Control of Infectious Diseases MSc

This is a multidisciplinary programme that bridges the fields of epidemiology, laboratory sciences and public health. It includes a strong practical component and the opportunity to undertake a research project overseas. The course will train students in all aspects of the control of infectious diseases and prepare them for a career in a range of organisations. This course will equip students with specialised skills that will facilitate a career in the control of infectious diseases as staff of health ministries, health departments, national or international disease control agencies, aid organisations or universities. The majority of the research projects are performed overseas, with collaborating public health or research organisations and NGOs. Students are encouraged to take advantage of this overseas opportunity, which is crucial to the nature of the course. Graduates from this programme enter a diverse range of positions and organisations across the fields of epidemiology, laboratory sciences and public health. By the end of this programme students should be able to: investigate the transmission of endemic and epidemic infections; select appropriate methods of control; design, implement and evaluate co-ordinated control methods; assess constraints of local public health delivery systems; manage available resources in the context of the control of infectious diseases; focus their efforts on particular geographical regions or specific diseases. Students taking the programme by split-study over two years attend full-time for part of Year 1, then take a one-year break, and undertake the remainder of the programme in Year 2. The split can occur at any module or slot end-point between the end of Term 1 and the end of formal teaching, by prior arrangement with the Course Director.

The normal minimum entrance qualification for registration on a Master's programme is at least one of the following: a second-class honours degree of a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, in a subject appropriate to that of the course of study to be followed; applicants with a strong academic background in ancillary subjects will also be considered; a registrable qualification appropriate to the course of study to be followed, in medicine, dentistry or veterinary studies; Applications with an appropriate technical qualification, or equivalent qualification and experience from overseas, are also welcomed; Additionally for the MSc Control of Infectious Diseases, some prior public health/overseas experience is advantageous and will be considered but is not necessarily a prerequisite for this course; Any student who does not meet the minimum entry requirement of a second-class honours degree or equivalent qualification but who has relevant professional experience may still be eligible for admission.