relax having worked hard to get into university.

It will help to watch television programmes related to health topics and read around news-related issues to understand the broader aspects of the importance of public health in day-to-day life. You might also like to look at the Royal Society for Public Health and the World Health Organization. In addition, how digital health technologies are working in partnership with WHO: WHO Digital Health.

We would encourage you to review the course structure and module options via your course page before you arrive.

Welcome and Induction

Please ensure you view and engage with the Welcome Schedule.

Visit us in the Health Hub to get your questions answered and have a soft drink and biscuit on us!

In addition to your course welcome activities, you can also join us at our Health Hub, timings below, where we can help you with any questions you may have or direct you to the most appropriate service.

You are now on your own exciting journey, but you are also part of our community where we support each other to grow and flourish at university and beyond. Drop in and stay connected, meet new friends and your peers. Meet and chat to our placements team, academic course administration team and existing students.

Drop in on the 2nd floor of the Verena Holmes building in VH 2.60 during any of the times below:

  • Monday 16 September, 12:30pm to 5pm
  • Tuesday 17 September, 9am to 5pm
  • Wednesday 18 September, 9am to 5pm

Follow us on our CCCU_Health Instagram account to keep up to date with what is happening for students.

Pre-course reading

A full reading list, including recommended textbooks will be available when you start your course. You may want to look at a core textbook that will underpin your learning throughout the course co-authored by the Public Health team:

Robinson, S. (2021) Priorities for Health Promotion and Public Health: Explaining the Evidence for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Oxon: Routledge.

For additional resources please follow the links to the Library and the University Bookshop.

International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.

Contact details

CourseSupport-health@canterbury.ac.uk