Public Health

Entry requirements

Applicants are required to hold/achieve a minimum of an upper second-class honours degree in a relevant degree including (but not limited to) medicine, veterinary science, dentistry, pharmacy, biological sciences, statistics, geography, politics, psychology and social sciences. Preference will be given to candidates with excellent academic results in their undergraduate degree and demonstrated interest in public health through work experience, volunteering or research. Additionally, evidence of numeracy skills is required (e.g. a minimum of GCSE Mathematics at grade B or equivalent).

Months of entry

September

Course content

This MSc will prepare you for a public health career in a range of settings, such as health services, government, research and not-for-profit. You will gain core skills and knowledge that are applicable for public health work in the UK and internationally. These include critically appraising evidence, analysing and interpreting data, research methods, and applying methods to protect health, prevent ill-health and improve health services. The programme is suitable for students from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds.

The MSc covers the principles and practice of public health, health improvement, health protection, epidemiology and statistics, research methods and evaluation, health economics, ethics and healthcare services. You will learn from people who practise public health, including colleagues from Public Health England, local government and the National Health Service, in addition to research-led teaching from multi-disciplinary experts.

Your dissertation, which can be based on large-scale studies or a research topic of your choice, will take the form of a journal article, an oral and a poster presentation and opens the possibility of submission for publication. The programme covers many parts of the Faculty of Public Health's Part A membership examination.

The Department of Population Health Sciences has international excellence in research methods, health protection research, and developing and evaluating public health interventions. The Centre for Public Health is a member of the National Institute of Health Research’s School for Public Health and Health Protection Research Unit.

Watch a video to learn more about the programme, discover what you'll be studying and hear from postgraduate students about life in Bristol.