Postgraduate study
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Public Health, Master of MPH

Awards: MPH

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Programme website: Public Health, Master of

Public Health is about ‘preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society’.

Gain a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree over a year of on-campus study by studying this full-time programme.

This is the ideal programme if you are a professional or new to the subject and you wish to address today’s problems in public health.

You may be from a clinical or non-clinical background, may already work in a public health role, or be keen to move into a public health role. Either way, you will gain an understanding of how different scientific disciplines are used to investigate and then develop the best professional practice in epidemiology, public health and social science, ethics and health.

This programme is taught by lecturers at the Usher Institute, an interdisciplinary research hub that draws together researchers, clinicians and practitioners from areas such as:

  • public health
  • primary care
  • medical informatics
  • biomedical and social sciences.

This programme is affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.

This Master of Public Health is an on-campus programme. Both full-time and part-time options are available.

You must complete 180 credits of study: 120 credits are taken in taught courses then 60 credits are taken in the compulsory dissertation.

You will take core courses designed to introduce you to key concepts in Public Health and choose elective courses which build on these concepts.

Courses use a variety of types of assessments, including essays, online activities, blogs, group work, presentations and reports. The assessments are designed to assess the learning outcomes of each course.

The purpose of the dissertation is to allow you to independently design and conduct a piece of research and analysis. You will have a supervisor from whom you can expect guidance and support.

The course list below shows courses which we expect to run within the programme, but there may be some changes to the curriculum.

The taught courses available include the following:

Compulsory courses:

  • Introduction to Epidemiology
  • Introduction to Statistics
  • Introduction to Qualitative Research
  • Health Promotion
  • Research Design for Public Health
  • Epidemiology for Public Health
  • Principles of Public Health
  • Introduction to Systematic Reviews

Elective courses:

  • Developing and Evaluating Complex Public Health Interventions
  • Sociology of Health and Illness
  • Communicable Disease Control and Environmental Health
  • Introduction to Health Economics and Resource Allocation
  • Global Health Epidemiology
  • Statistical Modelling
  • Introduction to R for Public Health
  • Investing in Global Health and Development

Although we endeavour to provide a wide range of optional courses to choose from, these can be subject to change or cancellation at short notice.

Places on optional courses can be limited, due to course capacity and timetabling constraints. It may not be possible to guarantee every offer holder their top choice of optional courses.

Part-time study

As we are committed to helping people into education while continuing to work or managing family and personal commitments, you may study this programme part-time over 2 years.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MPHMaster of Public Health1 YearFull-timeProgramme structure 2023/24
MPHMaster of Public Health2 YearsPart-timeProgramme structure 2023/24

The Master of Public Health programme aims to equip students with evidence-based conceptual and practical tools, to take a critical interdisciplinary approach to public health challenges.

You will:

  • Demonstrate a critical understanding of the theories, concepts and principles underpinning public health practice, policy and research.

  • Apply knowledge and skills and engage with relevant literature, in qualitative and quantitative disciplines.

  • Apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis to develop effective responses to contemporary public health challenges.

  • Communicate complex public health concepts and issues to both public and professional audiences using a range of media and methods.

  • Exercise autonomy, take responsibility for own work and work constructively with peers on complex public health issues.

A MPH is internationally recognised as essential for professional advancement in the fields of public and global health.

Our MPH programmes will prepare you for as career as a public health researcher or practitioner, working in the public and NGO sectors, universities and international institutions.

As well as acquiring technical skills in a wide range of public health-related disciplines, you will develop collaborative team working, communication and research skills.

The Masters can also offer a good basis for further study in the form of a PhD or Professional Doctorate.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

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

Students from China

This degree is Band B.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

English language requirements

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

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
  • PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Deposit

Successful applicants will be required to pay a deposit before an unconditional offer can be made.

  • £750 (this contributes towards your tuition fees)

Find out more about tuition fee deposits:

Living costs

You will be responsible for covering living costs for the duration of your studies.

Tuition fees

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MPHMaster of Public Health1 YearFull-timeTuition fees
MPHMaster of Public Health2 YearsPart-timeTuition fees

The department does not hold any funding for this programme and only a small number of applicants are awarded other scholarships annually. Please ensure that you have sufficient funding available to cover your studies before submitting an application.

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

  • your programme
  • the duration of your studies
  • your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time, intermittent basis are not eligible.

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • Usher Institute for Population Health and Informatics
  • Little France
  • Edinburgh
Programme start date Application deadline
9 September 2024 23 August 2024

Due to high demand, we operate a number of selection deadlines for this programme.

Applicants who are not made an offer at a specific selection deadline will either be notified that they have been unsuccessful in securing a place on the programme, or that their application will be carried forward to the next selection deadline for further consideration at that time.

The selection deadlines for applying to study in 2024/5 are:

Selection deadlines

Round Application Deadline Places awarded by
1 15 December 2023 26 January 2024
2 23 February 2024 22 March 2024
3 26 April 2024 24 May 2024
4 21 June 2024 26 July 2024

Final UK/Scotland fee rate only selection deadline

This final selection round is only open to applicants who are eligible for the UK/Scotland fee rate, including the EU/EEA Pre-settled Scotland fee rate. Overseas and EU-EEA Overseas fee rate applicants will not be considered for this round.

Round Application Deadline Places awarded by
5 23 August 2024 30 August 2024

You must submit one reference with your application.

We will be looking for evidence in your personal statement that you have thought carefully about what you can bring to the programme and what impact you feel it will have on your future career.

Please ensure that you address the following issues in your statement, to help us select the students who will benefit most from the programme:

  • What skills, qualities and experiences have prepared you to undertake this programme?
  • What value do you think you can add to the learning community as part of an internationally diverse group?
  • What impact do you hope to make in your future career, and how will this programme contribute to your aspirations?

Your personal statement should be around 500 words in length.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • Usher Institute for Population Health and Informatics
  • Little France
  • Edinburgh