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Which public health course is right for you?

Find the course that fits your passion
Whether you’re interested in clinical research or biostatistics, managing health programs or impacting change in health policy – the Sydney School of Public Health has a range of postgraduate course options that will help you accelerate your passions.

Bioethics

Bioethics is concerned with ethical questions that arise in the contexts of biological and health sciences.

Philosophically-inclined? Put your mind to practice and delve into controversial ethical issues in biology and health like euthanasia, cloning and genetic engineering. You’ll learn how to write policy and discern practice by looking at morals, cultural issues and religious connotations.

Some of the questions you’ll address in your studies include:

  • Can we lie to patients?
  •  Should we tell the obese to lose weight, even when we know they feel stigmatised? 
  • Who owns bodily material, such as sperm, eggs or embryos?

Course options

Career pathways

This course responds to the widely recognised need for ethics education for scientists, researchers and professionals working in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, health law, health and public policy, science communication and related fields.

Biostatistics

Biostatistics is the application of statistical techniques to scientific research in health-related fields, including medicine and public health. Biostatisticians play an essential role in designing research studies, managing and analysing data, interpreting the results, as well as developing new approaches and methods to analysing data.

If numbers and data light up your mathematical brain, then biostatistics is your calling. In biostatistics, you could be using data to find the causation of a disease outbreak one day and determining population risk factors in things like genetic inheritance and mutation the next. The world is your calculator.

Course options

Career pathways

This course will provide you with advanced biostatistical training ensuring that you are well placed to obtain employment in a wide range of health, pharmaceutical, university, government and non-government organisations. If you are already working as a biostatistician, then study at postgraduate level will enhance your career development opportunities.

Clinical Epidemiology

Clinical epidemiology is the science behind good clinical research and evidence-based clinical decision making. As a clinical epidemiology student, you will learn from leading experts drawn from a wide range of clinical and academic fields who have considerable experience integrating research into their clinical work.

Are you passionate about seeing research come to life in clinical practice? Our courses in clinical epidemiology are designed for clinical researchers and practitioners who want to be the driving force behind putting good theory into practice. You will acquire the skills needed to generate high quality clinical research, and to find, interpret and evaluate research evidence to improve patient outcomes.

Course options

Career pathways

This course provides students with knowledge and skills in clinical epidemiology that will enable them to incorporate best evidence into their own clinical practice. It also covers all the essentials for the clinical researcher and provides a solid foundation for those interested in pursuing a research career.

Global Health

Do you want to work in public health but with a global perspective to help create a healthier future for people around the world? The Master of Global Health (formerly the Master of International Public Health) allows you to do both. In global health, you will be a driving force in achieving health equity for people worldwide.

This course focuses on preparing graduates as public health experts but with a global perspective to improve the health of populations around the world. This course includes the core skills in public health (epidemiology and biostatistics) and is underpinned by principles of equity, community participation, sustainability, the use of knowledge for action, and trans-disciplinary, evidenced-based, systems thinking.   It prepares you to apply public health principles to work in trans-disciplinary teams, and nurture genuine partnerships with communities to develop local solutions and reduce health inequities. You will have the opportunity to undertake a diverse range of international and professional placements.

Course options

Career pathways

Graduates of this course are able to obtain employment with:

  • non-government organisations (NGO's) internationally and in Australia
  • government ministries in developing countries
  • multilateral and bilateral agencies (such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the United Nations or the World Health Organization) 
  • Australian health services 
  • academic institutions

Health Policy and Planning

The study of health policy and planning provides students with a comprehensive and practical understanding of health systems and policy making processes. It offers a critical perspective on how health systems operate and the forces that shape the health policy environment. 

You will become a catalyst for better health policies and reshape the health system by understanding the needs of the population, economic factors and government financing. In health policy, you will learn how health priorities are set and the policymaking process nationally and internationally.

Course options

Career pathways

This course enables graduates to work at a high level across the health sector, whether it be in government and policy roles, leading health services, or working in advocacy, strategy, political advisory, regulation, or business development. 

Public Health

The study of public health focuses on the prevention of illness and the promotion of health. Learning opportunities are aimed at developing the essential knowledge and required skills of practitioners in the practice of public health, including the effective management of community health problems to improve conditions and outcomes.

You will learn how to educate the community and create a healthier future by introducing impactful programs and strategies.

Course options

Career pathways

This course prepares you for a hands on career in public health, such as working with people in the field, as well as research-oriented jobs which involve conducting studies and examining overall health trends.

Careers in public health include working as a:

  • public health officer in government health departments
  • health education/promotion officer
  • clinical research manager
  • health information manager 
  • health project manager.

Questions? 

Email our Education Support Team - 
E| ssph.education-support@sydney.edu.au.

15 September 2020