Master of Public Health
18 Months Full-Time | January Start

This course will provide you with the opportunity to explore and develop your skills and knowledge of leadership, engagement and collaborative working, public health intelligence and epidemiology, public health fundamentals and research. 

Teaching will be delivered via a mix of lectures and seminars, which will be supported by case studies, enquiry-based learning exercises, skills development sessions and independent study. 

This course will be assessed through written work, group presentations, essays and academic posters. 

You will also produce an in-depth dissertation project around a subject area of your choice. Undertaken under the supervision of a dedicated supervisor, this project will form the final stage of the assessment process.

• See all the Modules for this course

This course is taught by a team of experienced lecturers with a practice background in public health or education. We boast close links with local directors, commissioners and practitioners of public health, some of whom are employed as part of our teaching team to provide you with access to professionals that are actively working within public health.

All of our teaching staff possess the accreditations and academic qualifications required to teach, in addition to professional registrations with the Nursing and Midwifery Council or Health Care Professionals Council where necessary.

We also welcome external visiting speakers from a variety of public health contexts to contribute to lectures, enabling you learn about the current issues that are defining the public health sector.

Our team have extensive experience of working with both UK and international students and will provide ongoing guidance to support you throughout every step of this course. 

This course is based at our City campus and our facilities are some of the most advanced in the country and allow us to ensure your learning evolves in-line with the latest developments in the industry. 

Technology is embedded throughout all aspects of your degree and you will receive ongoing support through our innovative e-learning platform, Blackboard, where you can access module handbooks, assessment information, lecture presentation slides and reading lists. Key lectures will also be recorded to allow you to listen again. 

If English is not your first language you will also have access to the English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) programmes to help you develop your English language, academic writing and study skills.

Research-rich learning is central to the structure of this course and our research-active staff will use examples from the latest studies and their own research to develop your critical understanding and thinking. 

You will be encouraged to critically examine and comment on the philosophical underpinnings, methodologies and methods applied to public health studies and begin to design a research proposal to form the basis for your dissertation - a project of self directed study that requires you to undertake independent enquiry around a subject area of your choice.

Northumbria University is ranked in the top quartile in the UK for its research power in Allied Health Sciences and Nursing.

More than 80% of research activity in Allied Health Sciences and Nursing is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2014).

The Public Health and Wellbeing department works in partnership with local and national services and organisations to produce independent public health and healthcare professionals who are competent, confident, compassionate and able to meet and exceed the professional, statutory and regulatory body standards required of them.

Our partnership with those actively involved in public health will enable you to interact and network with professionals who are currently working within public health, in addition to allowing you to further understand how the skills taught on this course apply to a real working environment.

The Master of Public Health course provides a good foundation for you to develop a portfolio at the level required for your particular role, if you so wish. For those pursuing the specialty training for registrars / supervisors the learning from the course will inform your portfolio development route (Faculty of Public Health 2015).

This course’s modules have been aligned to reflect the core and defined areas of the UK Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (2013) and the Faculty of Public Health’s (2015) six domains of public health practice. 

Upon graduation you will possess the skills required for leadership, management and system-based thinking in public health, all of which will enhance your ability to lead and manage in a variety of public health organisations in the UK and worldwide.

The Master of Public Health qualification is a national and internationally renowned degree that will help you seek employment in public or government services, voluntary organisations, non-governmental organisations and research posts both in the UK and abroad.

Former alumni have gone on to work for non-governmental organisations, hospital management, voluntary and charitable organisations and health improvement posts.

Completion of this course also provides an excellent grounding for progression to PhD or professional doctorate studies.

96% of graduates from Public Health and Wellbeing courses are in work or further study within the first six months of graduation.