Overview
We all understand that disease and poor health can stop people from living long and fulfilling lives. Through the skills learnt on this course, you could be one of the many professionals working towards improving the health of individuals and entire societies.
On this course you’ll develop the skills to change and influence health policy at a local, national and global level. As science and research progresses, you’ll learn to use these developments to draw your own research conclusions and to address areas of health to really make a difference in society.
You’ll look at local issues such as the effects of the Heathrow expansion on public health and international topics like obesity or contagious viruses. You’ll be at the forefront in developing or improving existing approaches in policy to solve these challenges.
This course covers many aspects of health in its broadest sense including health promotion and public health; health care law and ethics; health and social policy and health service research.
You’ll learn the skills to support individuals, families and communities in their environment whether through public health campaigns, government initiatives or advice on a one-to-one basis. You’ll graduate from this course equipped with the skills to become a key driver for societal change.
This course is also available online, giving you a unique learning experience, allowing you to build connections with like-minded professionals worldwide. Find out more about the Public Health and Health Promotion MSc Online.
Commonwealth Shared Scholarship: You may be eligible for a full tuition fee waiver, as well as a range of other financial incentives, on this course. Find out more.
British Council Scholarship for Women in STEM: In partnership with the British Council, we are offering five fully-funded scholarships for female students from the Americas region (eligible countries only). The deadline to apply for this scholarship is 7 April 2023 at 11.59 pm – find out more.
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
This course is designed to give you up-to-date knowledge and the necessary skills to be able to understand and apply your learning in analysing evidence, assessing need, planning, implementation and the evaluation of public health and health promotion in a range of contexts.
A key focus is the development of a theoretical, conceptual, historical and critical understandings of public health and health promotion. This understanding will be applied to an analysis of ethical, political and policy debates informing health promotion and public health practice.
Compulsory
- Global Public Health and Epidemiology
This module allows students to understand population-based approaches to health and wellbeing in the global context and develop students' knowledge and critical understanding of key principles, concepts and theories in epidemiology.
Students will explore the history and development of global public health and to explore current and topical issues and to engage in critical debates and develop advanced skills and knowledge in global public health.
Students will also develop a critical understanding of the role of epidemiology within the context of public health and health promotion, as well as developing a critical understanding of major epidemiological study designs and their relevance to public health and health promotion.
- Research and Evaluation Methods
This module will allow students to critically explore, reflect upon and develop specialised research skills and knowledge in public health and health promotion. The module outlines the processes and stages of research, providing knowledge and critical awareness of a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Data analysis skills for collecting and analysing data, as well as evidence synthesis skills will be developed. Issues around ethics and research integrity in public health and health promotion research will be explored.
- Health Promotion Intervention & Design
This module explores theoretical and critical approaches to understanding the principles, perspectives and practice of health promotion. It provides students with advanced knowledge and skills in the theory and practice of health promotion.
Students will systematically design a health promoting programme and implementation/evaluation plan as guided by socio-cognitive and/or ecological models and planning models. Approaches to implementing and evaluating interventions in health promotion and public health will also be explored.
- Economic Evaluation of Health Interventions
This module will provide students with an understanding of evidence-based healthcare including critical appraisal of evidence related to effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions. Students will learn the methods used to measure costs and value health outcomes for economic evaluation studies.
The module aims to communicate evidence-based practice to manage health and lifestyles in the context of public health and health promotion
- Social Inequalities & Health
Within the module, students will critically explore sociological perspectives and the social context of health and wellbeing. This module examines the social determinants of health status and explores explanations and evidence for social inequalities in health.
Students will also explore the interconnections between poverty, ethnicity, gender and age in health related lifestyles and health outcomes.
- Dissertation
This module allows students to learn about research by working with an academic tutor on a topic relevant to the students’ area of interest. Students will learn how to design and conduct a piece of research in public health and health promotion, whilst developing the ability to communicate research processes and outcomes in writing
This course can be studied 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time, starting in September.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
Due to our strong links with key local and international health promotion and public health providers and specialists, you’ll gain strong connections within the sector before you even graduate. You’ll interact with potential employers from organisations such as Public Health England, the Department for International Development, the NHS and various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) at our annual employability event.
You’ll be prepared for a range of careers in public health and health promotion; health and social care; voluntary and government; and non-governmental organisations. You may choose to go into organisational, community, partnership or strategy development, health information strategy or project management.
UK entry requirements
- A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree, or equivalent internationally recognised qualification, in a subject such as Health Promotion, Public Health, Allied Health, Health related studies, Social Sciences, Medical Sciences, Biosciences, Sport Science, and Environmental Health.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2024/25 entry
UK
£11,550 full-time
£5,775 part-time
International
£23,615 full-time
£11,805 part-time
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
The MSc Public Health and Health Programme facilitates learning and teaching strategies that promote active and independent learning. The programme will provide a range of teaching and learning opportunities that will be delivered on campus supplemented with online resources. You will be expected to attend all lecture sessions on campus and participate in online events, as appropriate.
Please note that while recordings and online resources will help if you are unable to attend a particular teaching session, learning from the online materials only will not be an adequate substitute for certain aspects of the in-person learning experience. For example, online learning will not be able to replace the experience of being an active participant in a lively in-person seminar discussion on campus. Keep in mind that this is a campus-based degree programme, not an online programme – and attendance on campus will be essential for some events (e.g teaching sessions).
In addition,
- You'll have access to professionally-developed online lecture materials including videos and teaching scripts for most of the modules. Learning will be supported by a range of other resources on our new Brightspace Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) including, for example, interactive activities and quizzes. Module / block leaders may offer additional briefing, revision, and/or Q&A sessions on online platforms where appropriate.
- You'll participate in lecturer-led journal clubs and webinars on research-led public health and health promotion topics
- The development of study, academic and transferable skills are enhanced through the opportunity to participate in academic development workshops
- You'll benefit from learning from each other on campus
- You'll have access to a personal tutor
- Feedback & consultation hours, personal tutoring hours, and project supervision discussions will be offered both in-person on-campus and via online platforms. This will allow you to easily receive feedback, advice and guidance without having to travel to campus on a day that you might otherwise not be attending.
- All assessments are coursework that you'll submit through an online portal
- You'll develop research skills through conducting a research project (dissertation) that will be supervised by an academic member of staff
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
The Public Health and Health Promotion MSc draws upon lecturers within the division of health sciences, the wider university and external specialist experts. The teaching team are research active and engage in scholarly activity that informs the curriculum. There are interactions between research and teaching and learning throughout the programme.
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
You’ll be assessed on case studies, essays, presentations, written examinations and a research dissertation. At the start of the programme you’ll be provided with the assessment schedule including assessment and feedback dates.
You’ll need to complete eight study blocks that lead to six assessments and a 15,000 to 18,000-word dissertation to achieve the MSc Public Health and Health Promotion.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.