Courses

For most students the usual route of study is: 

• Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) = one year of study 

• Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) = two years of study 

• Master of Public Health (180 credits) = three years of study 

If you would like to complete the programme over a longer period of time, the University can accommodate this in a number of ways. Students can choose an intermittent study (ICL) route, which allows up to six years to complete the MPH, four years for the PG Diploma and two years for the PG Certificate.  

Link to read more about the ICL route

Calendar of the academic year 

The courses are delivered over three terms, from September to June. Each term has two teaching blocks of five weeks each. There is at least a one week break between each teaching block, and longer breaks between Terms 1 and 2 (Winter break) and between Terms 2 and 3 (Spring break). Courses worth 10 credits are taught over one teaching block. Courses worth 20 credits are taught over two teaching blocks, with a reading week halfway through the course. 

Dates will change annually, but will follow a similar pattern to this key dates calendar for 2023-2024: 

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Induction: 4 Sep – 15 Sep	Term 2, block 3: 8 Jan – 9 Feb	Term 3, block 5: 8 Apr – 10 May
Term 1, block 1: 18 Sep – 20 Oct	Term 2, break week: 12 – 16 Feb	Term 3, break week: 13 – 17 May
Term 1, break week: 23 – 27 Oct	Term 2, block 4: 19 Feb – 22 Mar	Term 3, block 6: 20 May – 21 Jun
Term 1, block 2: 30 Oct – 1 Dec	Spring break: 25 Mar – 5 Apr	Graduation: November
Winter break: 18 Dec – 5 Jan

What each year of online MPH study looks like 

The programme consists of core public health courses for Year 1, followed by three 10 credit core courses and 30 credits of elective courses in Year 2.  Students continuing to year 3 should choose whether they want to do the dissertation option or a 20 credit SLICC (Student-Led Individually Created Course) plus 40 credits of elective courses. The academic requirements are the same for each Year 3 option. We will ask you to make a decision on this during Year 2. 

We aim to make the programme compatible with students who are working and have other commitments, so the programme is structured so that you only take one course at a time. This means that the teaching is spread over three terms from September to July.

Year 1

The first year consists of 60 credits of core courses. For 2023-2024, which is a transitional year in our timetable, the core courses are: 

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Block 1: Introduction to Public Health (10 credits)	Block 3 and 4: Introduction to Epidemiology and Statistics (20 credits)	Block 5: Epidemiology for Public Health Practice (10 credits)
Block 2: Introduction to Health Promotion (10 credits)		Block 6: Public Policy for Health (10 credits)

After completing 60 credits, you can exit with a Postgraduate Certificate.

Link to view courses in detail

Year 2

In the second year, students will complete three 10 credit core courses and 30 credits of elective courses. For 2023-2024, which is a transitional year in our timetable, the core courses are:  

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Block 1: Public Policy for Health (10 credits)	Block 3: Research Design for Public and Global Health (10 credits)	See 'elective course options' table below
Block 2: Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (10 credits)

Link to view courses in detail

Elective course options

Students may choose 30 credits of courses delivered by the Master of Public Health programme or from courses delivered by other programmes or schools. Students may choose electives from outwith the programme but these may not exceed a total of 20 credits per year. This can be arranged with the programme team directly, and more information will be made available to you after matriculation.  

Not all elective courses may run every year, as they will be offered depending on the number of students who have chosen the course. Below are some examples of the elective courses that are available to 2023-2024 students. After matriculation to the programme, you will receive a confirmed list to select from. 

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Block 2: Introduction to Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (10 credits)	Block 3: Introduction to Global Mental Health (10 credits)	Block 5: Systematic Reviews (10 credits)
Block 2: Societies, Reproduction and Health (10 credits)	Block 3: Governance and financial management for public health projects (10 credits)	Block 5: Migration and Health (10 credits)
	Block 4: Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in a Global Context (10 credits)	Block 5: Data Analysis for Epidemiology (10 credits)
	Block 4: Intermediate Epidemiology (10 credits)	Block 5: Public health approaches to declining health, dying & bereavement (10 credits)
	Block 4: Qualitative interviewing and data analysis for public health (10 credits)	Block 6: Statistical Modelling for Epidemiology (10 credits)
	Block 4: Qualitative interviewing and data analysis for public health (10 credits)	Block 6: Leadership and Management in Public Health
	Block 4: Innovative approaches to health challenges across disciplines (10 credits)	Block 6: Noncommunicable Disease in a Global Context (10 credits)

After completing 120 credits (60 credits from Year 1 and 60 credits from Year 2), you can exit with a Postgraduate Diploma. 

Link to view courses in detail

Year 3

In the final year, you can choose between the following routes:  

• Dissertation route: This consists of a 9-month research project (60 credits) 

• SLICC route: This consists of a 20-credit SLICC (Student-Led Individually Created Course) plus 40 credits of course electives  

Please note that students must have successfully completed the required courses and achieved the necessary credits in Year 1 and 2 in order to continue to Year 3. 

About the dissertation

The dissertation consists of a dissertation project, including a reflective element, worth 60 credits which starts in September and finishes in late May or early June. A dissertation timetable is available on the dissertation site on Learn (our e-learning platform), and details will be made available to you after matriculation. 

The dissertation project is an independent piece of work. You will be allocated a supervisor, who will provide you with advice and guidance in relation to the dissertation project, but you should remember that the sole responsibility for the academic quality of your dissertation project is with you. You should research and develop your own ideas and discuss your proposed approaches with your supervisor. You may be allocated a supervisor whose area of expertise is not a precise match for your chosen area of research, but who has the required expertise to supervise a dissertation project. All supervisors are experienced and knowledgeable regarding research methodologies and academic writing. 

The dissertation project gives students a chance to undertake an extended piece of scholarship. Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to engage critically and analytically with literature in the field, building upon relevant concepts and theory covered in the taught element of the degree. The subject will be determined on the basis of the student’s own interests, the expertise of staff, its relevance to a public health context and what is feasible in terms of the literature and the time available. 

More information on the dissertation will be available in the dissertation handbook and resources, which students will receive at the beginning of the third year. If students have any questions before then, they are encouraged to bring them up in their discussions with the programme team after matriculation. 

About the SLICC (Student-Led Individually Created Course) ‘Integrating public health practice’ 

This 20-credit course will provide students with an opportunity to integrate the learning gained in the Masters in Public Health courses, and apply it to address problems and challenges in the real world. Following the Student-Led Individually Created Course (SLICC) approach, students will plan, propose, carry out, reflect on and evaluate a piece of work from their own contexts, encompassing the cross-disciplinary nature of public health. The SLICC framework requires that students use the generic learning outcomes to articulate their learning in their own defined project and reflect frequently using a blog. They receive relevant formative feedback in a Midway Reflective Report. All this is with the guidance of an academic mentor. The course will encourage critical appraisal of students' own practical experiences, and allow them to reflect on their learning in the context of the cross-disciplinary nature of public health. 

Link to learn more about SLICCs

Link to read more about the Year 3 options

Link to an MPH student's thoughts on the SLICC option

Link to an MPH student's SLICC project