Eye health has far-reaching implications for individuals and society. Yet many people face sight impairment and blindness due to inadequate access to affordable, high-quality eye care.

More than 90% of vision loss is treatable or preventable. Our MSc in Public Health for Eye Care focuses on the generation of evidence around eye health care, and the implementation of strategies based on that evidence – helping you develop better interventions and deliver better care.

Over one year (full time) or two years (split study), you’ll develop the specialist skills you need to move on from considering just the needs of the patient in front of you, to the needs of the entire population. With our mission to improve eye health services, particularly for people in low- and middle-income countries, you’ll be inspired and prepared to make global changes in the field.

What you will learn

• Understand how general public health principles, health economics and statistics apply to the promotion of eye health for all ages
• Discover and unpack the basic epidemiology of major blinding diseases and understand how to critically appraise interventions
• Learn about prevention of blindness due to ocular infections and non-communicable diseases
• Find out how to effectively design a comprehensive eye health programme for a community
• Grow the professional skills you’ll depend on in your career, such as management, research and critical evaluation

Your training will enable you to join the global effort to eliminate avoidable blindness. You’ll be prepared to both inform and lead eye health care practice at a local, national and international level through research, training and service delivery.

Who is it for?

This course is ideal if you’re already involved in clinical ophthalmology or optometry, in research or in eye health planning in low- and middle-income countries. But is also relevant for those from a high-income setting as many of the same principles are relevant and applicable.

Most students on this course, and particularly those seeking scholarship support, benefit from having at least three years’ experience in clinical eye care. However, we have had many successful students who have joined the course as junior doctors or intercalating medical students with an interest in international health and a desire to pursue a career in ophthalmology.

Whether you are an experienced ophthalmologist or optometrist, researcher, programme manager or a clinician in training aspiring to such roles, this course will embed you in the academics of public health and eye health promotion.

You could progress on to a PhD in blindness prevention, pursuing public health research to help answer the industry’s burning questions. Or working in university teaching hospitals, contributing to research programmes, or strategising in ministries of health for blindness prevention in your country. This course gives you the opportunity to make a real difference.