Overview 2024
This course may not be available to international students. Please see the list of distance courses (i.e. online and taken outside Australia) that are offered to international students
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For years prior to 2015, please view the Course and Unit Handbook Archive
View the current year's course page
The Master of Public Health program introduces and consolidates fundamental principles of public health in Australia and globally. It encourages students to think broadly about the factors that affect health and wellbeing including social, environmental, cultural, economic, political and structural issues. It aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to address challenges to public health through effective public health practice that is collaborative and multidisciplinary.
The public health graduate program has been developed in close collaboration with industry. This ensures that teaching is linked closely into current policy and practice and builds on the networks that are essential to effective public health practice.
This program is relevant to those who work within public health as well as those wanting to move into the field of public health. The Master of Public Health comprises coursework and research and involves specialisation into one of four streams:
- Epidemiology
- Health Services
- Environment, Disease and Food
- Remote and Polar Health.
Course objectives
- To provide specialist education in public health which comprises a core set of skills and competencies and is supplemented by an option of more specialised areas of interest which may include epidemiological, environmental and health service sciences.
- To provide specialist education in the six areas of practice outlined in the Foundation Competencies for Master of Public Health Graduates in Australia. They are: health monitoring and surveillance, disease prevention and control, health protection, health promotion, health policy planning and management and evidence based professional population health practice.
- To support the student to develop as a reflective practitioner of public health who is able to engage objectively with public health issues either individually or as a group member.
- To facilitate a student-centred approach designed to encourage a breadth of knowledge, depth of understanding, application of skills, synthesis of approaches and originality of ideas within the discipline of public health.
- To challenge traditional concepts of health and encourage the student to think broadly and laterally about the social, economic, cultural and environmental determinants of health and inequalities and inequities in health at a population level.
- To encourage students to appreciate the complexities of health at a population level and to draw on a broad knowledge and understanding when developing or contributing to health policy or strategy. To emphasise that improvements in health occur through effective partnership with communities, government, industry, education, health professionals and non-government organisations and highlight the importance and value of a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to health improvement.
- To encourage an understanding of the fundamental importance of ethics in public health practice.
Learning Outcomes
Course structure
Compulsory Units
This unit explores the principles, theories and practice of epidemiology. Students are provided with a comprehensive introduction to the collection and interpretation of epidemiological data within the framework of health, health care delivery and human services. The unit content covers…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
This unit introduces the scope of public health practice in the 21st century and the social, political and economic context within which public health practitioners operate. The unit combines theoretical and practical material to assist students to understand the social…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
Systems thinking is an approach to public health that allows us to understand and manage complex problems. The purpose of this unit is to introduce key systems thinking concepts and practical methods to address complexity to improve the health of…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM530 Systems Thinking in Public Health
This unit offers an introduction to the fundamental concepts of biostatistics, providing a background in descriptive and analytical methods that are used to estimate associations between variables. This unit covers statistical theory, data entry and manipulation methods, data summarising, basic…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
This unit will equip students with an understanding of the research methods used in health disciplines in order to interpret published research, and design research of their own. The Unit content includes the theoretical underpinning of both qualitative and quantitative…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
Major Projects Part A and B are the final part of your Masters degree that provide an opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of original, independent research, building on and focussed on the topic or topics that are of particular…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
Major Projects Part A and B are the final part of your Masters degree that provides an opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of original, independent research, building on and focussed on the topic or topics that are of particular…
Credit Points: 25
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
Choose from the following
This unit provides an introduction to the Healthcare in Remote and Extreme Environments. It starts by considering the characteristics of different types of remote populations and remote medical practice, the understanding of which is vital to providing appropriate health care.…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM503 Operational Aspects of Healthcare in Remote and Extreme Environments
Globally, health systems are tasked with responding to contemporary challenges and the related disease burden and health needs of their population. This unit takes a systems approach to examine how health systems are designed, the key components, who pays, and…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
Evaluation is a core function of public health and health system leadership. It provides evidence to improve the design, delivery, reach and impact of health interventions in the many different contexts of the health system. This unit develops student competencies…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 |
Choose from the following
Choose from the following
Evaluation is a core function of public health and health system leadership. It provides evidence to improve the design, delivery, reach and impact of health interventions in the many different contexts of the health system. This unit develops student competencies…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 |
Choose from the following
This unit provides a framework for effective leadership and supervision: supervision in context, direct supervision, constructive feedback, structure and content of meetings, dimensions of supervision, quality of the supervisory relationship and training for supervisors. On completion participants should have a…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM521 Supervision & Leadership, Theory, Process & Practice
This unit provides a framework for understanding the links between knowledge and practice. It is about considering the when, why and, importantly, how of translational research in practice. It is also designed to encourage the development of the capacity of…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Spring school (extended) |
View all details for CAM538 Translational Research and Health Service Innovation
The purpose of this unit is to enable students to gain an in-depth understanding of the essential role that leadership plays in contemporary health and human service (H&HS) organisations. You will start to develop the foundational knowledge and skills required…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM539 Leadership in Health and Human Services
Evaluation is a core function of public health and health system leadership. It provides evidence to improve the design, delivery, reach and impact of health interventions in the many different contexts of the health system. This unit develops student competencies…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 |
This Unit explores the nature of change within the broader environmental and organisational context. It will include exploration of current theories and research around issues relating to leading and managing as well as diffusion of innovation. Strategies for successful implementation…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM722 Leading and Managing Change in Health and Human Services
Choose from the following
This unit will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of contemporary environmental health concepts and examine the environmental and ecological determinants of health within the framework of national and international policy. Students undertaking this course will acquire valuable insights into…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 |
Evaluation is a core function of public health and health system leadership. It provides evidence to improve the design, delivery, reach and impact of health interventions in the many different contexts of the health system. This unit develops student competencies…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 1 |
Communicable Disease Epidemiology will explore communicable diseases of humans from an epidemiological perspective. It will provide an introductory overview of the basic biological knowledge needed to understand the interactions within and between populations of microbes, human and other animals. Students…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hobart | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM626 Communicable Disease Epidemiology
Traditional approaches to food safety assurance are failing to keep up with the modern food industry. In response, and to harmonise international trade in food, food safety management is moving to a "risk-based approach that relies strongly on synthesis of…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 2 |
Choose from the following
This unit is concerned with the practice of health-care in extreme environments. It starts with generic considerations before moving on to examine the following extreme environments in detail: cold, high altitude, desert, maritime, underwater, aviation, and space. The challenges of…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 1 |
View all details for CAM619 Medicine in Extreme Environments
Remote and Extreme Environment Health-care practice requires health care providers to have an extended skill set and perform various tasks that are conventionally performed by other health care professionals. This unit provides a framework for learning and assessment in the…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 |
View all details for CAM630 Practical Skills for Remote Health Care
This unit is an intensive, residential course providing practical skills development to support on-line units offered in the Healthcare in Remote and Extreme Environment courses. The unit commences with a focus on basic knowledge and skills in the following domains:…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 1 | ||||
Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Online | Spring school (extended) |
Extreme environments are so named due to the unique challenges they pose to human performance. In this online unit you will learn about the factors that characterise an environment as extreme, and how living and/or working in an extreme environment…
Credit Points: 12.5
Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Semester 1 |
View all details for KHB701 Human Behaviour in Extreme Environments
Entry requirements
Fees & scholarships
Domestic students
This is a full-fee course, which means you’ll need to pay the entire amount for your studies. Commonwealth supported places are not available in this postgraduate course. However, there are still support options available for eligible students to help you manage the cost of studying this course.
You may be able to fund all or part of your tuition fees by accessing a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian Government. FEE-HELP is a loan scheme that assists domestic full-fee students to pay for University, which is repaid through the Australian Tax System once you earn above a repayment threshold. This means you’ll only have to start repaying the loan once you start earning above a specific amount.
Our scholarships and prizes program also offers more than 400 scholarships across all areas of study. You can even apply for multiple scholarships in one easy application.
An important note on Youth Allowance and AustudyThe Department of Social Services has approved some accredited and professionally oriented Masters courses for student payments through Youth Allowance or Austudy. This means if you enrol in one of these courses, you may be eligible for student payments. However, please be aware that this is not the case for all Master courses. Please visit our Scholarships, Fees and Costs website for further information.
Further informationDetailed fee information for domestic students is available at Scholarships, fees and costs, including additional information in relation to the compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
Domestic students enrolled in certain postgraduate coursework programs may not be eligible for student payments through Youth Allowance and Austudy. Visit the Department of Social Services website to find out more about eligibility for Centrelink support and the list of eligible courses
Scholarships
For information on general scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.
How can we help?
Do you have any questions about choosing a course or applying? Get in touch.
- Domestic
- 13 8827 (13 UTAS)
- International
- +61 3 6226 6200
- Course.Info@utas.edu.au
- Online
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