Program

IntlPubHlth/PubHlth(Extn) - 9054

Program Summary

Faculty: Faculty of Medicine

Contact: School of Public Health and Community Medicine

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Typical Duration: 2 Years  

Typical UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC Per Semester: 6

Max UOC Per Semester: 24

Min UOC For Award: 96

Award(s):

Master of International Public Health

Master of Public Health (Extension)

View program information for previous years

Program Description

The 2-year Master International Public Health / Master of Public Health (Extension) dual program is an innovative approach to postgraduate health education enabling candidates to specialise in public health in international developing country contexts as well as Australia and other developed countries. The dual program meets a well-recognised need to strengthen public health capacities within Australia and internationally.

The Master of International Public Health (MIPH) is recognised as a sought after qualification in international health. Many graduates of MIPH or similar programs have found employment with international aid organisations. The Master of Public Health (MPH) 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) will provide an opportunity for high achieving students to extend their studies by completing additional courses and a research project in public health.

Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes

Graduates of the dual MIPH / MPH (Extn) program are equipped with specialised professional knowledge and skills to work in health departments, with non-government organisations, and with international and bi-lateral aid agencies both internationally and in Australia. The program cultivates sophisticated knowledge and skills in public health that can be applied to a broad range of highly complex population health issues in local and global settings including resource constrained, middle income and developed countries. Graduates acquire a complex body of multidisciplinary knowledge of public health including epidemiology, biostatistics, social determinants of health, health promotion, population health research methods, and health program and policy design, implementation and evaluation, and research skills. The program fosters judgment-ready critically reflexive practitioners who are able to contribute to improving public health outcomes in diverse settings drawing on a global health perspective.

Program Structure

Candidates must complete 96 Units of Credit (UOC) comprising:
  • Core courses - 4 courses (24 UOC)
  • International Health courses - 3 courses (18 UOC)
  • Elective courses - 5 courses (30 UOC)
  • Extension* (24 UOC)
48 UOC of core and elective course requirements of MPH program must be completed with an average mark of 65% or more before the final 24 UOC of MPH Extension coursework and research can be undertaken. This can be completed while completing requirements for the MIPH program. Both the 6 UOC and 18 UOC research projects of the MPH Extension component 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 Courses:
MPH core courses: PHCM9041, PHCM9498 and PHCM9012

International Health Prescribed Electives
Students must complete a minimum of three (18 UOC) of the following courses:
Electives (30 UOC)

Students choose 5 elective courses (30 UOC) from the list below.
PHCM9498 is a pre-requisite core course for PHCM9517 and PHCM9518

Note: The 48 UOC MPH requirements to be completed with a minimimum average mark of 65% to progress to the Extension component of the MPH are the 3 MPH core courses and 5 other SPCHM (which may be a MIPH core or international health elective courses).

* Extension (24 UOC)

Choose from one of the following options:
  • 18 UOC major project in international public health (PHCM9150) 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).
Streams (Areas of Specialisation)

The following streams are available in the Master of Public Health (Extension). These allow students to focus their studies on areas where the School has considerable expertise.
Students considering enrolling in a stream must seek advice from the MPH Program Director to ensure that they select the correct courses to meet the requirements of the stream as well as the rules of the dual Masters Extension program.

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.

Academic Rules

Please refer to the Program Structure above and contact the school office for further information.

Students enrolled in the MIPH / MPH (Extn) program will be required to exit with the MIPH/MPH on completion of 72 UOC that meet the requirements of the MIPH/MPH program if they fail to achieve an average mark of 65% to meet requirements to progress to the Extension component of the program. Students may also exit early with the 48 UOC MIPH or 48 UOC MPH, or with a Graduate Diploma (36 UOC) or Graduate Certificate (24 UOC) in either International Public Health or Public Health on completion of courses that meet the requirements of the relevant program.

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 Programs


Area(s) of Specialisation