BSc Health and Human Sciences
About this course
BSc (Hons) in Health and Human Sciences, an anthropology degree examining health from social and biological angles. Core topics include research methods and fieldwork, applied across the course's study of health and illness. Students enter from a range of academic backgrounds, and no science qualification at A-level is required. The final year includes a compulsory dissertation and a field course run as a residential field school or virtual alternative. Year 1 introduces the foundations through compulsory modules including Health, Illness and Society, People and Cultures, Human Evolution and Diversity, and Doing Anthropological Research. Optional modules in the first year have included Global Challenges, Decolonising Knowledge and Power, and a language module offered by the Centre for Foreign Language Study. Year 2 moves to applied research and health, with compulsory modules Research Skills and Project Design, Global Health and Inequality, and Sex, Reproduction and Love. Optional choices here have included Human Bodies Past and Present, Primate Societies and Human Minds, Ritual, Religion and Belonging, and Power and Inequality. Year 3 focuses on research and fieldwork: the compulsory Dissertation, a self-designed research project, and the Anthropology Field Course, run as a residential field school or virtual alternative. Final-year optional modules include Social Lives of Hormones, Anthropology of Sport, Global Mental Health: A Critical Anthropological Perspective, and Political Ecologies of Health.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: AAB IB: 35 with 665 in higher level subjects.
Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 100%: 105 offers from 105 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 13 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 95%
- Learning opportunities: 89%
- Assessment and feedback: 81%
- Academic support: 93%
- Organisation and management: 87%
- Learning resources: 96%
- Student voice: 79%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 11 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Further study: 5%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 25%
- Administrative occupations: 15%
- Finance Professionals: 15%
- Natural and social science professionals: 10%
- Teaching Professionals: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 75%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 65%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 25%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 105 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 5%
- North West: 4%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 7%
- East Midlands: 3%
- West Midlands: 1%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 52%
- South East: 13%
- South West: 6%
- Northern Ireland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Health, Illness and Society
- People and Cultures
- Human Evolution and Diversity
- Being Human: An Introduction to the History and Practice of Anthropology
- Doing Anthropological Research
- Example optional modules
- Research Skills and Project Design
- Global Health and Inequality
- Sex, Reproduction and Love
- Example optional modules
- Dissertation
- Anthropology Field Course
- Example optional modules
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University earn?
The median salary is £28,000 after 15 months, £27,500 after 3 years, £36,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £26,000 and £46,500. The £36,000 median after five years is £5,500 more than the UK median for Anthropology.
What do graduates of BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University do next?
80% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University?
95% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University?
The typical offer is AAB at A level. The average entrant had 166 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University?
100% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 105 offers from 105 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BSc Health and Human Sciences at Durham University?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.