Public Health

Entry requirements

Please see the course page on the Keele University website for up to date entry requirements.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Every individual deserves the opportunity to enjoy a long and healthy life. Acquire the necessary skills to advance to a senior role by studying on our Master of Public Health course; this will enable you to play a pivotal role in protecting the health and wellbeing of populations and communities worldwide. Gain the strategic, critical, and creative thinking skills, alongside a comprehensive understanding of key public health disciplines, preparing you for a wealth of career opportunities.

Why study Public Health at Keele University?

• Aligned with the Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework and links with local and global employment opportunities.
• Part of Keele's exceptional School of Medicine which has an excellent reputation in both education and research.
• The field of public health offers ample career opportunities and is experiencing significant growth.
• Keele is a member of the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research.
• Designed for students with a degree in any discipline who wish to pursue a master's level public health qualification.

Course summary

There’s global demand for public health practitioners who are capable of devising solutions for protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities worldwide. This may involve assisting those affected by conflict or poverty, developing approaches to improving policy, or generating innovative ideas to tackle inequality and enhance quality of life.

Our Master of Public Health programme is structured to provide you with a strong foundation in the field’s key areas and to examine the wide range of issues that impact global health and wellbeing. Using scientific methods and established approaches, combined with the utilisation of data, you’ll learn how to make informed decisions about improving public health. You will study important disciplines such as epidemiology, health promotion, health protection, improving health services, leadership and global health, understanding how they are all connected.

The programme aligns with the core competencies expected of public health practitioners, fostering the advancement of your critical thinking skills and the development of transferable skills and knowledge essential for advancing your career and practicing as a senior public health professional, both within the UK and internationally.

Our programme has been designed to align with internationally recognised frameworks, including the UK Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework and the WHO-ASPHER Core Competency Framework for Public Health in the European Region. This provides employers with the confidence that you have successfully gained the professional skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective public health practitioner.

At Keele, we have an international reputation in public health research, and the teaching on the Master in Public Health programme is deeply informed by this expertise. You will build essential research skills, including interpreting and understanding pivotal research areas, and applying findings to shape public health policy. Additionally, your understanding of applied epidemiology will be enhanced by exploring various effective methods to improve health and address health inequalities.

Our programme offers a global perspective on public health, allowing you to deepen your understanding of the challenges that affect health and wellbeing across diverse cultures, climates and economies. This includes considering issues such as hostilities, natural disasters, and varied political contexts.

Focusing on health protection, you will critically examine the impact of communicable diseases and environmental hazards on public health, spanning from disease transmission and prevention to international disaster management. Responses to outbreaks and their management, along with addressing the key communicable diseases that pose challenges to global health, are also explored.

Your skills in marketing health and wellbeing will be developed as you gain valuable competencies for careers linked to public health promotion. This includes exploring the enablers and barriers to public health promotion by examining various factors that contribute to the success of campaigns."

Quantitative data analysis can provide important insights into improving population health, and you will gain experience in working with data, exploring various statistical methods that can be applied in the field of epidemiology.

Progression to senior careers in public health and related fields requires knowledge and understanding of strategic leadership. How will you manage change or find solutions to leadership problems? Through insights from your own work experience and studying management theory will provide you with the necessary skills to navigate contemporary leadership.

You will explore the significance of community engagement and various interventions aimed at promoting health among diverse populations, ultimately working towards reducing health inequalities. Through this, you’ll develop a critical approach to innovatively tackling a spectrum of health issues, ranging from common risk factors like smoking and drinking to combatting diseases such as cardiovascular disease.

Information for international students

This course is available to international students.

Please see the course page on the Keele University website for up to date details.

There is also more information for international students on the Keele University website.

Fees and funding

Please see the course page on the Keele University website for up to date funding information.