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Public Health MSc

Learn about the course below
Code
PG911B
PGB91E (PGDip)
Start
September 2024
Duration
1 year full-time
2 years part-time
Attendance
Full-time
Part-time
Fees
£10,500 (UK) *
£16,800 (INT) *
Course leader
Carmen Aceijas

The PGDip will not be running from September 2022, however, the MSc is still open for applications.

Public health is a crucial issue in every society and the worldwide public health crisis caused by COVID-19 only further reinforces the need for world class trained Public Health professionals. If you are passionate about improving the quality of people's lives, then a career in public health is an opportunity for you to make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of human beings.

Why study MSc Public Health at Middlesex University?

Our course qualifies you to work as a public health practitioner, and is designed to give you a solid body of both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills, which will help you make a seamless transition into the workplace.

Our staff have a wide range of specialisms, including mental health, ageing, water and sanitation and public health regulation. The university has a strong research profile and is the ideal place for you to embark on your own ground-breaking research.

Course highlights

  • The course is aligned with the UK Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (PHSKF)
  • This is an international programme, drawing students from all over the world
  • Many students will already have relevant experience and this is an opportunity for students of different nationalities to add a unique depth to their public health studies
  • As a student of this course you'll receive a free electronic textbook for every module.

Find out more

Sign up now to receive more information about studying at Middlesex University London.

What will you study on the MSc Public Health?

The course provides an excellent, wide-breadth training in public health as both an academic and professional discipline. Its curriculum is clearly nested in the most orthodox understanding of what modern public health does providing a solid foundation for both students who want to drive their careers towards public health and those who want to utilise their training in the current professions.

You will learn how people's health can be affected by their cultural, social and economic circumstances, lifestyle, and environment, as well as covering methods of controlling disease and promoting health. You will also explore the economic, legal and ethical aspects of public health.

It will also explore health inequalities and global public health, including the role of governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their response to emergencies.

What will you gain?

On completion of this programme you will be able to:

  • Critically analyse and appraise good practice in the management of public health and health improvement
  • Select appropriate approaches to investigate public health needs and interventions in complex situations.
  • Reflect on own practice and select from a range of options best mechanism to influence others to achieve best practice
  • Critical appraise national, community and individual public health concerns and influences.
  • Identify, reflect and critically analyse ethical challenges in public health and public health practice.
  • Consider and evaluate the role of partnership within and external to an organisation to effect public health improvement
  • Critically evaluate the results of an academic investigation and be able to extract and analyse data using a range of techniques appropriate to their chosen fields.
  • Appropriately plan, undertake and synthesise research in public health and disseminate findings to benefit the population

Modules

  • MSc Modules

    • Applied Epidemiology (15 Credits) - Compulsory

      This module provides a firm foundation of epidemiology, its reasoning, methods and applications.

    • Challenges in Global Public Health (30 Credits) - Compulsory

      This module focuses on the evaluation of the main drivers of the global burden of diseases and issues of inequity surrounding these. More specifically, the past, current, and future challenges in the global public health agenda. It will explore some of the societal, political, economic, behavioural and environmental barriers required to succeed in reducing health inequalities and empower stakeholders, communities and individuals.  Both the global and local context will be considered.

      Time will be spent on responses to emergencies including those derived from  natural, economic and political events and examine the necessary short term solutions and the longer term impacts including psychological impacts of those that survive, the potential for disputes, roles of NGOs and their management, and returning the displaced to their homes. Interpretation of levels and trends in global data, spatial analysis, models used for global estimates and the role of data visualisation in global health will be discussed.

    • Health Protection (15 Credits) - Compulsory

      The aim of this module is to provide you with a strong foundation, critical knowledge and technical skills used in health protection as a subset of public health and which core is the protection of individuals, groups and populations through the effective collaboration of experts in identifying, preventing and mitigating the impacts of infectious diseases and of environmental, chemical and radiological threats.

    • Health Economics (15 Credits) - Compulsory

      To provide you with the knowledge, techniques and tools to understand and apply economic approaches in public health practice to decision making. The module examines demand and supply side economics, micro and macroeconomic issues in health care and the use of economic evidence to inform resource allocation, choice of interventions, priority setting and other decisions in health care.

    • Health Promotion and Public Health (15 Credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to increase your awareness and critical understanding of role and methods utilised in health promotion and health development across a range of local and national settings. Health promotion and social marketing principles will be explored and applied to practice in policy setting, prevention, and interventions. Different stakeholder perspectives will be used to deepen the understanding of the processes at work.

    • Policy and Public Health Strategy (30 Credits) - Compulsory

      The aim of this module is to take a strategic view of public health and to apply relevant policy and strategy to a range of settings. This module provides the means for you to link academic work with a practice situation in order to conceptualise the meaning of theory in the wider world context. This facilitates the embedding of transferable and graduate skills necessary for future career paths and employment. It will provide you with knowledge, skills and abilities to practice and develop strategies to implement health gain or improvement. This situated learning module will use a variety of case studies, simulations, structured visits and practice learning to embed the theoretical aspects of environmental and public health into a real life setting. It also seeks to provide you with an understanding of where your practice fits into strategic agendas and how your practice adds value to public health improvement.

    • Research Methodology and Dissertation (60 Credits) - Compulsory

      To provide you with the organisational and management skills to administer an MSc research project. Management skills are supported by knowledge of experimental design, quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques, presentation skills and interactive computing skills. These skills will be applied in the completion of a practitioner based research including the developing of original and independent investigations aimed at integrating theoretical knowledge and technical expertise to solve a practical problem at a relevant postgraduate level.

More information about this course

See the course specification for more information:

Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module,  or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.

We are regularly reviewing and updating our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learnt during the pandemic and enhancing our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.

We aim to model a wide range of teaching strategies and approaches on the course which you can adapt to your own setting.

How is the MSc Public Health taught?

You will gain knowledge and understanding through attending online lectures and seminars, and through a variety of directed and self-directed learning activities (e.g. group projects, case study analysis).

The use of e-learning strategies is also integrated into the teaching and learning strategies and is used to encourage independent study and formative assessment through the use of interactive exercises, pre-recorded lectures and lecture notes available to the student for downloading.

Assessment

Your knowledge, understanding and skills are assessed by a combination of coursework, online case studies, fieldwork based technical reports, online presentations and online exam papers. We have some very exciting assignments for you, such as the design, implementation and evaluation of a health promotion campaign and a mock press conference. Your MSc dissertation will represent the pinnacle of your course, where all conceptual and analytical skills will come together in the production of an original research project.

Teaching and learning from 2022

We are regularly reviewing and updating our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learnt during the pandemic and enhancing our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.

We are currently reviewing our approach to teaching and learning for 2023 entry and beyond. We've learned a lot about how to give you a quality education - we aim to combine the best of our pre-pandemic teaching and learning with access to online learning and digital resources which put you more in charge of when and how you study. We will keep you updated on this throughout the application process.

Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our professional facilities, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all of your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time.

The table below gives you an idea of what learning looks like across a typical week. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on campus sessions.

This information is likely to change slightly for 2023 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.

Learning structure: typical hourly breakdown in 2021/22

Live in-person on campus learning

Contact hours per week, per level:

9 hours

Live online learning

Average hours per week, per level:

1 hour

This information is likely to change slightly for 2024/25 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.

Definitions of terms

  • Live in-person on campus learning – This will focus on active and experiential sessions that are both:
    • Led by your tutors including seminars, lab sessions and demonstrations We'll schedule all of this for you
    • Student-led by you and other students, like small group work and presentations.
  • Live online learning – This will include lectures, tutorials and supervision sessions led by your tutor and timetabled by us. It also includes student-led group work that takes place online.
  • Tutor set learning activities – This covers activities which will be set for you by your tutor, but which you will undertake in your own time. Examples of this include watching online materials, participating in an online discussion forum, completing a virtual laboratory or reading specific texts. You may be doing this by yourself of with your course mates depending on your course and assignments. Outside of these hours, you’ll also be expected to do further independent study where you’ll be expected to learn, prepare, revise and reflect in your own time.

Support

You have a strong support network available to you to make sure you develop all the necessary academic skills you need to do well on your course.

Our support services will be delivered online and on campus and you have access to a range of different resources so you can get the help you need, whether you’re studying at home or have the opportunity to come to campus.

You have access to one to one and group sessions for personal learning and academic support from our library and IT teams, and our network of learning experts. Our teams will also be here to offer financial advice, and personal wellbeing, mental health and disability support.

  1. Standard entry requirements
  2. International (inc. EU)
  3. How to apply
  1. UK
  2. International
  3. Additional costs
  4. Scholarships and bursaries

How can the MSc Public Health support your career?

Our typical MSc Applied Public Health cohort is formed by a 50% of health professionals (medical doctors, nurses, midwifes and dentists) with the other 50% populated by a varied array of professionals (bio-scientists and biomedical scientists, psychologists, sociologists, graduates in public health and so on).

Our graduates with a health care/medical background tend to use the program for internal promotion. Other graduates access to public health positions in Local Health Authorities, National and International NGOs and their home-countries Departments of Health (and related structures) in different roles of public health intelligence.

Carmen Aceijas
Senior Lecturer in Public Health

Dr Aceijas is a fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health. Her main body of research expertise is in HIV and Addiction but she has also worked in a variety of other public health topics (e.g.: Tuberculosis health literacy, nursing practices, mental health in the workplace, health and lifestyles. Her book "Assessing Evidence to improve Population Health and Wellbeing" is a basic tool for those interested in pursuing a public health career.

Patrick Tobi
Senior Lecturer in Public Health

Dr Tobi’s background is in medicine, public health and health management. He has many years of experience in public health practice, research, education and knowledge exchange in the UK, Europe and Africa. His research interests are in health systems analysis, the evaluation of complex interventions, and the use of innovations such as asset-based approaches to improve community health and wellbeing.


We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

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