This programme has been revised. Students entering from 2016/17 onwards follow the revised curriculum detailed on this page. Students who entered prior to 2016/17 follow the curriculum detailed here.

The Master of Public Health is a part-time programme delivered wholly online and runs over 20 months. The programme consists of seven 10-credit taught modules and a 20-credit research dissertation. Each module runs over an 8-week period. The programme must be completed within a maximum period of 60 months from the date of initial registration. The programme is designed to provide students, from a range of professional backgrounds, with a flexible learning experience.

Prospective students must satisfy the following:

• Students accepted on the course would normally be expected to hold an Honours primary degree in a relevant subject (minimum Second Class Honours) or an Honours primary degree in any discipline (minimum Second Class Honours) and either possess a postgraduate qualification in a relevant field or show evidence of at least two years work experience in a relevant field;
• The programme is open to registered health care professionals in Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Allied Health Care disciplines or applicants who hold a relevant primary degree. Applicants must provide evidence of current registration with the relevant professional regulatory body (e.g. the Irish Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (active registration) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland). Applicants not registered with one of the above professional bodies must provide evidence of level 8 qualification in a relevant health care discipline.

Exemptions at point of entry:
Holders of the Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection (CKU02/CKU13), the Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health or the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (CKW19/CKW20) will be exempt from certain modules on the programme if passed as part of the Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma examination and if he/she undertakes the MPH within 60 months from the date of successful completion of the aforementioned qualifications.

To access and interact with the course content, assignments and assessments etc., students will require access to at least a PC/Laptop running Windows 7 or later and Mac OSX 10.7.4. Common plug-ins such as Microsoft Silverlight, Java and Flash will also be required. Students must have access to MS Office or an equivalent suite of applications such as Libre Office. They must also have access to a modern standards compliant web browser. UCC recommends either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

To engage productively and successfully with the content, basic technical computer skills such as familiarity with word processing, web browsing and email is recommended.

Students who commenced in August 2017 take modules to the value of 90 credits as follows:

Year 1

Part A (Late August to Mid-December):
EH6092 Introduction to Public Health (10 credits)
EH6093 Introduction to Research Methods and Epidemiology (10 credits)

Part B (Early January to the end of June):
EH6094 Public Health Core Principles and Overview (10 credits)
EH6096 Principles and Practice of Multi-disciplinary Health Protection (10 credits)
EH6101 Microbiology, the Environment and Infectious Disease (10 credits)

Year 2

Part C (Late August to Mid-December):
EH6095 Health Promotion and Advocacy in Public Health (10 credits)
EH6097 Introduction to Social Research in Public Health (10 credits)

Part D (Early January to End of April):
EH6115 Master of Public Health Dissertation (20 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module Descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2018/2019 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules 2018/2019.

Exit Awards:
Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award)
A candidate who passes EH6092, EH6093 and EH6094 may opt to exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health. A student who subsequently applies to complete the Master of Public Health must do so within 5 years (60 months) from the date of award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health.

Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (Online) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award):
A candidate who achieves a pass mark of 40% in six of the following seven modules EH6092, EH6093, EH6094, EH6095, EH6096, EH6097 and EH6101 may opt to exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health. A student who subsequently applies to complete the Master of Public Health must do so within 5 years (60 months) from the date of award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health.

Students commencing in August 2018 take modules to the value of 90 credits as follows:

Year 1

Part A (Late August to Mid-December):
EH6092 Introduction to Public Health (10 credits)
EH6095 Health Promotion and Advocacy in Public Health (10 credits)

Part B (Early January to the end of June):
EH6094 Public Health Core Principles and Overview (10 credits)
EH6096 Principles and Practice of Multi-disciplinary Health Protection (10 credits)
EH6101 Microbiology, the Environment and Infectious Disease (10 credits)

Year 2

Part C (Late August to Mid-December):
EH6093 Introduction to Research Methods and Epidemiology (10 credits)
EH6097 Introduction to Social Research in Public Health (10 credits)

Part D (Early January to End of April):
EH6115 Master of Public Health Dissertation (20 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module Descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2018/2019 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules 2018/2019.

Exit Awards:
Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award)
A candidate who passes EH6092, EH6093 and EH6094 may opt to exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health. A student who subsequently applies to complete the Master of Public Health must do so within 5 years (60 months) from the date of award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health.

Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (Online) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award):
A candidate who achieves a pass mark of 40% in six of the following seven modules EH6092, EH6093, EH6094, EH6095, EH6096, EH6097 and EH6101 may opt to exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health. A student who subsequently applies to complete the Master of Public Health must do so within 5 years (60 months) from the date of award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Master of Public Health (Online) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Critically analyse theories and issues related to public health;
• Construct arguments around the social, political and economic factors determining the health of populations;
• Demonstrate competence in the key underpinning disciplines and theories of public health including epidemiology, communicable diseases including health care associated infections, biostatistics, social and behavioural sciences and social policy;
• Analyse and synthesise evidence and apply it to public health;
• Demonstrate enhanced knowledge in specific Public Health areas e.g. Health Promotion, Health Protection, Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Public Health;
• Demonstrate logical reasoning in written work and discussion;
• Employ a range of appropriate research and analysis methods with confidence and expertise;
• Critically reflect on their own and others' learning and practice.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (Online) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Critically analyse theories and issues related to public health;
• Construct arguments around the social, political and economic factors determining the health of populations;
• Demonstrate competence in the key underpinning disciplines and theories of public health including epidemiology, communicable diseases including health care associated infections, biostatistics, social and behavioural sciences and social policy;
• Analyse and synthesise evidence and apply it to public health;
• Demonstrate enhanced knowledge in specific Public Health areas e.g. Health Promotion, Health Protection, Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health (Online) (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Critically analyse theories and issues related to public health;
• Construct arguments around the social, political and economic factors determining the health of populations;
• Demonstrate competence in the key underpinning disciplines and theories of public health including epidemiology, communicable diseases including health care associated infections, biostatistics, social and behavioural sciences and social policy;
• Analyse and synthesise evidence and apply it to public health.