In year two you’ll engage in a four-week work placement. The placement is integral to the course and enables you to gain real experience and develop the essential skills to work in the sector. This placement can be studied in the UK or aboard.  

Examples of placements include: 

• Voluntary sector:  food banks, hygiene banks, local community groups, Women’s Centres 

• Local government: Homelessness Housing Advice Teams, Public Health Practitioners, Health Trainers, Youth and Community Services     

• National organisations: Health Disparities, National Cardiovascular Forum 

• International organisations: Water Aid, Red Cross, WHO 

While it is your responsibility to organise the placement, we will guide you as to suitable options locally, nationally, and internationally and will be provide relevant contacts. If travel and accommodation is required for the placement, you will be expected to fund this yourself. 

Career Opportunities

• Health promotion specialist – employed by local authorities to improve the health of communities on specific projects e.g. tobacco control, children’s health or developing community facilities 

• Smoking cessation advisors working one-to-one with smokers wanting to quit 

• Sexual health workers working with young people 

• Mental health specialist working with a homeless project 

• Health trainer working one-to-one with people who want to lose weight 

• Working with ethnic minorities groups to promote uptake of health screening  

• Working with older people to prevent falls in the home 

Hear from Dr Katharine Whittingham about the careers and employability of future graduates of our health promotion and public health course. 

Please note:  In order to undertake a placement, you will need to achieve the relevant academic requirements as set by the University and meet any requirements specified by the placement host. There is no guarantee that you will be able to undertake a placement as part of your course.