In public health, the focus is on populations and communities rather than individual patients. There are a number of career options in research, public or government services or voluntary organisations and non-governmental organisations. Starting from a common core, students may develop into roles ranging from public health analysts, health services researchers, communicable disease control consultants, environmental epidemiologists, health policy advisors or directors of public health.

Master of Public Health graduates are able to:

• Design, analyse, interpret and evaluate epidemiological and biomedical research.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the essential principles of modern biostatistical methods.
• Apply current research methods in key areas of chronic disease epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology, and environmental exposure.
• Demonstrate skills in health information analysis, report writing and communication.
• Demonstrate an understanding of health systems, policy and financing and key global health issues.
• Demonstrate an understanding of, and skills in, needs assessment, health equity audit, health impact assessment, health care evaluation, changing health behaviour, health intervention planning and health economics.