Master of Science - Public Health and Health Promotion

Reflecting the diverse nature of public health and health promotion, this course has been designed to accommodate the learning needs of individuals from a wide range of occupational backgrounds. Course attendees focus on developing the knowledge and skills required for improving the health and well-being of culturally diverse individuals and populations, through: • The promotion of health and prevention of diseases. • The development of skills to lead and manage change. • The assessment, planning and evaluation of policy and practice interventions.

Course content focuses on the factors that underpin public health and health promotion, epidemiology, health economics, research, and the social and behavioural sciences. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of the social and behavioural sciences which includes topics such as social, psychological, political and cultural influences affecting health promotion and public health policy and practice; health economics which includes the key concepts of scarcity, choice and opportunity cost in health economics; research which includes quantitative and qualitative research, their approaches to scientific inquiry, their methodologies and related methods; epidemiological principles and research to inform public health and health promotion; and principles and practice of public health promotion which includes the theory and practice of health promotion within the new public health agenda. There are numerous career options for those who have a grounding in public health and health promotion. Former students have gained employment in fields such as community development, health economics, health education, health promotion, higher education, economic development, environmental health, health promotion and health improvement, leadership and planning, nutrition, public health, research, training, and youth engagement. These roles are in a variety of settings including NGOs, public and government services, and the voluntary sectors. Although the roles and settings are varied, all have a focus on the protection and improvement of the health of whole populations. The academics involved with this MSc in Public Health and Health Promotion have extensive links with external bodies, companies and the 3rd sector, which are fully utilized in ensuring that the modules are relevant to the modern work and research environment graduates will enter.