24. Public health

Graduate Diploma in Public Health

(GradDipPH) KF000

Master of Public Health

(MPH) KC052

Overview

The Public Health program focuses on the prevention of illness and the promotion of health, with practitioners playing a proactive rather than a reactive role, especially with regard to the coordination of relevant community resources. These courses provide the opportunity to develop skills and acquire knowledge essential for the effective practice of public health, including the effective management of community health problems.

The master’s degree may be awarded at either a pass or honours grade. Honours is only available to students who meet the criteria detailed below, which include enrolling in a further 12 credit points of dissertation units of study for which they undertake supervised research which is written up in a dissertation for examination.

Master’s degree students who choose not to undertake the honours component but complete their coursework units of study with a minimum average mark of 75 percent will be awarded pass with merit.

Admission

Admission normally requires a minimum of a four-year full-time degree (or its part-time equivalent) from the University of Sydney or a recognised institution. If candidates do not have a recognised four-year full-time equivalent degree, then a shorter degree may be acceptable as long as they also have non-degree professional qualifications and/or substantial relevant experience and/or other relevant qualifications.

Structure

The graduate diploma is embedded in the master’s degree (see the explanation of embedded degrees in chapter 8). Students who commence the graduate diploma may be able to upgrade to the master's degree on completion of 24 credit points of coursework or at the discretion of the coordinator of the Public Health program.

The program comprises 24 credit points of public health core (compulsory) coursework providing basic public health knowledge and skills. The remainder of the credit points necessary for the qualification is made up of elective units of study allowing students to select units of study appropriate to their career interests.

All core units of study are scheduled in Semester 1 and most electives are in Semester 2 of each year.

In general, full-time students attend classes during the day in Semester 1, while classes for part-time students are usually scheduled on two evenings per week. In Semester 2 attendance times depend on the elective units of study selected. Most units of study are available in distance mode – please consult the School of Public Health website for more information. Assessment methods vary from unit to unit and include assignments, class exercises and, for some core units of study, examinations.

The graduate diploma comprises four core units of study (24 credit points) and a further 12 credit points of elective units of study chosen from the lists of electives. At least 28 credit points of core and elective units of study must be chosen from the PUBH core and electives list. A maximum of eight credit points of elective units of study may be chosen from the non-PUBH electives list (see unit of study tables below and chapter 31 for unit of study details). Other combinations are only possible with the written approval of the course coordinator.

The master’s degree comprises four core units of study (24 credit points) and a further 24 credit points of elective units of study chosen from the lists of electives. At least 36 credit points of core and elective units of study must be chosen from the PUBH core and electives list. A maximum of 12 credit points of elective units of study may be chosen from the non-PUBH electives list (see unit of study tables below and chapter 31 for unit of study details). Other combinations are only possible with the written approval of the course coordinator.

To qualify for the master’s degree with honours, students must obtain a weighted average mark of 70 per cent in all 48 credit points of coursework and successfully complete an additional 12 credit point research dissertation (ie 60 credit points of units of study in total), in which students undertake a supervised individual project in an area of interest and report the outcomes in a dissertation. Students are only able to enrol in the dissertation if they have achieved a weighted average mark of 70 percent in their first 24 credit points of coursework and have the permission of the course coordinator.

Public health core units of study

Public health additional core unit of study

Public health PUBH elective units of study

Public health non-PUBH elective units of study

Public health dissertation units of study

Further enquiries

Mr Fateh Abdullah
Phone: +61 2 9351 4366
Fax: + 61 2 9351 7420
Email:
Website: www.health.usyd.edu.au/future/coursework/publichealth