Program Overview
The MSc Environmental Health program at the University of Birmingham provides an accredited pathway to become an Environmental Health Practitioner. Emphasizing practical experience and expertise, the program covers topics such as food control, occupational health, environmental protection, housing, and public health integration. Graduates meet the academic requirements to become registered with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and can pursue careers in both the public and private sectors.
Program Outline
MSc Environmental Health - University of Birmingham
Degree Overview:
This MSc program provides an accredited pathway for science-based graduates to become environmental health practitioners. It is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) as meeting its core curriculum requirements. The program emphasizes practical experience and expertise alongside taught elements, with site visits arranged for students to apply their newly acquired skills. Students benefit from being taught in a research-intense environment and are encouraged to develop their critical thinking and research skills. The program supports building the foundation of competence through the knowledge and skills required by the CIEH curriculum. It is open to international students and is the required route for those intending to work in the UK as an Environmental Health Practitioner.
Outline:
The MSc Environmental Health program is a one-year full-time program, with part-time routes of 2-5 years available. It explores hazard-based food safety management, EU legislation, and the role of enforcement authorities in maintaining food safety and standards.
- Occupational Health and Safety (20 credits): This module focuses on the interaction between work, health, and well-being, equipping students with the skills to apply appropriate control mechanisms and strategies. It covers communication and judgment skills related to occupational health, safety, and wellbeing factors, as well as the systematic understanding of control mechanisms for managing occupational hazards.
- Environmental Protection and Climate Change (20 credits): This module develops students' appreciation of key concepts linking environmental science, ecology, pollution, and human health and wellbeing. It examines the scientific, technical, socio-economic, political, and legal factors influencing climate change, environmental quality, and safety, and explores mechanisms and partnership strategies for effecting change.
- Health Protection (20 credits): This module provides the foundation knowledge and skills needed for engagement in health protection and health improvement. It examines communicable disease surveillance, epidemiological studies for infectious diseases and environmental epidemiology related to pollution exposures, and provides insight into the work of public health, including effective projects and partnerships.
- Housing and Law (20 credits): This module examines the English Legal System and the legal procedures supporting interventions available under Public Health and Environmental Protection legislation to address pollution, contamination, statutory nuisance, and public health illnesses. It also covers the requirements of criminal law in evidence collection and prosecutions. Students develop a systematic understanding of how poor housing and environmental conditions affect residents' health and well-being and learn about policy and practice in private sector housing renewal.
- Public Health Integration (20 credits): This module aims to integrate students' acquired public and environmental health knowledge across intervention areas associated with the determinants of health and well-being. It emphasizes the ability to demonstrate how a range of measures can be used to maximize outcomes for a given situation and to understand the complexity of the interaction of the determinants of health.
- Dissertation (60 credits): This module provides students with the skills necessary to undertake an MSc research dissertation. It covers planning, implementing, and evaluating a research-based study, including hypothesis and research question generation, survey design, sampling strategies, qualitative approaches, literature searching and evaluation, and basic statistical techniques. Students are expected to formulate their project ideas and write their research protocols.
Course Schedule:
Students must expect to attend four to five days per week in the autumn and spring terms. There is little teaching in the summer term, with time set aside for completing assignments, examination preparation, and undertaking the Dissertation.
Practical Food Inspection:
In addition to the MSc program, graduates are required to undertake a specific training program and pass an examination on the wholesomeness and fitness for human consumption of a range of food and food products to meet the CIEH's professional practice requirements. The University provides a short course followed by a certified examination.
Part-time Students:
Part-time students can accumulate credits over a period of time. There are two strands available: a fixed duration strand lasting two years and a flexible strand allowing completion within four years. Students studying the fixed duration MSc study 60 credits in their first year and 120 credits in their second year.
Assessment:
The course is assessed through formal written examinations, group work presentations, and research dissertations. Students must pass all modules to become registered with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
Teaching:
The course is taught using formal lectures, workshops, group work, case studies, and student-centered learning, recognizing the importance of technical and practical skills alongside academic excellence. The course is led by experienced Environmental Health Practitioners supported by external lecturers who are recognized specialists in their fields. Students have opportunities to be taught by and supported in their own research dissertations by the research scientists within the Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management.
Careers:
This course fulfills the academic requirements to become a graduate Environmental Health Officer. Graduates can sign up for the Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner Programme (CPP), run by the CIEH, which is a route to Chartered Status. This two-year, practice-based route to Chartered Status is built on the CIEH's Professional Standards and is designed to develop highly competent and professional practitioners in the protection of the health and wellbeing of people and communities. Graduates can find employment in various sectors, including:
- Public Sector: Local authorities, agencies such as the Food Standards Agency, Environment Agency, or the Armed Forces.
- Private Sector: Consultancies, retail or tourist sector (airways, cruise liners, tourist companies).
Other:
- Students can apply to be an Affiliate member of the CIEH.
- Our students regularly win awards and recognition for their work from Environmental Health organizations, often allowing them to influence real-world issues and policies.
- The ethos of the course is problem-based learning, providing students with the skills and knowledge to work as an Environmental Health Practitioner within a range of organizations.
- The course encourages students to develop employability skills essential for graduate recruitment, including time management, communication skills, team working, personal planning and organization, and critical thinking skills.
- UK students: £10,530 FT
- International Students: £29,340 FT
- Postgraduate Loans for Masters students Student Finance England's new Postgraduate Loan application service is now open for Masters degrees in the UK. The Postgraduate Loan for Masters study will be: A contribution towards the costs of study, i.e. it will be at your discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs; Non-means tested; Full details and a "Postgraduate Master's Loan Explained" video can be found here
