You will of course be keen to get as organised as possible before starting on the Public Health & Health Promotion degree course. The most important thing at this stage is to ensure you have support and strategies in place to enable you to prepare university and you understand the commitment and flexibility required to do this successfully. This is a full-time, academic course of study. You will receive 12 hours of direct taught (teaching and learning) activities per week and for every hour of such activities, you should expect to do 3 hours’ independent study as guided by your lecturers. It is expected that you will fully engage with all taught sessions. We recognise that this can be difficult with the range of commitments that you will no doubt already have.
The Public Health 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.
From the first week, you will have induction activities, it is important that you join in as they will help you to organise your time and plan your studies. The key to enjoying and getting the most from university and the course is to be fully engaged, participating with what is on offer right from the start. We are dedicated to helping you to reach your educational aspirations. But don’t forget to enjoy the moment and celebrate your achievement in becoming a university student.
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The most important thing at this stage is to ensure you have support and strategies in place to enable you to prepare for university. We are happy to answer any questions you have. You also might like to give thought to how you will manage your time, balance your other life demands (e.g., work, childcare, social activities) and plan your finances effectively to get the most out of your studies. There are several Student Services that can offer advice, support, and help you to prepare for starting with us in September:
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.
Welcome and induction
Click here to view this course’s Welcome Schedule in UniTimetables. For help with using UniTimetables, please see our user guide.
And don’t forget to attend our other welcome events including your Freshers’ Fayre – see here for full details.
The public health team have produced a text book that will support you with some of the subjects that you will learn in the first year of this degree. The book is edited by Sally Robinson and is called Priorities for Health Promotion and Public Health: Explaining the Evidence for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The publisher is Routledge, ISBN 9780367423414. You may wish to buy this book from your usual book seller, or the university bookshop. Please follow the links to the Library and the University Bookshop. You can also borrow a digital copy from the university library. A full reading list, including recommended textbooks will be available when you start your course.
In addition to reading textbooks, we recommend that you also regularly read about topics relating to health and wellbeing in newspapers and online to gain insights into the current issues, and challenges facing the public’s health. You might like to look at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and UK Health Security Agency websites to learn about government policies and priorities in relation to the public’s health and wellbeing or have a look at reputable organisations such as the Royal Society for Public Health and the World Health Organization.
A full reading list, including recommended textbooks will be available when you start your course. Please follow the links to the Library and the University Bookshop.
