Public Health

Public health is the science and art of improving health at the population level. Rather than focusing on the individual patient in front of a clinician, it examines the conditions, behaviours, environments and systems that shape how healthy communities are. Public health professionals investigate patterns of disease, design and evaluate interventions, influence policy, and work to address the inequalities that mean some groups live shorter or less healthy lives than others.

It is an applied discipline, drawing on epidemiology, social science, health economics and health promotion.

At the University of Bedfordshire you will study this three-year full-time programme with strong connections to local and regional health organisations. The university has established relationships with Luton Borough Council's public health department, Keech Hospice, local charities and the University's own Institute for Health Research, and these links translate into genuine opportunities for work experience and research-based internships during your studies. You will explore the social determinants of health, epidemiological methods, health behaviour change, environmental health, and the policy frameworks that govern public health practice in the UK.

You will develop skills in data analysis and interpretation, learning to read and critique the evidence that informs decisions about everything from vaccination programmes to urban planning. The programme carries a typical tariff of 120 and is delivered full time across three years.

Graduates work in local authority public health teams, the NHS, national agencies such as the UK Health Security Agency, voluntary organisations, research institutions and international bodies. Roles range from health protection adviser and health improvement specialist to public health analyst and programme coordinator. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study, including the specialist training pathways that lead to registration as a public health professional.

With health inequalities remaining a central concern for governments and communities alike, the skills and outlook you develop on this programme are both practically important and genuinely urgent.