Course summary

Explore public health from a global perspective, and build your understanding of policy-making to address health inequalities in an applied setting. This specialist master's course aims to develop your interest in approaches that improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and populations. It's designed to provide you with an in-depth grounding in public health in a worldwide context. Taking a strong global perspective, the course places public health interventions within different social contexts, with a particular focus on policy. You will explore the various elements that go into developing, implementing and sustaining evidence-based, public health policy. This will help you gain a greater appreciation of necessary adaptations to suit different contexts, countries and regions. As you critically appraise public policy in different settings, you will build strong experimental, practical, analytical and evaluative skills. Utilising our links with leading public health organisations, you will also work with practitioners and groups to develop a research project in an area of particular interest. The MSc brings together Bath’s internationally-renowned work in applied health research, behavioural psychology, social policy, governance and public policy, international development, health and social care. You will have the chance to work with academics shaping new thinking and ideas in this field, through centres such as the Centre for Motivation and Health Behaviour Change, the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy, and the Centre for Development Studies, as well as the Tobacco Control Research Group. Each of these has strong links with public health practitioners and health organisations from across the world. Graduate prospects With a strong grounding in public health and health policy, you will be well equipped to respond to public health challenges in fast-paced political, media and technological contexts. You could go on to work as an epidemiologist, health scientist, public health advisor or practitioner, field consultant, global health educator, policy analyst, environmental health practitioner or NGO aid worker. Your skills will lend themselves to working in government agencies, international organisations, private research, academia, international charitable foundations or other NGOs. There’s also the option to progress your studies to doctoral level.