About the School of Health and Social Work

The School of Health and Social Work came into effect in 2012 following the merger of the School of Health and Emergency Professions and the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work.

The School has a departmental structure with two departments:

Allied Health Professions, Midwifery and Social Work (diagnostic radiography, paramedic science, physiotherapy and radiotherapy and, of course, midwifery)
Nursing, Health and Wellbeing (Adult Nursing, Children's Nursing, Learning Disabilities, Mental Health).

build upon the strong reputation established by the two former Schools in learning, teaching and research.

Did you know?

We are one of the country's largest providers of health and social work education and with a demand for places on our undergraduate programmes that far exceeds our capacity.

In 20 years of educating health professionals we were the first UK University to offer paramedic degrees and had the first physiotherapy programme to be endorsed by Skills Active and the country's largest provider of radiography education.

Most babies born in Hertfordshire are delivered by a University of Hertfordshire educated midwife.

Our provision for learning disabilities nursing is one of the largest in the UK and in addition to our Hatfield base we have centres in Oxford, Reading and Southampton.

What we offer

We offer an extensive range of courses at undergraduate level and postgraduate level. To ensure that our curricula remain relevant and contemporary we work closely with professional bodies at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

At undergraduate level, our programmes are approved by professional bodies and importantly by a regulator.

Nursing and midwifery programmes are approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and allied health professions and social work programmes are approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Course highlights

Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging - BSc (Hons)
Midwifery - BSc (Hons) Pre Registration -BSc (Hons) Pre Registration (Shortened)- Mmid
Nursing (Pre-Registration) in Adult Nursing, Mental Health, Children's Nursing and Learning Disabilities - BSc (Hons)
Paramedic Science - BSc (Hons)
Physiotherapy - BSc (Hons)
Radiotherapy and Oncology - BSc (Hons)
Social Work both Pre Registration - BSc (Hons) and MSc

At post registration and postgraduate levels we offer courses in all of our disciplines plus also in Sport and Exercise Rehabilitation, Image Interpretation and Ultrasound.

In addition our extensive range of CPD health courses is designed to support practitioners in all our disciplines and many short courses are customised for the needs of individuals.

Research excellence

Our nursing research achieved high results across the UK in the last Research Excellent Framework.

Students can also study at Doctorate level either for a PhD or a Doctorate in Health Research. Our research students work closely with research staff. Find out more about research at the University of Hertfordshire.

Staff expertise

We have over 200 members of academic staff the majority of which are qualified in a particular health discipline and are registered with either the NMC or the Health and Care Professions Council.

Our healthcare partnerships

We work closely with the National Health Service (NHS) and local authorities who provide placements for our students and in a number of cases collaborate with us in research.

Our NHS partners are:

East of England
London
South of England
East Midlands

Our partners commission students on behalf of the NHS to train for the professions.

On graduation students are eligible to apply for registration with either the Nursing and Midwifery Council or the Health and Care Professions.

In social work we interface with local authorities and a wide range of statutory and voluntary agencies.

Powering potential

We drive economic growth and influence industry through research, innovative thinking and bespoke training that helps businesses achieve their potential.