Public Health

This new BSc Public Health is jointly run with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to equip you with the skills and knowledge to improve population health, prevent disease and reduce health inequalities. Health is a growing area of employment and investment, so this course focuses directly on developing skills for effective public health practice, including working co-operatively and collaboratively to enhance health and health equity worldwide.

Why choose this course?

• Expert academics from Birkbeck and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) jointly teach on this course.

• It offers you the chance to explore topics related to public health and is ideal if you are interested in health promotion and health improvement, and the social context of population health.

• It is designed to develop work-relevant skills to support your career development.

• Graduating with a 2:1 or above provides a progression opportunity to LSHTM’s globally recognised MSc Public Health.

What you will learn

This course is structured to enable you to gain employment skills and develop academic expertise. You will consider some of the most pressing issues facing the public health sector and explore areas such as epidemiology, the social determinants shaping health inequalities, health promotion, health economics, health data, global health, and planetary health and social justice.

You will be able to choose from either a career development or micro-placement module to allow you to focus on developing your employability.

How you will learn

You can study this course either full- or part-time. Classes are mainly taught in the daytime, though some option modules may also be taught in the evening. Teaching includes workshops, seminars and tutorials, supported by rich online materials.

Foundation Year route

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

Highlights

• This BSc Public Health is jointly delivered with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, one of the world's leading public health institutions, combining their globally recognised expertise with Birkbeck's expert flexible teaching.

• You will benefit from access to the facilities, resources and academic communities of both Birkbeck and LSHTM, including seminars, events and networking opportunities.

• The course will equip you with skills and knowledge relevant to careers in the public, voluntary or private sectors.

Careers and employability

On successfully completing this course you will have gained a range of transferable skills including in:

• information literacy

• competency in using information technology

• robust written and verbal presentation skills.

You will also have gained skills and knowledge to prepare you for careers in the NHS, local authorities, the social care sector, voluntary organisations and many private sector organisations.

As well as public health, you could work in areas such as:

• environmental and climate health

• epidemiology and data analysis

• health protection

• health services management and administration

• child protection

• health promotion or community health

• housing

• health policy.

You will find public health graduates in the following kinds of roles:

• Public health practitioner or officer

• Public health intelligence analyst

• Health improvement practitioner

• Environmental health officer

• Community health worker or health promotion practitioner

• Policy officer

• Outreach or engagement officer

• Research assistant

• Children and young people’s development officer

• IAG officer for vulnerable service users

• Population health coordinator

• Advocacy worker

• Service improvement officer

Course modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.