The BSc (Hons) Health, Social Care and Wellbeing course aims to prepare students for employment within the health, social care and/or wellbeing sectors. Drawing from a variety of disciplines and multidisciplinary perspectives, the programme offers students an evidence-based approach to knowledge and insight into health, social care and wellbeing across different organisational perspectives (public, private and not-for-profit).

Course overview

Students can expect to graduate from this course with broad in-depth knowledge, understanding, critical skills and competences in the areas of health, social care and wellbeing. The BSc (Hons) Health, Social Care and Wellbeing provides up-to-date coverage of key areas, topics, theories, concepts and applications for individuals, families, communities and society. Additionally, this course of study provides students with the competencies and skills to examine, evaluate and synthesise evidence-based research in areas related to health, social care and wellbeing. Students will also have the opportunity to undertake a significant final year project/dissertation examining a topic of their choice through a literature review, empirical study collecting data (where appropriate), analysing findings and drawing conclusions.

The first year of the full-time programme provides foundations in health and social care, through research and evidence in health and social care, communication and ethics in health, culture and society in health, and biological, psychological and social determinants of health.

The second year builds on these important foundations providing studies in equality and social justice, safeguarding for children and adults, policies and practices in health and social care, health and social care for healthy ageing, mental health and well-being across the life course and applied research in practice in the health and social care sectors.

The third year provides studies in the evaluation and management of quality in health and social care, social justice, equality and vulnerability, challenging evidence in health and social care, and leadership and management in health and social care. Students will also undertake a major empirical-based project or dissertation involving a critical review of published research in an area of health, social care and/or wellbeing of their choosing.

Intakes	February, May, October
Duration	Three years full time
Mode of Delivery	Face-to-face
Awarding Institution	GBS HE Malta
Awarded Qualification	Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Health, Social Care and Wellbeing
Level	MQF Level 6
MQRIC Accredited Status	Accredited
Locations	Malta
Fees	€6,000 per year
Accreditation Category	Higher Education Programme
Language of Instruction	English

MFHEA Approved and Accredited

The Master of Public Health with four pathways are assessed and accredited by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) and aligned with the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF).

This undergraduate programme will be delivered over three years. Each year will consist of three 10-week terms with two modules delivered each term, except in Year 3 when the final year project dissertation will be delivered over the last two terms.

Year 1

Term	Module (MQF Level 5)
Term 1	Introduction to Health and Social Care Introduction to Using Research and Evidence in Health and Social Care.
Term 2	Communication, Ethics and Professionalism in Health and Social Care. Culture and Society in Health.
Term 3	Biological, Psychological and Social Determinants of Health across the Life Span. Care, Compassion and Wellbeing in Health and Social Care.

Year 2

Term	Module (MQF Level )
Term 1	Equality and Social Justice in Health and Social Care. Health and Social Care for Healthy Ageing in Elderly Adults.
Term 2	Safeguarding Children and Adults in Health and Social Care. Health and Social Care: Policies and Practice.
Term 3	Evaluating Research in Health and Social Care. Mental Health and Mental Health

Year 3

Term	Module (MQF Level 6)
Term 1	Evaluating and Managing Quality in Health and Social Care. Social Justice, Equality and Vulnerability in Health and Social Care.
Term 2	Challenging Evidence in Health and Social Care. Final Year Project/Dissertation in Health, Social Care and Wellbeing
Term 3	Challenging Evidence in Health and Social Care. Final Year Project/Dissertation in Health, Social Care and Wellbeing

Contact teaching

Contact teaching will involve lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, small group working, guest external speakers. GBS Malta will provide guided structured learning with learning tasks through its virtual learning environment (Moodle). Each of these activities is designed to provide students with a rich, varied and motivating educational experience.

Contact hours and modules

Each of the six 10 ECTS modules consists of 250 hours of total learning hours, of which there will be 50 contact hours. Over a 10-week term, students will be take two 10 ECTS modules resulting in 100 hours of teaching, which translates into 10 hours contact teaching a week – five hours per module. For example, full-time students may have contact teaching scheduled over two days consisting of five hours per day in two 2.5 hour sessions.

The 20 ECTS final year project/dissertation will be delivered over the final two terms of year three of the full-time programme. This will consist of 100 hours of contact teaching, 50 hours each term. The contact teaching hours will primarily consist of weekly supervision sessions in conjunction with some lectures and small group discussions.

The total contact hours for each module over the three years (nine terms) will be 900 hours. The 10 ECTS taught modules (16 modules in total) each satisfy the 20% requirement (50 hours for each ECTS), where the final year project/dissertation requires more independent and guided self-study on the part of students.

Assessments for this MPH will be through a range of different types of coursework. Across the modules of this programme the range of coursework assessment will include: structured essays, critical evaluation, case studies, quantitative and qualitative analysis, literature reviews, individual reflective learning logs, portfolios, group presentations, critical reflection of group/team work, posters, project proposals and project reports.

Assessment Methods

Formative and summative assessment approaches will be employed. Formative assessment tasks will be used in all modules and will support students to understand and prepare for module summative assessment requirements. As a result, students with different learning styles and abilities will be able to gain a better understanding of the summative assessment requirements and on their journey to submitting their summative assessments. Where appropriate, some form of peer assessment will be used to facilitate collaborative learning – this will be best achieved through formative assessment process.

Assignment briefs will be produced for each of the summative assessments required by each of the modules on this MPH programme. Assignment briefs will set out the learning outcomes being assessed, appropriate material and context for the assignment. Suggested reading will include book chapters, published articles and published research, weblinks to companies, and case studies, as appropriate, from the assignment brief. Each assignment brief will include marking/grading criteria so that students have a clear understanding of what is required to pass the assessment and what is required to achieve higher grades. Grading of a student’s assessment will be made using the pass, merit, distinction and fail criteria common to MQF/EQF Level 7 programmes of study.

Feedback will be provided to each student on their assessed work identifying both areas of strength and areas that could be improved. Where a fail grade is awarded the student will receive detailed feedback on the reasons for awarding such a grade and the areas that would need to be addressed for improvement and to achieve a pass grade.

All summative assessed work will be first marked by the academic staff teaching the module. Moderation of participant work will take place on graded summative assessments. GBS HE Malta will also appoint an external examiner with expertise and experience of teaching and assessment on the MPH or similar programme. Assessment Boards will be held to review student assessment work, tutor module reports and feedback from external examiners. Grades will be released formally to students only after a Assessment Board meeting approves grades for summative module assessments.

Where a student has undertaken a consultancy or internship for the 30 ECTS project/dissertation module and does not pass, for example, due to problems with the consultancy or internship being cut short, the participant would be given a dissertation in the form of a critical literature review or similar that can be achieved in the time. Ideally, this should be in the same or a similar area to the consultancy or internship.

The table below shows the range and type of different assessments for each of the modules associated with the MPH. Care has been taken to provide a range of challenging and different types of assessments to develop and embed student competences, knowledge and skills for the programme overall and for each of the constituent modules. Assessment across the taught modules is based on a workload equivalent to written work of 4,000 words across assignments. Hence where there are two assessments for a module each with 50% weighting each are 2,000 words. Where there are posters and presentations among others these have been based on 1,000 word equivalences. Where there are practical data analyses, these have been based on the equivalent of a work load of 2,000 words.

For the project/dissertation the main report requirement is 10,000 words, 750 words for the research proposal and a poster equivalent to 1,000 words.

Programme	Module	Assessment 1
Core Module	Contemporary issues and ethics in public health	3,000 word case study of global issue and evaluation of intervention (50%)
Core Module	Health research and research methods	2,000 word evaluation of published article in public health (50%)
Core Module	Introduction to epidemiology	3,000 word case study of disease outbreak investigation or epidemiology study (75%)
Core Module	Quantitative research and statistics in health	1,500 word design for a quantitative research study together with how data will be analysed (40%)
Core Module	Public health project/dissertation	10,000 word dissertation/project report (75%)
Elective module	Public health for an aging population	2,000 word case study on intervention to promote healthy aging (50%)
Pathway or elective module	Health promotion and health improvement	2,000 word evaluation of published study on health promotion project (50%)
Pathway or elective module	Leadership and management in health	2,000 word case study of leadership and management in health (50%)
Pathway or elective module	Advanced epidemiology	2,000 word critical evaluation of epidemiology study (50%)
Elective module	Qualitative research methods in health	1,500 word design for a qualitative research study together with how data will be analysed (40%)

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired responsibility and autonomy to:

a) Apply analyses of complex health and social care issues from multiple perspectives.

b) Demonstrate and recognise ethical dilemmas in health and social care practice.

c) Appreciate different health and social care systems at local, national and international levels.

d) Evaluate different levels of health and social care interventions and their impact of health and social care policies on practice and outcomes for individuals.

Knowledge:

By the end of the module/unit, the learner will be able to:

a) Understand key concepts and terms related to health and social care.

b) Describe the structure and function of health and social care systems at local, national and international levels.

c) Identify the roles and responsibilities of different health and social care professionals.

d) Explain principles of person-centered care and its importance in promoting holistic wellbeing.

e) Identify and describe ethical issues and dilemmas commonly encountered in health and social care practice.

Module-specific learner skills

(Over and above those mentioned in Section B)

At the end of the module/unit the learner will possess the following cognitive skills related to health and social care:

a) A critical understanding of concepts of health, illness and wellbeing across the lifespan.

b) Know how to apply knowledge of different health care systems from public, private mixed models of health and social care delivery.

c) How to evaluate knowledge of health promotion and prevention to improve population health, strategies, health education and behaviour change.

d) A critical understanding of future challenges and opportunities in health and social care.

Module-specific digital skills and competencies

(Over and above those mentioned in Section B)

At the end of the module/unit, the learner will be able to:

a) Demonstrate information literacy skills.

b) Work collaboratively with peers on group tasks and discussions.

c) Practice self-reflection and self-directed learning.

d) Apply digital skills to make effective use of the internet to find learning resources and information related to health and social care.

To be offered a place to study on the BSc (Hons) Health, Social Care and Wellbeing programme, prospective students would normally need to meet the following admissions criteria:

(a) Possession of certificated qualification(s) at or equivalent to MFHEA MQF Level 4 with at least one qualification in health, social care and/or wellbeing or relevant other.

Prior learning recognition

Prospective students who have worked in some capacity in an area of health, social care and/or wellbeing and who do not possess formal certificate qualifications at or equivalent to MFHEA MQF Level 4 may have their experiential learning, where appropriate, assessed through GBS Malta’s MFHEA accredited Policy and Procedure for the Recognition of Prior Learning: Accreditation of Experiential Learning.

English language

To be offered a place on the BSc (Hons) Health, Social Care and Wellbeing course the English language requirement for prospective students whose first language is not English is a minimum IELTS score or equivalent of 5.5 overall with 5.0 in most components. The entry requirement for English standard at overall 5.5 will be reviewed periodically, and students will be asked how this level of English is sufficient to enroll in MQF Level 4 studies.
Prospective students who wish to improve their English proficiency may enroll in the English Path course offered by GBS Malta.

In general, prospective students who present with formal certificated qualifications in English but whose first language is not English would not be required to provide evidence of their proficiency in that language.

The following grading/marking system will be used for student assessed work using a scale from 0% to 100% as follows:

Grade	Percentage Mark (%)
First	70-100%
Upper Second	60-69%
Lower Second	50-59%
Third	40-49%
Marginal Fail	35-39%
Fail	34% and below

Curriculum

This undergraduate programme will be delivered over three years. Each year will consist of three 10-week terms with two modules delivered each term, except in Year 3 when the final year project dissertation will be delivered over the last two terms.

Year 1

Term	Module (MQF Level 5)
Term 1	Introduction to Health and Social Care Introduction to Using Research and Evidence in Health and Social Care.
Term 2	Communication, Ethics and Professionalism in Health and Social Care. Culture and Society in Health.
Term 3	Biological, Psychological and Social Determinants of Health across the Life Span. Care, Compassion and Wellbeing in Health and Social Care.

Year 2

Term	Module (MQF Level )
Term 1	Equality and Social Justice in Health and Social Care. Health and Social Care for Healthy Ageing in Elderly Adults.
Term 2	Safeguarding Children and Adults in Health and Social Care. Health and Social Care: Policies and Practice.
Term 3	Evaluating Research in Health and Social Care. Mental Health and Mental Health

Year 3

Term	Module (MQF Level 6)
Term 1	Evaluating and Managing Quality in Health and Social Care. Social Justice, Equality and Vulnerability in Health and Social Care.
Term 2	Challenging Evidence in Health and Social Care. Final Year Project/Dissertation in Health, Social Care and Wellbeing
Term 3	Challenging Evidence in Health and Social Care. Final Year Project/Dissertation in Health, Social Care and Wellbeing

Contact teaching

Contact teaching will involve lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, small group working, guest external speakers. GBS Malta will provide guided structured learning with learning tasks through its virtual learning environment (Moodle). Each of these activities is designed to provide students with a rich, varied and motivating educational experience.

Contact hours and modules

Each of the six 10 ECTS modules consists of 250 hours of total learning hours, of which there will be 50 contact hours. Over a 10-week term, students will be take two 10 ECTS modules resulting in 100 hours of teaching, which translates into 10 hours contact teaching a week – five hours per module. For example, full-time students may have contact teaching scheduled over two days consisting of five hours per day in two 2.5 hour sessions.

The 20 ECTS final year project/dissertation will be delivered over the final two terms of year three of the full-time programme. This will consist of 100 hours of contact teaching, 50 hours each term. The contact teaching hours will primarily consist of weekly supervision sessions in conjunction with some lectures and small group discussions.

The total contact hours for each module over the three years (nine terms) will be 900 hours. The 10 ECTS taught modules (16 modules in total) each satisfy the 20% requirement (50 hours for each ECTS), where the final year project/dissertation requires more independent and guided self-study on the part of students.

Assessment

Assessments for this MPH will be through a range of different types of coursework. Across the modules of this programme the range of coursework assessment will include: structured essays, critical evaluation, case studies, quantitative and qualitative analysis, literature reviews, individual reflective learning logs, portfolios, group presentations, critical reflection of group/team work, posters, project proposals and project reports.

Assessment Methods

Formative and summative assessment approaches will be employed. Formative assessment tasks will be used in all modules and will support students to understand and prepare for module summative assessment requirements. As a result, students with different learning styles and abilities will be able to gain a better understanding of the summative assessment requirements and on their journey to submitting their summative assessments. Where appropriate, some form of peer assessment will be used to facilitate collaborative learning – this will be best achieved through formative assessment process.

Assignment briefs will be produced for each of the summative assessments required by each of the modules on this MPH programme. Assignment briefs will set out the learning outcomes being assessed, appropriate material and context for the assignment. Suggested reading will include book chapters, published articles and published research, weblinks to companies, and case studies, as appropriate, from the assignment brief. Each assignment brief will include marking/grading criteria so that students have a clear understanding of what is required to pass the assessment and what is required to achieve higher grades. Grading of a student’s assessment will be made using the pass, merit, distinction and fail criteria common to MQF/EQF Level 7 programmes of study.

Feedback will be provided to each student on their assessed work identifying both areas of strength and areas that could be improved. Where a fail grade is awarded the student will receive detailed feedback on the reasons for awarding such a grade and the areas that would need to be addressed for improvement and to achieve a pass grade.

All summative assessed work will be first marked by the academic staff teaching the module. Moderation of participant work will take place on graded summative assessments. GBS HE Malta will also appoint an external examiner with expertise and experience of teaching and assessment on the MPH or similar programme. Assessment Boards will be held to review student assessment work, tutor module reports and feedback from external examiners. Grades will be released formally to students only after a Assessment Board meeting approves grades for summative module assessments.

Where a student has undertaken a consultancy or internship for the 30 ECTS project/dissertation module and does not pass, for example, due to problems with the consultancy or internship being cut short, the participant would be given a dissertation in the form of a critical literature review or similar that can be achieved in the time. Ideally, this should be in the same or a similar area to the consultancy or internship.

The table below shows the range and type of different assessments for each of the modules associated with the MPH. Care has been taken to provide a range of challenging and different types of assessments to develop and embed student competences, knowledge and skills for the programme overall and for each of the constituent modules. Assessment across the taught modules is based on a workload equivalent to written work of 4,000 words across assignments. Hence where there are two assessments for a module each with 50% weighting each are 2,000 words. Where there are posters and presentations among others these have been based on 1,000 word equivalences. Where there are practical data analyses, these have been based on the equivalent of a work load of 2,000 words.

For the project/dissertation the main report requirement is 10,000 words, 750 words for the research proposal and a poster equivalent to 1,000 words.

Programme	Module	Assessment 1
Core Module	Contemporary issues and ethics in public health	3,000 word case study of global issue and evaluation of intervention (50%)
Core Module	Health research and research methods	2,000 word evaluation of published article in public health (50%)
Core Module	Introduction to epidemiology	3,000 word case study of disease outbreak investigation or epidemiology study (75%)
Core Module	Quantitative research and statistics in health	1,500 word design for a quantitative research study together with how data will be analysed (40%)
Core Module	Public health project/dissertation	10,000 word dissertation/project report (75%)
Elective module	Public health for an aging population	2,000 word case study on intervention to promote healthy aging (50%)
Pathway or elective module	Health promotion and health improvement	2,000 word evaluation of published study on health promotion project (50%)
Pathway or elective module	Leadership and management in health	2,000 word case study of leadership and management in health (50%)
Pathway or elective module	Advanced epidemiology	2,000 word critical evaluation of epidemiology study (50%)
Elective module	Qualitative research methods in health	1,500 word design for a qualitative research study together with how data will be analysed (40%)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired responsibility and autonomy to:

a) Apply analyses of complex health and social care issues from multiple perspectives.

b) Demonstrate and recognise ethical dilemmas in health and social care practice.

c) Appreciate different health and social care systems at local, national and international levels.

d) Evaluate different levels of health and social care interventions and their impact of health and social care policies on practice and outcomes for individuals.

Knowledge:

By the end of the module/unit, the learner will be able to:

a) Understand key concepts and terms related to health and social care.

b) Describe the structure and function of health and social care systems at local, national and international levels.

c) Identify the roles and responsibilities of different health and social care professionals.

d) Explain principles of person-centered care and its importance in promoting holistic wellbeing.

e) Identify and describe ethical issues and dilemmas commonly encountered in health and social care practice.

Module-specific learner skills

(Over and above those mentioned in Section B)

At the end of the module/unit the learner will possess the following cognitive skills related to health and social care:

a) A critical understanding of concepts of health, illness and wellbeing across the lifespan.

b) Know how to apply knowledge of different health care systems from public, private mixed models of health and social care delivery.

c) How to evaluate knowledge of health promotion and prevention to improve population health, strategies, health education and behaviour change.

d) A critical understanding of future challenges and opportunities in health and social care.

Module-specific digital skills and competencies

(Over and above those mentioned in Section B)

At the end of the module/unit, the learner will be able to:

a) Demonstrate information literacy skills.

b) Work collaboratively with peers on group tasks and discussions.

c) Practice self-reflection and self-directed learning.

d) Apply digital skills to make effective use of the internet to find learning resources and information related to health and social care.

Entry requirements

To be offered a place to study on the BSc (Hons) Health, Social Care and Wellbeing programme, prospective students would normally need to meet the following admissions criteria:

(a) Possession of certificated qualification(s) at or equivalent to MFHEA MQF Level 4 with at least one qualification in health, social care and/or wellbeing or relevant other.

Prior learning recognition

Prospective students who have worked in some capacity in an area of health, social care and/or wellbeing and who do not possess formal certificate qualifications at or equivalent to MFHEA MQF Level 4 may have their experiential learning, where appropriate, assessed through GBS Malta’s MFHEA accredited Policy and Procedure for the Recognition of Prior Learning: Accreditation of Experiential Learning.

English language

To be offered a place on the BSc (Hons) Health, Social Care and Wellbeing course the English language requirement for prospective students whose first language is not English is a minimum IELTS score or equivalent of 5.5 overall with 5.0 in most components. The entry requirement for English standard at overall 5.5 will be reviewed periodically, and students will be asked how this level of English is sufficient to enroll in MQF Level 4 studies.
Prospective students who wish to improve their English proficiency may enroll in the English Path course offered by GBS Malta.

In general, prospective students who present with formal certificated qualifications in English but whose first language is not English would not be required to provide evidence of their proficiency in that language.

Grading system

The following grading/marking system will be used for student assessed work using a scale from 0% to 100% as follows:

Grade	Percentage Mark (%)
First	70-100%
Upper Second	60-69%
Lower Second	50-59%
Third	40-49%
Marginal Fail	35-39%
Fail	34% and below

What doors will this open

An honours degree in health, social care and wellbeing can lead to a wide range of career opportunities in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Graduates of this programme can work in the following occupations:

Healthcare or social care assistant: can work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes or home care settings supporting nurses and other health care professionals providing direct social care.
Health and social care management: roles as junior managers in health and social care settings.
Mental health support worker
Community health worker
Health educator
Health and social care administration
Case manager
Health promotion
Rehabilitation support worker
Social care coordinator
Health/social care researcher

Why GBS?

Flexible study options

– Industry-experienced lecturers with excellent education and professional qualifications
– Simplified learning
– Personal attention for all learners
– Small classes
– Free career development mentoring programme
– Connect with our very successful alumni

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