Places:
Limited places. Your place is confirmed once payment is recieved.
Delivery:
On campus
See below for details
Cost:
Varies
See below for details
Start date(s):
Multiple start dates
See below for details
Public Health is one of the most important and rapidly evolving fields in modern society, influencing how communities prevent disease, reduce health inequalities, and improve wellbeing across populations.
Whether you're looking to understand the foundations of public health, explore evidence-based interventions, develop research skills, or gain insight into the future of healthcare delivery, our specialist short courses provide flexible opportunities to build your knowledge and professional expertise.
Designed and delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, these modules explore the key principles, challenges, and innovations shaping contemporary public health. You will examine how social, environmental, economic, and behavioural factors influence health outcomes, and how effective interventions can be designed, implemented, and evaluated to create meaningful change. Alongside this, you'll develop an understanding of the research methods that underpin public health practice, enabling you to critically assess evidence and make informed decisions.
Our Public Health Short Course modules provide an accessible pathway to deepen your understanding of public health and healthcare systems. They combine academic rigour with practical application, helping learners develop the confidence, knowledge, and critical thinking skills needed to engage with current public health challenges and opportunities.
Who are these courses for?
These courses are ideal for anyone with an interest in health, wellbeing and healthcare. They are particularly suited to healthcare professionals, public sector employees, charity and voluntary sector workers, educators, community practitioners, and those working in health-related roles who wish to expand their knowledge or enhance their professional development. No matter your stage of career, these courses offer a flexible way to gain insight into key public health concepts, contemporary healthcare challenges, and evidence-informed practice.
Whether you are looking to strengthen your existing professional expertise, explore a new area of interest, or stay informed about developments shaping the future of health and care, these courses provide a supportive learning environment and practical knowledge that can be applied across a wide range of settings.
Awards and application process
These modules form part of the University of Roehampton's Master of Public Health (MPH) programme and are each worth 30 academic credits. Successful completion of a Short Course module, including all required assessments, will lead to the award of an Advanced Certificate for Professional Development
Whether you are looking to upskill in a specific area or build towards a broader public health qualification, these modules offer a flexible route into postgraduate-level study. Learners wishing to study multiple modules should apply via the PGCert pathway, which enables credits to be accumulated towards a postgraduate award.
To apply to join one of the modules, please complete this short online form and a member of the team will be in touch. We can also advise on the most appropriate route based on your learning goals and professional experience, please contact shortcourses@roehampton.ac.uk to discuss in more detail.
Courses
Principles of Public Health
| Location | Delivery | Cost | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| On campus |
One Day per week Mondays, 09.00 - 13.00 |
£2000 |
28 September - 14 December 2026 |
Step into the world of public health with a programme designed to elevate your understanding, sharpen your professional skills, and prepare you to make a meaningful impact. Delivered over twelve weeks in the autumn, this course offers a flexible, one‑morning‑per‑week format, perfect for busy professionals and motivated learners looking to deepen their expertise without disrupting their schedule.
Your learning experience is guided by a multidisciplinary team of specialists. Our teaching staff includes:
- Veteran public health practitioners with decades of real‑world experience
- Internationally recognised researchers shaping global conversations on health policy and disease prevention
- Experts across clinical, academic, and community settings
Their combined insight ensures you gain both practical knowledge and a forward‑looking understanding of the challenges shaping public health today.
This programme offers a rich, comprehensive introduction to the core themes driving modern public health. Over twelve weeks, you will delve into:
- Ethics and professional practice in public health
- Infection control and epidemic management, including lessons from recent global events
- Public health across diverse settings such as workplaces, schools, and community environments
- Women’s health and gender‑specific health considerations
- Antimicrobial resistance and its growing global implications
- Food‑related health issues, including zoonotic transmission and the emergence of new diseases
Each topic is designed to build your confidence, broaden your perspective, and equip you with knowledge that is immediately relevant to contemporary public health challenges.
Public Health Interventions
| Location | Delivery | Cost | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| On campus |
One Day per week Thursdays, 12.30 - 16.30 |
£2000 | 01October - 17 December 2026 |
This course is designed to guide you step‑by‑step through the full lifecycle of public health project development, from understanding the wider system you’re working in to confidently planning, managing and evaluating your own intervention. Each week builds your skills in a structured, supportive way, combining expert teaching, real‑world examples and opportunities to apply what you learn to your own professional context.
Across the course, you’ll explore how public health interventions operate at local, national and international levels, and how to judge whether an approach is evidence‑based and worth using. You’ll examine different models of public health practice, learn how settings shape the success of an intervention, and gain clarity on how to define your project and its intended impact. You’ll also be introduced to practical project management tools, commissioning processes, and the realities of delivering a public health project from start to finish, supported by guest lecturers with extensive professional experience.
Topics include:
- Public health interventions and how to evaluate them
- Approaches and models of public health practice
- Understanding settings and planning for change
- Project management theory and real‑world application
- Commissioning: planning, purchasing, monitoring and evaluation of services
- A full project case study from inception to completion
- Society, digital change and public health
- Inclusivity, service‑user voices and systemic, societal and bureaucratic barriers
Throughout the course, you’ll examine the social determinants of health, global impact on health, social care and society, equality and access to services. The experiences and impact of being a member of marginalised groups has on public health initiatives, access and outcomes. You’ll connect your learning to UKPHR competencies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring your development aligns with professional standards and global priorities.
By the end, you’ll feel confident analysing societal forces, collecting and analysing data and designing evidence-based interventions in practice.
Public Health: Research Methods
| Location | Delivery | Cost | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| On campus | Fridays | £2000 | Spring 2027 |
The Public Health Research Methods course is designed to take you on a structured, supportive journey through the full process of working with data, from understanding the basics to confidently analysing, interpreting and presenting your own findings. Each week builds on the last, allowing you to gradually develop your skills while providing plenty of opportunities to practise, ask questions and apply what you learn in real‑world contexts.
You will begin by exploring different types of data, learn how variables work and gain clarity on academic writing expectations. This early grounding will help you feel more confident as the course progresses.
Throughout the course, you’ll deepen your understanding of how data behaves and what it can tell you. You will learn how to describe data clearly, evaluate arguments in the literature and start working with inferential statistics. Additionally, you'll be introduced to research ethics, helping you understand how to conduct studies responsibly and with integrity. The course includes dedicated study days where you’ll collect data relevant to your programme. These hands‑on sessions are designed to build your confidence in real research processes and give you practical experience that strengthens your understanding.
Finally, you will explore study design, procedures and the growing role of big data, followed by a workshop on qualitative methods. The course will conclude with a focus on data interpretation and digital healthcare.
By the end of the course, you’ll feel equipped, supported and ready to use data confidently in academic and professional settings.
Clinical Futures
| Location | Delivery | Cost | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| On campus | One Day per week |
£2000 |
Spring 2027 |
This course is designed to help you gain confidence working in a world where public health challenges and solutions are evolving faster than ever. Rather than focusing only on what we know today, the course prepares you for the issues, technologies and global shifts that will shape your future career. You’ll explore emerging problems, examine innovative solutions and develop critical and adaptive thinking skills, which will support you throughout your professional life.
The course begins by introducing you to the major debates shaping the future of public health. From there, you’ll explore personalised medicine and microbiome‑driven therapies, gaining insight into how treatments are becoming increasingly tailored to individuals. You’ll then examine the One Health approach, which connects human, animal and environmental health, helping you understand how global crises emerge and how they can be managed.
As the course progresses, you’ll dive into the digital transformation of healthcare. You’ll explore how technology is reshaping diagnosis, treatment and service delivery, and how microbial genomics is transforming public health surveillance. These sessions help you build a systematic understanding of key concepts, terminology and methodologies used across modern public health practice.
Later, you’ll shift your focus to technology across the lifespan, followed by an introduction to generative AI and its growing role in healthcare. You’ll learn how AI is used in public health decision‑making, how to interpret big datasets and how to communicate complex information clearly to both specialist and public audiences.
By the end of the course, you’ll feel equipped to analyse emerging issues, apply future‑focused thinking and communicate confidently in complex, global contexts.