Public Health

Entry requirements

Months of entry

February, October

Course content

This comprehensive MSc offers a deep dive into public health issues on a local, national, and global scale, fostering specialised skills for advancing public health and disease prevention worldwide. You develop critical research skills; gain insights into the global drivers behind health system reform; and build your understanding of policy development and implementation in across both developed and developing nations. You also learn to apply your knowledge through exploring real-life case studies from around the world.

Course accreditation

The course addresses the key competencies from the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) and, on completion, you are eligible to apply for fellow membership of the UK Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH).

Facilities and specialist equipment

Gain access to the Faculty’s range of simulation units, including the Moot Court and clinical skills and simulation suites within the three campuses at Luton, Bedford and Aylesbury, to provide instrumental learning opportunities, and prepare you to respond to and manage a range of scenarios you may encounter in real life.

Industry links

Strong links with internal and external development partners such as Luton Borough Council’s Public Health Department, Keech Hospice Care and University of Bedfordshire’s Institute for Health Research.

What will you study?

Studying our Public Health MSc course will equip you with the specialist knowledge and skills to develop, deliver and manage high-quality, public health services for children, families and communities. To develop your foundational knowledge, you will be introduced to key concepts and principles of epidemiology, disease and epidemiological study design in our Epidemiology in Public Health unit. You will also develop an understanding of the key Principles, Policies and Issues in Public Health and critically evaluate how this has impacted the way public health is addressed. Furthermore, you will develop theoretical and practical knowledge around Healthcare Commissioning and its importance to public health in the UK and internationally.

As a crucial aspect of your study, Public Health Protection will allow you to explore the policies and strategies used to prevent, control and manage outbreaks of infectious diseases and threats to public health. You will be exposed to resilience planning to mitigate a range of threats from environmental hazards and natural disasters to the release of hazardous substances and mass gatherings. Similarly, you will also discuss the fundamental Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare to understand the relevant issues that may arise and how to best deal with them despite being subject to intense public debate. Some controversial issues may include the legal right to assisted suicide or behaviour modification to combat obesity.

With an inclusive approach, you will critically consider Health and Social Care Inequalities and the social categories used to understand them. This includes factors such as class, gender, ethnicity and age, which you will explore with an intersectional approach to understand the health and social care experiences of people with intersectional identities. Furthermore, you will also learn to use evidence to analyse public health data in our Public Health Intelligence unit. This will enable you to contribute to policy and decision-making processes to bring about change in public health practice.

Finally, you will complete a Dissertation to conduct an individual research project using a range of research methodologies to develop a study design. To help you with this, our unit in Public Health Research Methods will introduce you to the basic concepts of public health research including how research questions are constructed, quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis. You will also learn to construct a research proposal and consider key ethical issues in health-related research.

Careers

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.

Information for international students

Please see our website for the latest fee information.

Fees and funding

Please see our website for the latest fee information.