Program

Public Health (Extn) - 9046

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Medicine

Contact: School of Public Health and Community Medicine

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Typical Duration: 1.5 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 72

Award(s):

Master of Public Health (Extension)

View program information for previous years

Program Description

The Master Public Health (MPH) program is widely recognised as essential for a career in population health, including health promotion, primary health care, policy formulation, research, and management of health programs. The MPH (Extension) program extends students’ knowledge and skills in public health research by allows candidates to undertake an advanced research project. Many of our graduates occupy key positions in health services and universities in Australia, and the Western Pacific and Asian regions, or undertake a PhD in Public Health as the first step in developing a career in public health research.

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

The UNSW Master of Public Health (Extension) program provides students with advanced disciplinary knowledge and skills to undertake population health roles in government, community and health service settings in Australia and internationally. The program fosters sophisticated understanding and application across the complex body of multidisciplinary knowledge of public health including epidemiology, biostatistics, social determinants of health, health promotion, population targeted health research methods, and health program design, implementation and evaluation. Graduates are equipped with the specialised skills needed for research and professional practice in public health across a range of contexts including ministries and departments of health; government, non-government and voluntary organisations; primary care and community healthcare services in the public and private sectors, and in academic institutions.

Program Structure

The program consists of the following components, for a total of 9 courses and 1 major project comprising 72 units of credit (UOC).
  • Core courses - 3 courses (18 UOC)
  • Elective courses - 5 courses (30 UOC)
  • Extension* (24 UOC)
Both the core and elective course requirements of program must be completed with an average mark of 65% or more before the final 24 UOC of Extension coursework and research can be undertaken. Both the 6 UOC and 18 UOC research projects may be completed in a range of locations with the involvement of approved local and UNSW academic supervisors and approval of the Program Director.

Core (18 UOC)
Electives (30 UoC)

Students choose 5 elective courses (30 UOC) from the list below. Students may also apply to the Program Director to be allowed to replace up to 12 UOC of course electives with a 6 UOC research project (PHCM9148), 6 UOC Independent Study (PHCM9103) or 6 UOC Internship (PHCM9143).
Note: PHCM9498 is a pre-requisite course for PHCM9517 and PHCM9518

*Extension (24 UOC)

Choose from one of the following options:
  • 18 UOC major project in public health (PHCM9150 or both PHCM9151 and PHCM9152) to be negotiated with an academic supervisor plus a 6 UOC elective course; or
  • 6 UOC research project (PHCM9148) to be determined in consultation with the academic supervisor of the project plus 3 elective courses (18 UOC)
Additional Course Requirement for International Students.

International Students who have not previously completed a degree in Australia and are enrolled in the full time program in Sydney (Kensington campus) are required to take the following additional course in their first semester.
This course is available for all students to assist them with academic literacy practice and includes critical reading, thinking and writing, oral communication and managing postgraduate study. The course is made available at no charge to students and does not contribute to the program requirements of the degree. Local students who have not studied recently are also welcome to enrol to assist them with the transition back to university and to assist them with their academic skills.

Streams (Areas of Specialisation)

The following streams are available in the Master of Public Health (Extension) to be completed in the first 48 UOC of the program. These allow students to focus their studies on areas where the School has considerable expertise, and may incorporate a research project.

Academic Rules

Students enrolled in the MPH (Extn) program may exit early with the MPH on completion of 48 UOC that meet the requirements of the MPH program, or with the Graduate Diploma in Public Health on completion of 36 Units of Credit that meet the requirements of the Graduate Diploma.

Fees

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  UNSW Fee Website.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to have either:
  • An undergraduate degree in a field relevant to public health or health management (see list below)* and two years full-time professional or volunteer experience. This may also include equivalent professional experience acquired as part of a degree of 4 or more years duration (e.g. MBBS, MD)
OR
  • An undergraduate degree plus an honours or postgraduate degree in a field relevant to public health or health management (see list below)*
[*Examples include, but are not restricted to, medicine, nursing, allied health, health sciences, biomedical sciences, dentistry, social work, sociology, behavioural and social sciences, social work, psychology, marketing, human services, emergency services, environmental health, veterinary science, health administration, business, management, engineering, law, science, mathematics and statistics, economics, policy studies and development studies.]

Applications will be assessed in accordance with the UNSW Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and Procedure.

Application Procedure

For Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens, applications for postgraduate coursework programs at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine are online through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).

For international students, applications for postgraduate coursework programs at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine are online through UNSW Apply Online.

Please contact the Student Services office for further information postgrad-sphcm@unsw.edu.au

Further Information


Related Program(s)


9045 Public Health
5507 Public Health
7368 Public Health

Area(s) of Specialisation