About the course

Outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Zika and Ebola, alongside increased concerns regarding antibiotic resistance, highlight the need for professionals who fully understand the role of microorganisms in public health in order to respond to such threats.

The Microbiology in Public Health master’s degree studies the role of microorganisms in health and disease. It focuses on the science of microorganisms and the range of strategies employed for public health protection, including epidemiology, public health intelligence, vaccination, antimicrobial chemotherapy, diagnostic microbiology and outbreak investigation.

It will take you beyond studying microorganisms as causes of infection and how they can be detected and controlled to how epidemiology and intelligence can inform public health protection.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment is integral in all units to check that you have met the threshold standards expected of all graduates. They are also linked to learning, designed to develop key subject specific and transferable skills for future employment. The requirements of each assessment will be detailed in a formal assessment brief document and discussed in teaching sessions. The Microbiology and public health research methods unit (BHS0YY-6), which has a single summative assessment, will be supported with an earlier formative submission to enable students to gain feedback on their initial progress as they develop their research proposal. Units that include an end of unit examination shall include a formative exam experience to prepare students. The assessment tasks will include: - End of unit examination (unseen written examinations); - Problem-based learning, based on case studies, with poster presentation of findings; - Formal public health reports and briefing papers - Laboratory notebook and laboratory reports; - Literature review; - Research proposal; Oral presentation.