Program Overview

---

Master of Public Health (MPH) (Online)

Overview

Study your MPH online. Delivery takes place via taught sessions, bespoke tutorials, and practical exercises, supported by online resources. Carefully selected tutors and guest lecturers will join you throughout the programme offering up-to-the minute insight, shared reflections and practical support for the duration.

You will look at how public health decision-makers think through the kinds of challenging problems they encounter in their work.

We work closely with healthcare collaborators in the region, and across the globe, to ensure we are meeting the complex needs of a changing healthcare sector.

This course combines the expertise of our world-renowned public health experts with specialists in leadership and management in our outstanding Business School.

You will be equipped to work in interdisciplinary healthcare teams to tackle the exciting opportunities and challenges in public health across a wide range of careers.

Entry Requirements

We welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds. You will have, or be predicted, at least a 2:2 Honours degree in a relevant subject such as Life, Health or Medical Science degrees, or intercalating medical students, with relevant public health work experience.

We will also welcome applications from people who can demonstrate evidence of significant Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) experience.

Entry Requirements for International Students

Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.

Accreditation of Prior Learning for Masters Courses in Healthcare and Medicine

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) is a process whereby students, who have already gained relevant skills and knowledge prior to the start of their course, may be granted a partial credit exemption from their programme instead of unnecessarily repeating work.

Course Content

Public health is everyone’s business, now more than ever. In these rapidly changing times, where knowledge is created at speed and new health challenges are always on the horizon, visionary public health leadership is urgently needed. This programme aims to equip you with the competencies and capabilities to become one of those future leaders.

Informed by the increasing importance of a systems approach to health and social care, the programme examines distributive leadership and the need to develop compassionate and inclusive leadership attributes, making change through the use of quality improvement methodologies and the importance of collaboration and boundary spanning.

This programme is internationally unique and focuses on moving from knowledge to action. One of the compulsory modules, Structuring and Solving Public Health Problems, focuses on how to ‘think in public health’, providing the foundation for the rest of your study and is the only public health module of its kind in the UK.

Programme Structure

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a part time programme of study, as appropriate. It is delivered at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 7.

The programme is divided into units of study called modules which are assigned a number of 'credits'. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with 1 credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work, a 15 credit module being equivalent to 150 hours of work and a full Masters degree being equivalent to approximately 1,800 hours of work. Therefore, for applicants who are working full time (or close to full-time), we recommend applying to complete the Masters degree over 2 or 3 years rather than 18 months.

Modules

The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

The MPH comprises 180 credits in total: taught compulsory modules worth 135 credits in total, one optional module (Masterclass) of 15 credits, and a Capstone Project worth 30 credits.

Fees

2025 entry

UK fees per year:

• MPH £5,800pa part-time 2 years
• PGCert£3,900 part-time 1 year
• PGDip£3,900 part-time 2 years

Standalone module fees: UK: £1,100 per 15-credit module

International fees per year:

• MPH £13,750pa part-time 2 years
• PGCert£9,250 part-time 1 year
• PGDip£9,250 part-time 2 years

Standalone module fees: International: £2,500 per 15-credit module

Funding and Scholarships

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.

Careers

Who is this course for?

The programme offers a collective learning environment in which professionals of all disciplines in healthcare study together to develop public health competencies.

The programme suits graduates who are planning or already undertaking a career within public health, health promotion, environmental health and protection, occupational health, workplace wellbeing or social enterprise.

Employer-valued skills this course develops

Through developing the skills to promote the health of populations by influencing lifestyle and socio-economic, physical and cultural environment and exploring the complex inter-relationship between health and the environment, you will develop the research-facing skills needed by contemporary leaders in public health.

Career paths (graduate destinations)

You will be equipped to work in interdisciplinary healthcare teams to tackle the exciting opportunities and challenges in public health across a wide range of careers. Careers include working in the health and pharmaceutical industry, supporting local commissioning, local authority public health, and work at the frontlines of health policy.

Teaching and Research

Our purpose is to deliver transformative education that will help tackle health challenges of national and global importance.

Teaching

Modules include immersive learning at the start and end of the taught components of the programme.

The programme is delivered online via taught sessions, bespoke tutorials, and practical exercises, supported by on-line resources. Carefully selected tutors and guest lecturers will join you throughout the programme offering up-to-the minute insight, shared reflections and practical support for the duration.

Content for the programme will be made available online via our dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to allow maximum flexibility in when you study to fit around your other commitments. We will provide a range of rich online materials, a variety of learning activities and encourage you to participate in learning communities. Each module will set out the key expectations and requirements at the start of teaching and you will receive timely feedback on your progress throughout the duration.

Learning

The approach to teaching includes synchronous and asynchronous online sessions, self-directed online learning, peer supported learning groups, facilitated chat rooms, and personal learning logs.

Teaching methods on the Masters course include:

• Case-based discussion
• Simulation and problem-based learning
• Seminars
• Group discussions
• Reflection sessions
• Buzz groups
• Chat backs
• Interactive workshops

You will be allocated an academic tutor who will remain with you throughout the programme. Academic tutors are able to provide guidance and feedback on assessment performance, guidance in generic academic skills and pastoral support. They are also able to refer you to more specialist support services, both within the College and elsewhere across the University.

Support

You will be allocated an academic tutor who will remain with you throughout the programme. Academic tutors are able to provide guidance and feedback on assessment performance, guidance in generic academic skills and pastoral support. They are also able to refer you to more specialist support services, both within the College and elsewhere across the University.

Research

Underpinned by the themes of complexity, leadership and decision-making, this MPH couples reflective learning and practice with research-led teaching from world-leading academics to balance transdisciplinary learning about public health with ‘real-life’ skills and tools.

At the University of Exeter, our research is globally recognised and our partnerships with healthcare providers, industry and above all, the public, mean that this work is constantly at the cutting-edge of innovation in improving lives.

Explore some of the many highlights of our research on our research impact page.

Programme Team

• Professor G J Melendez-Torres, Programme Director
• Dr Jenny Lloyd, Senior Lecturer
• Dr. Gary Abel, Senior Lecturer
• Dr. Kristin Liabo, Senior Research Fellow
• Professor Richard Smith, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor of Health Economics
• Professor Sarah Dean, Professor in Psychology Applied to Rehabilitation and Health

Related Courses

• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Clinical Education MSc
• Health Data Science MSc
• Environment and Human Health MSc
• Medical Mycology PGCert/PGDip/MSc (online)