Program Overview

Public Health Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship

Overview

The Public Health Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship is a professional apprenticeship that combines vocational work-based learning with study towards a university degree. Designed in partnership with employers, this apprenticeship offers a higher education qualification, a salary, and invaluable practical experience and employment skills.

Course Details

Year 1 Core Modules

• Contemporary Public Health Issues: Apprentices gain an understanding of the public health spectrum, focusing on contemporary health issues and skills to examine factors contributing to development and prevention.
• Introduction to Epidemiology: Apprentices study disease and health outcomes in populations, looking at causes and what can be done to remove or control causes.
• Principle of Public Health: Apprentices explore key elements of the public health field, providing a firm foundation to develop in future modules.
• Research in Public Health: Apprentices gain the skills needed to take part in simple research within a public health context.

Year 2 Core Modules

• Epidemiology: Apprentices gain a basic understanding of epidemiological methods, their applications, strengths, weaknesses, and current methodological issues.
• Health Needs Assessment: Apprentices develop as confident and effective public health practitioners, able to reflect on, respond and contribute to the public health agenda.
• Leadership and Strategy in Public Health Practice: Apprentices are introduced to the critical role leadership and management has in improving population and community health.
• Research in Public Health 2: Apprentices develop on the skills needed to understand and take on research within a public health context.

Year 3 Core Modules

• Dissertation: Apprentices consolidate and develop their skills and knowledge gained in previous modules.
• Dissertation Preparation: Apprentices are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to prepare and manage a research project and complete a methodologically and ethically sound proposal.
• Public Health Practitioner End Point Assessment: This module prepares apprentices for the End Point Assessment (EPA).

How You Learn

Apprentices take part in one day of off-the-job learning, delivered every Monday in Semester 1 and 2 of each year on the course. Teaching is delivered by a team of academic staff including professors, senior lecturers, lecturers, and practitioners.

How You Are Assessed

Apprentices are assessed through written assignments, reflections, reports, case studies, exams, poster presentations, and projects. Modules are closely integrated with practical experiences, with content directly linked to practice proficiencies and Apprenticeship Standards KSBs.

Entry Requirements

• Apprentices must be employed.
• Hold GCSE Maths and English grade 4 or above (or equivalent), for applicants aged 19 or under at point of entry.

Employability

This course is a professional apprenticeship, and after completion, graduates are expected to continue in employment as trained and skilled PHPs. Graduates are eligible for UKPH registration and will be autonomous, professional, reflective practitioners with the ability to evaluate research and apply an evidence-based approach to public health practice.

Career Opportunities

Graduates can practice as a PHP in roles such as:

• Community engagement officer
• Community health worker or development worker
• Disease prevention lead (infection, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes)
• Healthy lifestyles or wellbeing coordinator
• Health protection and improvement practitioner
• Injury and accident prevention officer
• Immunisation programme coordinator
• Institutional health management
• Workplace health advisor
• Public health intelligence specialists/officers (data collection, analysis, interpretation, reporting in public health)
• Public health promotion and advertisement bureau (tobacco control, sexual health promotion)
• Public health project manager.

Tuition Fees

• Entry to academic year: £20,000 in total.

Service User and Carer Involvement

Service users and carers support all aspects of students' lifecycle from recruitment to graduation.