Why choose the School of Society, Community and Health
Accredited by the UK Chartered Management Institute (CMI), opening the way to CMI Chartered Manager status.
We collaborate with Healthwatch Luton to provide work-based learning and engagement with health and wellbeing boards in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes.
In the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2025, our social sciences courses rank in the top 10 in their subject field for teaching (3rd); organisation and feedback (6th); and student engagement (6th).
About the course
If you aspire to support, lead and manage transformative healthcare provision, in the UK and abroad, this course advances your understanding of the opportunities and strategies for integrating hospital and community services including local services, GP partnerships, local authorities, and other healthcare and voluntary bodies. You are encouraged to adopt a critical lens when exploring real-life issues alongside the challenges of planning cost-effective funding and joined-up care, with the aim of improving health outcomes.
Course accreditation
The course is dual-accredited by the UK Chartered Management Institute (CMI), offering successful graduates eligibility for a CMI L7 qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice.
Industry links
We collaborate with Healthwatch Luton as well as the local health and wellbeing boards for Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes, offering students opportunities for work-based learning; interaction with health leaders; and experience of real-world settings and contemporary issues.
Your student experience
The course is offered at three levels: PgCert (60 credits), PgDip (120 credits) and Master’s (180 credits); it’s your choice how far you take your studies.
Learn from an industry-experienced academic team, many of whom maintain relevant registrations via practice or CPD, or are research active across multiple areas.
Local leaders from care boards and other relevant organisations contribute to course delivery, giving you practical experience of working in the system.
Work with Healthwatch Luton to research, explore and design health services for different groups.
Experience field visits to health and wellbeing boards to observe proceedings and gain experience of a range of real-world settings and contemporary issues.
Studying our Integrated Healthcare Practice and Strategic Leadership PgCert course will equip you with the in-depth knowledge and skills to support, lead and manage transformative healthcare provision through integrating a range of health and social care services. To develop your practice, you will be equipped with the critical leadership knowledge and capabilities used to strengthen partnership and collaborative working across various sectors in our Collaborative Leadership in Integrated Health and Care Systems unit to understand how this instils compassion and high-quality performance and collaborative work practices at every level of health and care. Similarly, our unit in Strategic Management and Leadership of Organisational Mental Health and Wellbeing will allow you to understand the impact of mental health and wellbeing on organisational performance as well as the complexities of managing wellbeing in an organisation. Furthermore, you will be exposed to the contemporary approaches in creating healthy work systems and a positive culture of mental health and wellbeing.
This course also offers a range of optional units for you to explore, such as our unit in Health Informatics that will allow you to gain a critical awareness of the ethical and practical complexity of managing health data across integrated care. If you are passionate about sustainability, you will be able to integrate this practice with leadership qualities in our Implementing Sustainable Lifestyle Redesigns in Allied Health Professionals Care unit. Here, you will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to work within NHS environments, social and community care, social enterprises or charities to implement a sustainable lifestyle redesign. You may also choose to develop your understanding of Health and Social Care Inequalities while analysing research to reduce inequalities in health and social care. You will also consider different social categories such as gender, age, race, sexuality, disability and mental health to understand how these factors influence the social care people receive.
The assessment strategy is one that draws on applied principles in addressing challenges faced in the context of integrated healthcare pathways. Consequently a wide range of assessment that are informed by the wealth of practice information the workforce will face are incorporated into the assessment on this course; including but not limited to work-based learning portfolios e-learning modules essays and posters.
Careers
Career opportunities include health services evaluation and research manager; health informatics/data analyst; health economist; health policy adviser; mental health liaison practitioner; health-related project business manager/coordinator; client-care manager; data quality and assurance leads; digital health/primary care transformation project leads; health/quality improvement/implementation officer; HR; workforce development lead. Progressing on to the Master’s opens up the opportunity for further postgraduate and research studies.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The standard fee for a Postgraduate Certificate for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £3,350.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
Scholarship Available
The University of Bedfordshire is proud of its alumni and is delighted to offer a tuition fee discount for those who choose to continue or return to the University for on campus Postgraduate level studies.
We offer a 20% discount on full and part-time Masters courses to those who were successful in completing an Honours Degree with the University of Bedfordshire, DMU’s Bedford campus or the University of Luton.
International
The standard fee for a Postgraduate Certificate for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £6,000.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
Fees for this course
UK
The standard fee for a Postgraduate Certificate for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £3,350.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
Scholarship Available
The University of Bedfordshire is proud of its alumni and is delighted to offer a tuition fee discount for those who choose to continue or return to the University for on campus Postgraduate level studies.
We offer a 20% discount on full and part-time Masters courses to those who were successful in completing an Honours Degree with the University of Bedfordshire, DMU’s Bedford campus or the University of Luton.
International
The standard fee for a Postgraduate Certificate for the Academic Year 2026/27 is £6,000.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
