Postgraduate Courses
  • Students are to follow the requirements of the Handbook for the year they commenced the course.

    However, the subject links below do not contain the subject information for the current year. You can view current subject information through the new Course Handbook.

Master of Public Health

Testamur Title of Degree:

Master of Public Health

Abbreviation:

MPH

My University:

Public Health, Health Science

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**

** International students in Australia on a student visa who are studying onshore cannot enrol in more than 25% of their total course by distance as per ESOS legislation. Please see course requirements for further information.

Overview

The Master of Public Health is a flexible degree designed to give students a broad introduction to public health while equipping them with the skills and knowledge to define, critically assess and resolve public health issues within a community. The flexible and interest driven program allows students to develop, analyse and implement policy, plan and evaluate health services and programs whilst catering for their individual career goals. The program is structured in a manner that responds to the constantly changing health care issues both at local and international level. The degree is composed of: a core of four subjects; plus a choice of one of four speciality streams comprised of four subjects. The core subjects can be taken as a Graduate Certificate (UOW Course Code 1130) - see Course description in the Handbook. All speciality streams can also be completed as Graduate Certificates (UOW Course Codes 1183 Health Promotion, 1184 Public Health Nutrition, 1135 Occupational Health & Safety, 1172 Social Marketing for Health. This allows students to tailor their learning to their career aspirations.

Entry Requirements / Assumed Knowledge

Applicants must hold a Bachelor's degree of at least three years duration from a recognised tertiary institution, or equivalent. Applicants with other qualifications deemed acceptable by the Course Coordinator who have relevant work experience may be admitted following completion of the Public Health core or Health Promotion speciality stream Graduate Certificate (note other Graduate Certificates require a bachelor's degree for admission, or in the case of 1135 Certificate IV in Workplace Safety plus two years relevant work experience). 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 course structure and recommended subject progression tables below.

All students must complete the Public Health Core (24 credit points) and one speciality stream (24 credit points). Speciality streams have limited intakes. Consequently, commencing students must have their speciality stream choice approved by the Course Coordinator prior to commencement.

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 Course Coordinator.

Domestic on-campus students who have not completed an Australian degree program within the last ten years are 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 Course Coordinator. Other domestic on-campus students may enrol in SHS931 only with the permission of the Course Coordinator, as a quota applies for this subject.

* The following streams are available in both on-campus and distance** mode in 2013:

Core: Public Health (This may also be completed as a Graduate Certificate pathway qualification for entry into the Masters of Public Health)

Speciality stream: Health Promotion (This may also be completed as a Graduate Certificate pathway qualification for entry into the Masters of Public Health)

Speciality stream: Social Marketing for Health (This may also be completed as a Graduate Certificate pathway qualification for entry into the Masters of Public Health; see entry requirements)

* The following streams are only available on-campus and are taught in block delivery mode in 2013:

Speciality stream: Public Health Nutrition

Speciality stream: Occupational Health and Safety (subjects are usually not available in standard sessions or in every year)

Core: Public Health

Subject Code

Subject Name

Session

Credit Points

SHS 931

Public Health Communication and Data Skills

Required for international students; advised for students who have no university level award obtained in the last 10 years; available to domestic students with university qualifications <10 years only with Course Coordinator approval

Autumn or Spring

6

OR

     

6 credit points elective subject#: any 900 Level University of Wollongong subject may be selected if approved by Course Coordinator; subjects from the OHS and Social Marketing for Health streams will not be approved unless the student has been approved for enrolment in the full stream; recommended electives are as follows:

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 24cp of core MPH subjects can apply to exit the Masters and graduate instead with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health (UOW Course Code 1130); it can also be taken as a stand-alone award (see course description 1130).

# 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.

Speciality stream: 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 above 24cp can apply to exit the Masters and graduate instead with a Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion (UOW Course Code 1183); it can also be taken as a stand-alone award (see course description 1183).

Speciality stream: Health Promotion is available via on-campus or distance delivery mode**. If on-campus mode is selected, normal on-campus attendance is required throughout the academic session.

** International students in Australia on a student visa who are studying onshore cannot enrol in more than 25% of their total course by distance as per ESOS legislation.

Speciality stream: 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 above can apply to exit the Masters and graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health Nutrition (UOW Course Code 1184); it can also be taken as a stand-alone award (see course description 1184).

Speciality stream: Public Health Nutrition is only available on-campus. All subjects are taught in block delivery mode which requires on-campus attendance for intensive study days. Students require a 3-year undergraduate bachelor degree or equivalent, normally in nutrition, to be eligible to take this speciality.

Speciality Stream: Occupational Health and Safety

Subject Code

Subject Name

Session

Credit Points

LAW 969

Occupational Health and Safety Law

Autumn

6

SHS 970

Advanced Workplace Injury Management

Autumn

6

SHS 971

OHS Risk Management

Spring

6

SHS 972

Principles of Occupational Hygiene

Spring

6

Note: Students who complete the 24cp above can apply to exit the Masters and graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (UOW Course Code 1135); for 2013 MPH entrants it can also be taken as a stand-alone award (see course description 1135).

Speciality stream: Occupational Health and Safety is only available on-campus. Students require a 3 year bachelor's degree with at least 1 year equivalent of science subjects or a Certificate IV in Workplace Safety or equivalent plus two years of relevant work experience in an OHS related area. All subjects are taught in block delivery mode which requires on-campus attendance for intensive study days. Subjects are not offered in standard sessions or in every session or every year; intake quotas apply to subjects; students taking this speciality may, as a result, have a progression pattern that is not within minimum course completion timeframes. This should be taken into account when considering this stream.

Speciality Stream: Social Marketing for Health

Subject Code

Subject Name

Session

Credit Points

CHIP910

Critical Marketing and Media Analysis

Autumn

6

CHIP911

Social Marketing for Health

Autumn

6

CHIP912

Advanced Studies in Behaviour Change

Spring

6

CHIP913

Social Marketing Practice

Spring

6

Note: Students who complete the 24cp above can apply to exit the Masters and graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Social Marketing for Health (UOW Course Code 1172).

Speciality stream: Social Marketing for Health is available via on-campus or distance** delivery mode. Entry is limited: Students require a 3 year bachelor's degree to enter; MPH students have limited places in this stream and approval of the Course Coordinator is required prior to enrolment.

** International students in Australia on a student visa who are studying onshore cannot enrol in more than 25% of their total course by distance as per ESOS legislation.

Articulation with Other UOW Courses

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 studies in one of the Graduate Certificates above may apply to progress into the MPH program. All subjects successfully completed in the relevant Graduate Certificate will count as credit towards the Master of Public Health upon successful transfer to the Masters degree.

For students who enter directly into the MPH program, the Graduate Certificates are available as exit qualifications). Students who are considering exiting the MPH early should discuss this with the Course Coordinator as soon as possible.

Other Information

Other information is available at http://coursefinder.uow.edu.au/

Last reviewed: 21 March, 2014