Health inequality means that we don’t all start with the same chance in life. The need to recognise public health issues has never been so important.

From interviewing students about drug and alcohol addiction, to creating a campaign about exercise and nutrition in a poor area of the UK, to writing a report to inform a government about a rare disease in a developing country – the diverse nature of public health means that no two days are the same.

It’s a sector that’s brimming with career opportunities.

Public health covers three key areas:

• Health improvement: this includes work to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities by promoting health lifestyle changes. This can include helping people to quit smoking or improve their living conditions; promoting healthy eating, or tackling underlying issues such as poverty and reduced access to healthcare.
• Health protection: this area can cover the safety and quality of the environment, food and water, preventing the spread of communicable disease and managing outbreaks – such as pandemic flu – and addressing the health effects of climate change.
• Healthcare: public health professionals help to make sure that health and care services are fit-for-purpose and accessible to all sectors of the population.

By studying BSc (Hons) Public Health at ARU, you’ll gain practical skills and the confidence to work collaboratively in groups.

As a student here, you’ll take part in simulated scenarios and community-based research, as well as creating reports, presentations and demonstrations to present to panels and judges.

You’ll gain the research and analytical skills to interpret data. When you graduate you’ll be equipped to use evidence to help plan and implement health solutions for individuals and communities and to develop effective health policies. You’ll also be aware of important issues like health inequalities and social justice, be familiar with health needs assessment and data analysis tools, and have developed effective communication skills.

We’ve worked with public health stakeholders, including Public Health England, the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) and Health Education England to create our course, and our teaching staff are part of international networks which inform everything we do.

From developing technologies and health trends to your social media presence and campaigning, we monitor the public health landscape and change with it, so your degree is always relevant.

As a Public Health student, you’ll constantly consider your career; engaging with public health occupational frameworks and demonstrating a range of UKPHR standards. This will be supported by a work placement and the portfolio that you’ll create from day one – and take right through to interviews and registration.

Public health has never been more important, relevant and wide-ranging, and there’s a host of career paths to follow.

You might like to work as a public health practitioner, youth worker, drug and alcohol worker, public health information officer or analyst, health improvement practitioner, health protection practitioner, sexual health advisor, smoking cessation co-ordinator, community development or outreach worker, or health communications officer. You could even go into health-related research.

While studying at ARU, you’ll gain skills and knowledge that will be relevant in local government, the NHS, education, consultancy, the not-for-profit sector, and international agencies like the World Health Organization or UNICEF.

We work with employers including Public Health England to make sure you graduate with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need. They help us review what we teach and how we teach it – and they offer hands-on, practical opportunities to learn through work-based projects, internships or placements.