The essence of public health is to prevent disease, promote health and prolong life.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is an internationally recognised qualification. The training we provide uses whole-system approaches to promote and enhance human health and wellbeing. This can include health promotion and disease prevention.

You will develop the knowledge and skills essential for public health research, advocacy and practice. The programme is relevant to both registered health professionals and those working in related sectors, and caters for practice in local and global settings. As a graduate of the programme at York, you will be ready to work in a range of settings. The programme also provides a solid foundation if you wish to take the Part 1 membership examination of the UK Faculty of Public Health.

Course content

We're constantly working to improve our research-led curriculum to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to develop as a public health professional. This course will provide you with a grounding in research methods, epidemiology and foundations for public health.

You'll study a range of core and option modules that will equip you with the necessary knowledge, skills, practice and experience to improve your understanding of:

research methods applicable to public health research
the impact of major communicable and non-communicable diseases on public health
methods of disease prevention and health promotion
exploring health inequalities and their effect on health and wellbeing
public health practice and policy
epidemiology and statistics.

The course runs over one year for full-time students (two days a week) or two years for part-time students (one day a week).