Master of Public Health - MPH
Currently viewing course to start in 2024/25 Entry. Switch to 2025/26 Entry
Do you have a health-related background? Do you want to become key to tackling threats to health across the world? If have experience and a degree in health related area, Health science, Health Promotion, public health nursing, nutrition, Medicine, Veterinary science....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time/Part Time
- Award MPH
- Start date January 2025
- Fees View course fees
- Subject
- Location City South
This course is:
Open to International Students
Overview
Do you have a health-related background? Do you want to become key to tackling threats to health across the world? If have experience and a degree in health related area, Health science, Health Promotion, public health nursing, nutrition, Medicine, Veterinary science. This Master of Public Health (MPH) could enhance your career prospects, enabling you to progress on to senior roles at either operational, policy or commissioning level in a wide range of areas. Public health research and practice is at the heart of tackling many of the world’s current threats to health so this course provides the opportunity to develop the skills and understanding you need to become a leader and agent for change in Public Health.
What's covered in this course?
This course aims to enable you to become a leader and change agent, developing the knowledge and skills needed to work within this new multi-disciplinary public health landscape.
You will advance your public health knowledge, skills and approach to teamwork, multi-agency collaboration and community partnerships throughout the modules on this course and critically evaluate strategies to improve public health outcomes. These skills are increasingly relevant for the public health workforce who may be located within a variety of settings including multilateral and international NGOs, local health authorities, National Public Health authorities, the voluntary or the private sector.
You will be taught by highly experienced tutors who come from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including, research and policy, health psychology, epidemiology, sociology of health, health policy, health economics and leadership. You will also experience guest lectures from visiting relevant professionals from organisations such as Public Health England, the Faculty of Public Health, the voluntary sector and local government.
Your peers on the course will be from various public health backgrounds, degree discipline, and cultural, national and international experiences. These previous experiences, along with the knowledge gained through the programme, are used to inform real-world scenario discussions and enhance problem-solving abilities.
Upon successful completion of this course you will have the skills and knowledge to perform a variety of public health related jobs, including:
- Public Health intelligence analyst.
- Public health practitioner
- Health promotion advisor
- Monitoring and Evaluation officer
- Health data analyst.
- Health trainer and training coordinator
- Field Epidemiologist
- Community development and community outreach worker
- Health information officer
- Youth worker
- Health researcher.
Why Choose Us?
- We have been recognised for our research projects - positively impacting on local policy and practice innovation e.g. through the Be Active campaign; and sexual health research within the Somali community. Our involvement in the ‘Promoting Health and Wellbeing’ research cluster has been highlighted by a previous re-validation panel as an example of good practice and innovation
- You can study at our extended £71 million City South Campus with access to cutting-edge facilities to support your learning and development
- This course has been developed in alignment with the Public Health Knowledge and Skills Framework (PHKSF, 2016) and the UK National Occupational Standards for Public Health.
- The course is flexible and responsive and offers lots of opportunities for future development. The dissertation module allows you to choose a topic of study that you want to broaden your knowledge in, advancing your career and opening up new opportunities
- You will have the opportunity to present your work at the University Faculty conference and at other relevant conferences
OPEN DAY
Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.
Next Event: 24 November 2024
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
UK students
Essential |
---|
An honours degree (2:2 or above) in a subject associated with or of relevance to public health |
Current or recent experience of working in a public health or health promotion role or capacity. (This may be as your main role or as an aspect of your role. It may also be in a paid or voluntary capacity and as a professional or non-professional) |
International students should additionally have an English Language qualification (IELTS 6.0 or above with no individual component less than 5.5). |
For students who do not meet this criterion, or for students who would like some preparative study, please contact Academic Development Department for more information on 0121 331 7011.
International students
Essential |
---|
A minimum IELTS score of 6.0 is required with no individual component less than 5.5. |
Useful information
All applicants are asked to supply a personal statement identifying their experience and/or knowledge and understanding of public health together with their reasons for application to the programme. |
In addition an academic reference should be supplied preferably from an academic who has taught you in the last few years. If this is not possible, a professional reference is required. |
Students may be asked to an informal interview, depending on their application information. |
We normally operate a cut-off date for applications of the end of August. However, late applications may be considered, if places are still available. |
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MPH
Starting: Jan 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £8,925 in 2024/25
- Part Time
- 2 years
- Show fees
- £992 per 20 credits
- Year 1 - 80 credits
- Year 2 - 100 credits
Fees for Part-time students
This course can be studied on a Part-time study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MPH
Starting: Jan 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £17,710 in 2024/25
Personal statement
You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.
If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.
Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.
Course in Depth
Level 7
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):
This is one of the two ‘applied Public Health’ modules in the programme. It is delivered by specialist public health tutors. These modules draw from the various source disciplines (especially the social and physical sciences) and apply them to considering public health practice. As the programme is highly practice-led, knowledge-applied, the relevance of links between personal and professional development are made in this module. Additionally, as this is one of the introductory modules for the programme, and links are made with the programme induction activities. A non- graded, ‘dry run’ assignment is a valuable early feature of the module.
This is the second of the two ‘applied Public Health’ modules in the programme, delivered by specialist public health tutors. These modules draw from the various source disciplines (especially the social and physical sciences) and apply them to considering public health practice.
This module will build on the knowledge and understanding from the Public Health Foundations module. The aim will be to explore three key themes, their application in practice and critically appraise their effectiveness. This aim will be to explore a Public Health journey through a range of approaches from protecting the public’s health to working with and alongside communities. This can be viewed either historically, conceptually or as defined by the priorities in Public Health practice.
Social, economic, environmental and political processes impact upon health and public health practices across the globe. In this module, you will explore many of these major challenges for global health and their implications for public health practice. This is in line with the programme philosophy that identifies the dynamic and complex nature of the factors that influence health and public health work. The ethos of the course sees public health work as being most effective when it acknowledges the complexity of the processes which impact upon health, and also that improving the health of populations will require working towards increased global equality. Within the module we will examine global health inequalities and the social determinants of health, and critically explore how they lead to an unequal and inequitable distribution of poor health both within countries and between countries.
In order to work effectively within public health you are required to develop the knowledge and skills provided by the study of epidemiology, including how contemporary public health data locally, nationally and internationally are constructed, identified, measured and utilised in public health programmes and interventions. This module seeks in particular to enable students to focus on gaining understanding of distribution of disease and various statistical and evaluation techniques can be applied to health data to help address some of the pressing contemporary public health issues such as double burden of communicable and non-communicable disease, migration, ageing, health and wealth inequalities, globalisation and the sustainability of resources in Low and middle income countries, developed nations and countries of economic transition. This module also provides an introduction to economic evaluation, health impact assessment, statistical data analysis and health needs assessment.
This module explicitly addresses students’ personal and/or professional development with a view to enhancing competence for service improvement in a rapidly changing health and healthcare environment. Through a flexible provision, students are inspired to reflect critically upon their individual learning needs as well as their organisations’ practices, to appraise and apply concepts from the literature on leadership, to issues of relevance for their role, organisation and overall programme of study.
This module specifically addresses the broader programme aims related to “pursuing excellence” and “practice-led, knowledge applied” through a flexible provision that encourages students to develop their research ideas, enabling those on various Health MSc programmes to satisfy their individual learning needs, whilst contributing to their area of study.
This triple module forms the final bridge between the award of a Postgraduate Diploma and a Health Masters related to a named award. It provides the student with the opportunity to complete a piece of work around a chosen topic in order to demonstrate competence in the planning, execution, analysis and evaluation of a Research Project, a Systematic Review or Project Management. It involves 600 hours of study. The focus is on facilitating the student's independent, critical study in their academic discipline or area of professional practice. It will also serve those who wish to embark on Doctoral studies in the future.
Download course specification
Download nowCourse structure
We approach learning and teaching on the programme as a cooperative process. We employ a variety of methods, which include, as well as go beyond, lecturing. We also place a high value on blended learning (part of the learning experience takes place through digital and online media, which gives you some control over time and place for the learning) problem-based learning (you have the opportunity to learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem – this mimics real-life situations where multiple/complex answers are commonplace), and interdisciplinary learning (this includes opportunities to integrate various ‘traditional’ subject areas to find more comprehensive solutions to problems). Our strategy includes directing you to relevant literature for module session topics for pre-session learning so that we can then use the in-class time for active teaching and group learning methods (blended learning). This allows us to synthesise the information and apply it to real-world examples (problem-based learning and interdisciplinary learning).
The course is set up to support continuous learning throughout the programme of study. This means that we want to support you from the beginning of your time with us at BCU through the programme and eventually to having the tools to continue the life-long learning process after your time at BCU. We want to make the transition into postgraduate learning as smooth as possible. You will find that critical appraisal of ideas, practices and literature are at the forefront of study on our programme. Not only do the weekly in-class and independent learning activities focus on developing these skills, we also work with the university librarians and the Academic Development Department to make sure that you have opportunities to expand your understanding of the differences between learning, teaching and assessment at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and are equipped to embrace study at this level.
Module sessions are set up to have pre-session activities and/or reading, and post-session activities and/or reading. These introduce and summarise the learning that takes place in the classroom. The module tutors direct you to the information and activities that will act as the foundation knowledge for the discussions and activities that take place in the classroom. These are then followed up with exercises and reading to help you make sense of the information, reflecting on how it fits within your previous knowledge and experiences. Directed learning can involve video lectures, reading supported by quizzes, links to external websites, reviewing lecturer’s hand-outs, guided reading for peer reading groups, student/staff online forum discussions, etc. Face-to-face or “scheduled” sessions focus on activities to help you deepen your understanding of the knowledge delivered online.
Employability
Enhancing employability skills
The course will enhance your career prospects, enabling you to progress onto more senior public health roles at either operational, policy or commissioning level. The transferable nature of the course also means you could move into a management or research post.
Past graduates include a number of people now working in prominent roles regionally and nationally such as; National Mental Health Promotion Lead, Regional Commissioning Manager, Consultant in Public Health and Director of Public Health.
Get further information on the wide variety of careers available.
Awards and Credits
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Postgraduate Certificate Public Health awarded on the successful completion of 60 credits* at level 7. The duration of this award is one academic year
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Postgraduate Diploma Public Health awarded on the successful completion of 120 credits at level 7. The duration of this award is two academic years for part time students and one academic year for full time students.
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MPH Public Health awarded after the successful completion of the modules comprising the postgraduate diploma (120 credits at level 7) plus successful completion of the dissertation (60 credits at level 7). The length of this course is three academic years for part time students and one calendar year for full time students.
NB. Regarding Postgraduate Certificate*
The successful completion of an acceptable combination of 60 credits at level 7 allows you to receive an award of Postgraduate Certificate.
An acceptable combination is a total of 60 credits to include successful completion of either:
- Public Health Foundations: Models, Approaches and Practice
or - Public Health from Health Protection to Community Development
International
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
- Details of the entry requirements for our courses
- Some of the good reasons why you should study here
- How to improve your language skills before starting your studies
- Information relevant to applicants from your country
- Where to find financial support for your studies.
Facilities & Staff
We have invested over £400 million in our facilities, including an upgrade to our Skills and Simulation facilities at City South Campus. We boast up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that you may come across in the workplace. These resources are essential in offering you a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice.
Mock Wards
These are set up to look like typical hospital wards, with four-six bays. Depending on the topic in hand, different manikins can be used as patients and relevant equipment is provided to practise clinical skills. Some of the manikins are interactive and can simulate different scenarios e.g. some allow you to cannulate, check pulses, intubate etc, and some can talk to you. One ward is often used as an adult ward, and the other as a child ward.
These rooms also allow for scenarios to be set up for other professions such as dietetics, paramedic science and social work.
The Operating Theatre and Recovery Suites
The operating theatre and recovery suite gives you the sense of what it would be like in a real surgical environment.
These spaces emulate the full surgical journey from anaesthetics, through surgery and into recovery. ODP students can practice a range of skills including gowning, hand washing, preparing instrument trays, and working with a patient. Nurses and midwives may experience a surgical placement and need to go to theatre or be part of the midwifery team involved with caesarean sections. Many other Allied Health Professionals may also see patients in recovery if necessary.
Home Environment Room
This space is used to simulate non-clinical settings, as not everything health professionals deal with is hospital based. This is used for simulations of home visits and home births. It also houses soft matting and a bubble machine that are used by the Learning Disability Nursing team.
Assisted Living Space
This space replicates a flat and is used for scenarios such as home visits. The sitting room area provides a different space to practise skills and simulations and work with service users and other students.
Assisted Kitchen
This specially designed kitchen has different areas where you can practice cooking, cleaning, boiling the kettle etc., with someone who has actual or simulated visual impairments. There are adapted devices to help, and simulation glasses for you to wear to experience visual impairments.
Physiotherapy Room
This is a space for physiotherapy students to use, with various equipment to practise client meetings.
Radiotherapy Planning Computer Suite
Our computers allow you to plan hypothetical treatments, in terms of angles and directions, ensuring that radiotherapy reaches where it is needed on a patient’s body.
Radiography Image Interpretation and Reporting Stations Computer Suite
These facilities allow you to view and analyse x-rays.
VERT - Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training
This room contains 3D technology to view virtual patients and look at trajectories for treatment.
Radiotherapy
This room contains the same bed/couch used when patients are given radiotherapy treatment. While students of course do not administer radiotherapy in this room, it does allow them to practise adjusting the equipment to make sure both it and a patient would be in the correct position to receive treatment.
Telehealth Room
This room allows for small group teaching in a central area (large boardroom type table) with five small telehealth booths down either side. These are to allow all our health professions students to practise delivering healthcare and advice remotely, either over the phone or on a video call. This addition to our teaching reflects moves in the sector to offer more flexible access to healthcare services, particularly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Imaging Academy
This new facility is a larger version of our existing image interpretation computer facilities and forms part of the Midlands Imaging Academy Hub, funded by Health Education England. These expanded facilities will mean we can further develop our courses and expertise in radiography and imaging.
Speech and Language Therapy Resource Room
Our Speech and Language Therapy Team have developed a collection of tools, books and resources to help you learn and understand the implications of a speech or swallowing limitation. You can practise one to one client meetings and clinics and use the video recording equipment to review role play scenarios.
Ultrasound simulation suite
You have access to a wide range of Ultrasound simulation equipment to develop your clinical skills and aid in training. The equipment includes two ultrasound machines with a range of phantoms, scan training stations and eve body works.
Our staff
Dr Sara Zarti
Course Leader of Master of Public Health Courses & Public Health Lecturer
Sara brings substantial experience of almost 10 years in the public health field and humanitarian and emergencies sector working in World Health Organization (WHO) which focused on different programs mainly Communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as Public health Emergencies. She has worked with the International Medical Corps (IMC) and...
More about SaraDr Olatunde Aremu
Health Economist & Joint Programme Leader, Master of Public Health (MPH)
Dr. Aremu specialises in Health Economics and Management and Population health. Dr. Aremu completed doctoral training at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. He has more than 15 years of experience spanning MedTech consulting, Public Health, clinical practice and academia. Dr. Aremu has held a couple of postdoctoral academic research fellowships...
More about OlatundePaula Smith
Senior Lecturer and Joint Programme Leader, Master of Public Health (MPH)
Paula Smith brings a wide range of experience, knowledge and skills to her post including: Practitioner roles - Public Health/Health Promotion practice Policy and Research in third sector organisations Academic Research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Economic and Social Research Council Consultancy as part of Kilbride Smith...
More about PaulaDr Anne Robbins
Senior Lecturer, Public Health
Anne's background is in public health and health promotion, on research based projects at a local, regional and national level. This has been within the NHS, Local Authorities, BBC and National Charities. She has undertaken a wide range of research and consultancy appointments on health promotion and public health which have focused on...
More about AnneDr Fouad Berrahou
Senior Lecturer (subject lead), Health Leadership and Management
Dr Fouad Berrahou joined the University in 2014 as Subject Lead in Health Leadership and Management and Programme Director for the online MBA in Health. In 2010, founded a start-up company, Founouvel Informatics, Inc., in Oran, Algeria and directed the development and testing of an intuitive and integrated electronic health records (EHR) system for...
More about FouadDr Muhammad Hossain
Lecturer in Public Health
Dr Hossain is a Lecturer in Public Health within the Faculty of Health, Education, and Life Sciences. His educational background lies in Sociology, complemented by a career in Health Services Research. In his current role, he teaches various modules and supervise postgraduate dissertation students within the Master of Public Health program. Dr...
More about Muhammad