Master of Public Health

Testamur Title of Degree:	Master of Public Health
Abbreviation:	MPH
Home Faculty:	Health and Behavioural Sciences
Duration:	1 year full-time or part-time equivalent
Total Credit Points:	48
Delivery Mode:	*Varies depending on the streams chosen
Starting Session(s):	Autumn, Spring
Location:	Wollongong campus
UOW Course Code:	580
CRICOS Code:	009245F

* The Core Stream: Public Health and Stream D: Social Marketing for Health will be available in distance mode from 2010. Stream A: Health Promotion, Stream B: Public Health Nutrition and Stream C: Occupational Health and Safety are offered on campus only in 2010.

From 2011, Stream B: Public Health Nutrition may become available via distance study. Please refer to the 2011 Course Handbook at the time of publication.

Overview

The Master of Public Health at the University of Wollongong is designed to give students a broad introduction to public health. It also enables students to develop knowledge and skills in one of four specialist areas in which the University excels: health promotion, public health nutrition, occupational health and safety, and social marketing in health. The University has a strong teaching tradition which supports students to study part or full time, on-campus or off-campus.

Entry Requirements / Assumed Knowledge

Applicants must hold a Bachelors degree of at least three years duration from a recognised tertiary institution, or equivalent. Applicants with other acceptable qualifications and work experience may be admitted on completion of a designated Graduate Certificate program.

International students are required to have achieved an overall IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum level of 6.0 in all bands of reading and writing, speaking and listening.

Course Requirements

The Master of Public Health requires the successful completion of 48 credit points of subjects in accordance with the tables below.

All students must complete the Public Health Core (24 credit points) and one of the 4 elective streams (24 credit points). Commencing students should consult with the postgraduate coordinator regarding their choice of elective stream.

All international students are required to enrol in SHS931 Public Health Communication and Data Skills in their first session of study as part of the Public Health Core. For these students, this subject may only be replaced by an elective subject with the permission of the postgraduate coordinator.

Domestic on-campus students who have not completed an Australian degree program within the last ten years may be advised to enrol in SHS931 Public Health Communication and Data Skills in their first session of study as part of the Public Health Core. They should consult the postgraduate coordinator. Other domestic on-campus students may enrol in SHS931 only with the permission of the postgraduate coordinator, as a quota applies for this subject.

Core: Public Health
Subject Code	Subject Name	Session	Credit Points
SHS 931 Or	Public Health Communication and Data Skills	Autumn or Spring	6
6 credit points of an approved elective subject#
SHS 933	Social Determinants of Health	Autumn	6
SHS 932	Epidemiology	Spring	6
SHS 940	Statistics in Health Research	Spring	6
Note: students who complete the 24 cp of core MPH subjects can apply to graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health. Academic advice should be sought prior to applying to graduate*.

# International students are required to complete SHS931 in their first session of study and may not choose an elective in its place without written permission from the Course Coordinator. Domestic students should seek advice from the Course Coordinator as to whether they should take SHS931 or a 6cp elelctive.

Stream A: Health Promotion
Subject Code	Subject Name	Session	Credit Points
SHS 934	Health Promotion	Autumn	6
SHS 935	Public Health Policy	Autumn	6
SHS 930	Health Promotion Competencies	Spring	6
SHS 941	Health Research Methodology	Spring	6
Note: students who complete the 24cp required for Stream A: Health Promotion can apply to graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion. Academic advice should be sought prior to applying to graduate*. Stream A: Health Promotion is not available via Distance. Subjects require normal on-campus attendance throughout the academic session.

Stream B: Public Health Nutrition
Subject Code	Subject Name	Session	Credit Points
SHS 936	Public Health Nutrition	Autumn	6
SHS 938	Food and Nutrition Monitoring and Surveillance	Autumn	6
SHS 937	Nutrition Promotion	Spring	6
SHS 939	Food and Nutrition Policy	Spring	6
Note: students who complete the 24cp required for Stream B: Public Health Nutrition can apply to graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Nutrition. Academic advice should be sought prior to applying to graduate*. Stream B: Public Health Nutrition is not available via Distance. Subjects are taught in block delivery which requires on-campus attendance.

Stream C: Occupational Health and Safety
Subject Code	Subject Name	Session	Credit Points
LAW 969	Occupational Health and Safety Law	Autumn	6
SHS 971	OHS Risk Management	Autumn	6
SHS 970	Advanced Workplace Injury Management	Spring	6
SHS 972	Principles of Occupational Hygiene	Summer	6
Note: students who complete the 24cp required for Stream C: Occupational Health and Safety can apply to graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. Academic advice should be sought prior to applying to graduate*. Stream C: Occupational Health and Safety is not available via Distance. All Subjects are taught in block delivery mode which requires on-campus attendance.

Stream D: Social Marketing for Health
Subject Code	Subject Name	Session	Credit Points
CHIP911	Social Marketing for Health	Autumn	6
GHMD930	Mass Media & Population Health	Autumn	6
CHIP912	Advanced Studies in Behaviour Change	Spring	6
CHIP913	Social Marketing Practice	Spring	6
Note: students who complete the 24cp required for Stream D: Social Marketing for Health can apply to graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Social Marketing for Health. Academic advice should be sought prior to applying to graduate*. Stream D: Social Marketing for Health is available via on-campus or distance delivery mode.

The Master of Public Health articulates with the following graduate certificates:

• Graduate Certificate in Public Health

• Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion

• Graduate Certificate in Public Health Nutrition

• Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

• Graduate Certificate in Social Marketing for Health

Students who commence in one of the Graduate Certificates above may apply to progress into the MPH program. Please note that an application to transfer into the MPH must be lodged prior to an application to graduate from the Graduate Certificate in order to receive the maximum amount of credit if the transfer is successful. Students considering this option must seek academic advice before lodging an application for transfer or graduation.

*For students who enter directly into the MPH program, there are several potential exit points prior to completion of the full MPH program, depending on which subjects have been completed. Students wishing to exit the MPH prior to completion of the required 48cp points may do so in accordance with the Core or Stream tables listed above. The core MPH subjects and streams each equate directly to a particular Graduate Certificate qualification. Students must be aware however, that once they have exited the MPH program by graduating with a Graduate Certificate, University General Course Rules may prohibit full credit for subjects already completed should they choose to return to the MPH program at a later date. Students who are considering exiting the MPH program early should discuss this in detail with the Course Coordinator prior to making a final decision or lodging an application to transfer or graduate.

Further Information

A/Prof Heather Yeatman
Course Coordinator
+61 2 4221 3153
hyeatman@uow.edu.au