Apply with us

Who is this programme for?

Our postgraduate programmes have a strong multi-disciplinary flavour, attracting students with a wide range of different qualifications and professional backgrounds. We welcome applications from professionals working in public health, clinical, health policy, international development and health management areas in private, public sector and non-governmental organisations.

We also welcome recent graduates who are considering, or would like to prepare for, a career in public health or global health and development.

Entry requirements

You will need a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent in medicine, nursing, social science, science, biomedicine, or other related discipline.

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements: 

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements on the application page:

Apply for our on-campus Master of Public Health degree programme

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

Link to English language requirements

How to apply

Applications must be submitted through the University's online application service, EUCLID.  Offers cannot be made without a fully completed online application.

Link to apply for on-campus Master of Public Health

The application does not have to be completed in one session - you can save your progress and return to complete the application at another time.

When uploading documents, keep them small to improve processing time and name all documentation appropriately, i.e. transcript, academic reference, and so on.

Supporting documents

Your application will require supporting information, with translations where applicable, including:

• copies of your degree certificates and transcripts of your academic record to support your application
• a personal statement describing your reasons for applying to the programme
• one good academic reference or if you have been out of academia for a while you may be able to supply a work-related reference (typically from a line manager) in place of an academic one*

*If you are submitting the copy of your reference it must be signed, dated and on headed paper.  If you choose to have your referee contacted directly, you must supply an institution-based email address (web-based addresses such as  Hotmail or Yahoo are not acceptable)

Understanding the Personal Statement requirements

We have two separate teams that check applications. The first team (admissions) manages the initial application, and when they are happy that everything has been submitted correctly, it gets passed over to us, the second team (programme), who make our decision based on the academic levels/shared aspirations, etc, that are required for you, the student, to get as much as possible out of the programme.

With this in mind, it would be ideal if you could fulfil the criteria from both teams, so as to give yourself the best chance of a positive outcome. 

What we're looking for

As this is a very competitive programme with limited spaces, we want to really select the strongest applicants to join the programme. The Personal Statement you submit as part of your application is therefore a very important part of your application – it tells us a lot about how you might perform on the MPH.

Generally we wish to know:

• The skills qualities and experiences that have prepared you to undertake this programme
• Existing academic and non-academic abilities and how they will help you to succeed in the programme
• The value you can add to the learning community
• How the programme contributes to your aspirations and potential impact on your future career

Specifically we would like you to demonstrate evidence of:

• your commitment and enthusiasm for Public Health
• your understanding of specific Public Health issues for example through:
  • public health related jobs, work experience or projects you have worked on
  • any other public health contributions you have made
  • previous study in Public Health areas
• Why you wish to enrol in this specific MPH programme
  • Courses specific to your areas of interest
  • Breadth of teaching knowledge of faculty staff
  • Other specific reason(s) to study at the University of Edinburgh
• What your future career aspirations are and how these relate to the MPH at University of Edinburgh 

Length and writing style

Your personal statement should be no more than 2,500 characters (approximately 400 words) in length and should be written in formal English, using appropriate grammar and punctuation.

Please only use the indicated area in the application form, and do not attach a personal statement as Word or PDF document, as we would not be able to accept this. 

Fees and Funding

Link to fees and funding page