Credit-bearing standalone short courses

Three credit-bearing postgraduate short courses offered by the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems.

Understanding Planetary Health and Data

An introduction to the concepts and themes that lead to a better understanding of planetary health and data.

10 credits

Course leader: Dr Rowan Jackson

February start

The concept of planetary health – defined as the health of human civilisation and the natural systems on which it depends – is an exciting, and emerging, field of research and study.  This course introduces students to the concepts of planetary health and invited to assess and debate key topics through handling of relevant data sets from UN*, WHO** and World Bank repositories. 

Students will apply conceptual thinking to contemporary global challenges through case studies on climate change, food and nutrition security and conflict as well as introduced to tools and methods of gathering data to make evidence-based decisions.

For full details of this course, including learning outcomes, please visit the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study page.

*United Nations

**World Health Organisation

Making Science Relevant to Policy and Decision-making

A practical guide to implementing policy-led science for decision-making.  Discover the profound impact on economics, society and the environment when science is used to support decisions.

20 credits

Course leader: Dr Katherine Adam

January start **please note this course has now closed for 2024 entry**

Good decision-making follows from knowing what is to be achieved and using science to evaluate the best way to reaching those aims.  Translating policy aims into scientific questions is a particularly distinctive feature of this course.  Taking a ‘science should follow policy’ approach, students will explore the benefits, and potential drawbacks, of applying this to the public, private and charitable sectors.

For full details of this course, including learning outcomes, please visit the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study page.

Foundations of Nutritional Epidemiology

An examination of the causes and prevention of diet-related health problems at the population level.

10 credits

Course leader: Dr Sarah Frank

February start

Diet and nutritional are key contributing factors for the short- and long-term development of disease.   Students will explore the connections between diet, nutrition and health and learn how the measurement of diet, epidemiologic methods, data and statistics can lead to a deeper understanding about the prevention of disease.   Students will also gain an understanding of how findings from nutritional epidemiology are relevant to health and social care.

For full details of this course, including learning outcomes, please visit the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study page.