MPhil in Population Health Sciences (PHS) at the University of Cambridge

The MPhil in Population Health Sciences (PHS) is jointly run by the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, the MRC Epidemiology Unit and the MRC Biostatistics Unit, with contributions from colleagues across the university. The MPhil PHS is a postgraduate master’s course that includes the academic disciplines of epidemiology, global health, health data science, infectious diseases, public health, and primary care research. The MPhil PHS builds upon and replaces the previous MPhils in Primary Care Research, Public Health, and Epidemiology, which were taught for 6, 15, and 27 years respectively. The aim of the programme is to provide course participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to serve as a foundation for a career in population health sciences, in academic, practice or other settings. The modular course is flexible and will allow for specialisation in a number of different themes: health data science, infectious diseases, epidemiology, global health public health and primary care research. A variety of teaching approaches will be employed, including lectures, and a range of individual and group exercises, such as problem-solving activities, group discussions, presentations, and practicals with various data sets and computational tools. These are complemented by a range of authentic assessment methods, such as presentations, reports, projects, and data analyses. The course is open to graduates and other qualified candidates (see entry requirements) who wish to pursue a research, practice or leadership career in population health sciences.