Build the knowledge, skills, and values needed to make a real difference to people and communities. This flexible and practical course prepares you for leadership roles across the public services, from emergency response and community safety to leading teams and improving public services.

If you're ready to start a rewarding and fulfilling journey that empowers you to discover your strengths and contribute meaningfully to society, then our public services undergraduate course is for you. Become the catalyst for change that our world needs today.

## Why study this course?

### Cutting-edge curriculum

Stay ahead with our ever-evolving courses, shaped by the latest industry trends and real-world challenges.

### Hands-on experience

Get real-world experience through internships and live projects that sharpen your skills and grow your network.

### Global perspectives

Develop a global outlook, preparing you to tackle cross-cultural challenges and become a true global citizen.

### Career opportunities

Open doors to careers in diverse fields, from government and healthcare to education, environment, and beyond.

## What you'll study

[Button: Year One][Button: Year Two][Button: Year Three]

Explore the law, different public services, and their influence on society.

Establish a solid academic base through intelligence-led responses to critical and contemporary social issues. Test your teamwork and leadership skills during outdoor search and rescue operations.

## Understanding Communities and Data

Understand why and how public services use data to improve lives as you examine the key challenges and strengths of an identified community.

## Democracy, Campaigns and Change

Understand political ideologies and the political and democratic processes guiding UK governance, applying this understanding through stakeholder mapping and analysis.

## Exploring Crime and Deviance*

Explore how notions of crime have been constructed and why people offend, considering criminological, sociological, developmental, biological and psycho-social theories.

*This module can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh

## Public Services and the Law

Examine the English Legal System, taking a close look at how certain key procedures and legislation affect public services.

## Outdoor Leadership, Search and Rescue

Traverse gorges and mountains as you get to grips with the planning, risk assessment, leadership and technical skills required in search and rescue activities.

## Professional Skills for the 21st Century Public Servant

Develop the professional practices and values required of public servants, as well as the academic skills that ensure you thrive on the course.

Deepen your knowledge of social policy, welfare, equality, and human rights.

Experience how public services handle emergencies through simulations. Complete a focused 10-week internship in a public service organisation to gain real-world experience.

## Human Rights, Equality and Social Justice

Study key human rights legislation and examine how well states are upholding their obligations. Apply your knowledge to policy development.

## Politics, Public Services and the Welfare State

Critically analyse the UK Welfare State. Explore key issues such as poverty, education and health inequalities, and identify potential policy solutions.

## Disaster and Emergencies: Resilience, Response, Rescue and Recovery

Experience emergency response situations through simulations, field visits, and hands-on practice, exploring risk management.

## Public Services Placement and Professional Skills

Undertake a major placement based on your aspirations, where you’ll develop critical skills and identify gaps in your development.

## Researching Crime, Security and Justice

Foster your understanding of research and evaluation in the Criminal Justice Sector, to prepare for your final year research project. Explore quantitative and qualitative data preparation, analysis, interpretation, and hone your presentation skills.

Grow into public service leadership, exploring new technologies and embracing innovation.

Conduct a major research dissertation aligned with your career goals and choose optional modules to further specialise in your areas of interest.

You will also be able to choose one optional module.

## Leadership and Professional Skills

Explore leadership theory and practice about public services and begin to develop your own methods of leadership.

## Technology, Innovation and Change

Analyse different approaches used to identify areas for change and innovation and examine how tech and innovation impact public service stakeholders.

## Dissertation / Social Impact Project

Finalise your project proposal from year two and produce a coherent and in-depth analysis of an issue of contemporary relevance to sociology and/or public services.

## Geopolitics: Understanding Conflict, War and Peace

Examine different types of conflict and their impact from historical and contemporary perspectives and look at how current conflicts may be resolved.

## Criminal Justice Inquiry: Dissertation

Design and conduct a social science research project in criminal justice. Develop your competence in research design, data collection, and analysis for contributions to evidence-based practices in the criminal justice sector.

## Introduction to Disaster Healthcare Optional

Investigate the risks associated with natural and man-made disasters and the role health and social care interventions play across the disaster cycle.

## Investigation of Serious and Organised Crime Optional

Evaluate the impact of serious and organised crime in the UK and explore legislation, policies and processes for policing and investigating it.

## Civil Society and Community Activism Optional

Explore how civil society and community activism have changed the world at local and global levels, looking at their complex relationships with the state.

## Society and the Environment Optional

Understand a range of environmental issues and examine sustainable policy development in Wales and around the world.

We regularly review our courses to keep pace with changing skills and employer needs. If a review leads to significant changes, we’ll contact you to explain what’s changing for the coming year.

## Teaching and Assessment

This course offers a dynamic blend of hands-on and theoretical learning to prepare you for a variety of roles. You'll engage in practical workshops, real-world challenges, and a year-two placement that will develop your skills and build your confidence. Reflection on these experiences is a crucial part of your assessments.

## [Button: How you’ll learn ]

From emergency incidents to community challenges, you'll tackle real-world scenarios through case studies, simulations and collaborative seminars that develop the skills and knowledge employers are looking for. Assessments are flexible, letting you showcase your unique perspective, and best of all, there are no exams!

## [Button: How you'll be assessed ]

The assessments on our public services course are flexible, allowing you to showcase your individuality and unique perspective.

There are no exams on our degree, however you will complete a variety of practical and written coursework tasks as well as a final dissertation.

## [Button: Placements ]

In your second year, you’ll complete a ten-week placement that aligns with your career goals and interests.

You’ll collaborate with the university’s placement officer and your host organisation to tailor your experience to suit your needs.

This hands-on opportunity helps you build valuable contacts, gain real industry insights, and showcase your experience to future employers. You could find yourself working with local authorities, South Wales Fire and Rescue, NHS, Citizen’s Advice, police forces, or even HM Prison Parc in Bridgend, gaining unique experience in various settings.

## [Button: Facilities ]

There’s no classroom quite like the real world.

Throughout the course, you’ll step out into various environments to hone your practical skills, leadership, and decision-making under pressure.

Experience simulations with our Hydra suite and VR headsets on campus, tackling diverse scenarios.

Enhance your learning with trips to places like the Senedd, Welsh Ambulance Service, South Wales Fire & Rescue, and even Parliament and the Royal Court of Justice in London.

Combine this with modern classrooms, IT support, and collaborative workspaces to round out your education.

## Career Prospects

This course sets you up for diverse careers across the public sector, a key area for graduate employment throughout the UK. Recent graduates have landed roles as prison officers, trainee paramedics, firefighters, police officers, and call handlers, as well as positions in rescue services and the armed forces. You can also explore non-uniformed roles like civil service, local government, housing, youth work, policy development, social research, and charitable work.

### Your future career

Get real-world experience with our course which centres people and communities around the world. You’ll develop essential skills and knowledge through our hands-on approach to learning and cutting-edge curriculum, equipping you with everything you’ll need to help solve global challenges in a variety of public service jobs. Future jobs after successfully completing the degree course could be:

Uniformed public services: Policing, fire and rescue services, ambulance services, armed forces, and civil service and local government

Policy development and design

Charitable and voluntary organisations

Social and academic research

Education

### Salary expectations

A Public Services degree can open opportunities across the public sector. Public services careers offer strong earning potential:

Median wage

UK: £40.7k per annum

Wales: £36.3k per annum

Total jobs in 2025

UK: 2.39m

Wales: 109,364

### Industry partners

We team up with top organisations to make sure your course is always in tune with what employers need.

Each year, we work with big names like the National Crime Agency, the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner, and the Welsh Government to keep our curriculum cutting-edge.

You’ll also benefit from our connections with emergency services, local authorities, and charities, who offer placements, practical projects, and guest speakers. This means you'll get hands-on experience and insider knowledge that will set you apart in the job market.

## Entry Requirements

### Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

How to apply Contextual admissions policy Ask us a question

80 UCAS points or above

#### Typical qualification requirements

A Level:

BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Pass

Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate:

C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and DD - CC at A Level

Access to HE:

Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points.

T Level:

Pass (C and above)

Additional requirements include:

The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.

### International applications welcomed:

We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages .

International students Pre-Sessional English

### English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages .

If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages .

## Fees and Funding

Fees and funding Scholarships and bursaries Cost of living support

## [Button: Further information ]

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.

We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

## [Button: Additional costs ]

As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.

International Full-Time Fee £ 17,600

per year

## What sets us apart?

Top university in Wales and 24th out of 123 universities in the UK.

Guardian University Guide 2027

Image: Three USW students walking outside of Cardiff Campus - Atrium

10 subjects ranked in the Guardian University Guide 2027 Top 10, including two at #1.

Image: Three students studying in a pod in the library at Cardiff campus

Top in Wales for new business startups for the 6th consecutive year, and 7th in the UK. (HEBCIS)

## Explore our facilities

Image Learning by doing inside USW’s immersive learning environments. Play video

## Public Services facilities

Get hands-on in our authentic learning environments, from our highly immersive Hydra Simulation Centre to CIPHER (our Criminal Investigation and Policing Hub for Education and Research). Grow your confidence and your skills by learning both on and off campus so you feel ready to help and serve everyday people.

## How to apply

All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS

You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).

* ### Public Services

* Full-time, 3 years

* September

* Pontypridd

Apply direct

## Advanced entry

If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.

Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.

## International admissions

International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.

* Learn more

* Application toolkit

## Related stories and highlights

Image Video

### Search and Rescue Day - Public Services at USW

## Ready to apply?

* Apply via UCAS

* How to apply

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