About the course

When you join this MSc course you will join a supportive and nurturing ‘community of inquiry’.

Along with your peers you will develop a critical awareness of how research processes can be applied to the study of public health, an insight into the global drivers behind health system reform, and an appreciation of policy development and implementation in developed and developing nations.

This course is for you if you seek a career in public health. There are a range of career opportunities within public health, including public health analyst, public health programme manager and public health specialist. The course can also act as a platform for postgraduate research (MPhil/PhD) study in public health and provides you with sufficient grounding for the UK Faculty of Public Health Part I examination. Upon completion of this course, all students become eligible to apply for fellow membership of the UK Royal Society for Public Health.

Intermediate qualifications available:

Postgraduate certificate - 60 credits at Masters level
Postgraduate diploma - 120 credits at Masters level

Why choose this course?

• Study the principles of public health that are relevant to students from around the world, and boost your practical, critical and theoretical skills
• Explore your potential on a course that commences with two foundation units before moving onto specialist units that enable you to explore contemporary issues relating to public health policy. A final unit enables you to undertake a research project
• Develop an understanding of issues in public health principles and practice from local, national and international perspectives
• Gain an insight into the global drivers of reform in health systems and their potential impacts on future public health policy
• Benefit from a course that uses case-studies from around the world, and is based on the principle that medical professionals should improve health and prevent disease, not just provide treatment for those who are ill.

This course will help you to develop a critical understanding of how public health policy is developed and implemented in developed and developing countries and how the research process is applied in the study of public health. In addition, this course:

• Highlights the importance of public health and public health practice worldwide.
• Provides an in-depth understanding of health issues from local, national and global perspectives.
• Focuses on delivering research informed teaching.
• Supports students in developing specialist expertise in public health which will enable them to improve public health and prevent disease, thereby bringing lasting change to the population’s health status.

How will I be assessed?

The assessment strategy is designed to assist you in identifying, reflecting on and meeting your own learning needs in relation to your working environment. Each unit is further designed to develop your public health skills in ways which are directly relevant to your workplace. In order to assist in your future professional and career development, each assignment will require you to identify and develop a competency from the UK Faculty of Public Health framework which forms the basis of your learning and underpins your assessment. As you undertake the course units, you are given the opportunity to develop your skills in a range of public health techniques via the assessments.