Background: Educational environments are considered important in strengthening students’ health status andknowledge, which are associated with good educational outcomes. It has been suggested to establish healthy universitiesbased on a salutogenic approach – namely, health promotion. The aim of this study was to describe healthpromotingresources and factors among first-semester students in higher education in healthcare and social work.Methods: This cross-sectional study is based on a survey distributed among all students in seven healthcare andsocial work programmes at six universities in southern Sweden. The survey was carried out in 2018 using a selfreported,web-based questionnaire focussing on general health and well-being, lifestyle factors together with threevalidated instruments measuring health-promoting factors and processes: the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale, SalutogenicHealth Indicator Scale (SHIS) and Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ).Results: Of 2283 students, 851 (37.3%) completed the survey, of whom 742 (87.1%) were women; 722 (84.8%) wereenrolled on healthcare programmes, and 129 (15.2%) were enrolled on social work programmes. Most reported goodgeneral health and well-being (88.1% and 83.7%, respectively). The total mean scores for the SOC scale, SHIS and OBQwere, respectively, 59.09 (SD = 11.78), 44.04 (SD = 9.38) and 26.40 (SD = 7.07). Well-being and several healthy lifestyleswere related to better general health and higher SOC, SHIS and OBQ scores. Multiple linear and logistic regressionsshowed that perceived well-being and no sleeping problems significantly predicted higher general health and higherSOC, SHIS and OBQ scores. Being less sedentary and non-smoking habits were significant predictors of higher SOC.Conclusions: Swedish students in higher education within the healthcare and social work sector report good generalhealth and well-being in the first semester, as well as health-promoting resources (i.e. SOC, SHIS and OBQ), andin some aspects, a healthy lifestyle. High-intensity exercise, no sleeping problems and non-smoking seem to be ofimportance to both general health and health-promotive resources. This study contributes to knowledge about thehealth promotive characteristics of students in the healthcare and social work fields, which is of importance for planninguniversities with a salutogenic approach. © 2022, The Author(s).