Public Health

Overview

The first year of the programme consists of six mandatory courses (60 ECTS credits). In the third term the students choose any three courses of the four elective courses offered, or go on exchange abroad. The fourth term is allocated to thesis writing.

The Master in Public Health at UIT the Arctic University of Norway thesis (30 ECTS credits) should be written on a topic related to the elective courses chosen by the student.

The purpose of the thesis is to prepare for planning, developing and presenting a scientific project in the field of public health. The thesis can be an empirical study based on data to which the student has been given access, or data that the student has collected. It can also be a literature review or a project of more theoretical character.

Etiology and prevention are central topics in this programme with its emphasis on:

• epidemiology

• biostatistics and global health.

After completing the study, it is expected that students will be able to:

• Advise policy makers concerning interventions that affect population health
• Critically assess the effectiveness of various public health measures
• Critically reflect on social and cultural aspects of health, illness and health service
• Apply health economic principles in the design of financing mechanisms for hospitals and primary care providers
• Analyse the cost-effectiveness of alternative uses of health care resources, and make systematic comparisons for the purpose of priority setting
• Critically evaluate the methodology of scientific publications in public health
• Identify and analyse central ethical challenges in public health
• Explain the main causes of global health inequalities
• Apply the principles of evidence-based medicine and independently assess the knowledge base for interventions
• Use a set of epidemiological methods in the analysis of health-related issues
• Plan, implement and present a research project on public health