Bachelor of Public Health

The Bachelor of Public Health requires three years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time). The course is offered by the College of Medicine and Public Health.

• Admission requirements
• Course aims
• Learning outcomes
• Program of study
  

Admission requirements

The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements.

Course aims

This course aims to:

• introduce students to develop knowledge of, application, and critical evaluation of research methodologies into public health
• develop knowledge of theoretical and critical approaches to the development and evaluation of public health policy and interventions
• develop critical analysis of the ideological and economic models underpinning and reinforcing inequity and limiting access to universal quality care and self-determination in health
• develop knowledge of and critical awareness of systemic racism and inequality, and alternative processes and conceptualisations of Indigenous health
• empower students to develop their leadership and project management skills for social justice and equity advocacy, and to develop their professional profile to transition to employment in the public health sector

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course, you will be able to:

• critically apply theoretical knowledge on how the health status of populations can be determined by the combined effects of biomedical and social determinants of health
• identify rigorous quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches and determine how these approaches are important to answering public health research questions
• apply well-founded knowledge and skills regarding epidemiology for best public health practice that will prevent or contain pandemics and other important public health problems
• make use of the principles of social justice and public health to reduce health inequities, with a strong focus on Indigenous health
• develop and communicate a critical appraisal of evaluation models, policy processes, stakeholder engagement and economic analysis
• evaluate ways to address contemporary challenges of local, national and global significance to deliver outcomes that benefit the population
• develop and undertake a research project or intervention with an industry partner on a relevant and current issue.

Program of Study

Core - Year 1 topics

27 units comprising:

 HLTH1010  Research and Study Skills 1  (4.5 units)
 HLTH1306  Contemporary Health Issues in Australia  (4.5 units)
 INDG1000  Indigenous Studies: An Introduction  (4.5 units)
 MMED1005  How Your Body Works: Human Physiology and Structure  (4.5 units)
 PHCA1507  Introduction to Public Health  (4.5 units) 
 PHCA2509 Promoting Health in Social Planning (4.5 units) 

Option - Year 1 topics

9 units selected from:

 BUSN1012  Management, People and Organisations  (4.5 units)
 HLTH1011  Introduction to Digital Health  (4.5 units)
 HLTH1304  Interpersonal and Interprofessional Communication  (4.5 units)
 INDG1001  Race and Representation: Indigenous Studies  (4.5 units)
 INNO1001  Innovative and Creative Thinking: Recognising Opportunities  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 2 topics

27 units comprising:

ENVS2712 Environmental Change and Human Health (4.5 units)
HLTH2107 Research and Study Skills 2 (4.5 units)
PHCA1509 Health and Healthcare Equity for a Just and Sustainable World (4.5 units)
PHCA2508 Critical Perspectives on Global Health and Development (4.5 units)
PHCA1510  Policy in a Public Health Context  (4.5 units)
SOCI2021 Race, Power and Identity (4.5 units

Option - Year 2 topics

9 units selected from:

 AGES2001  Health Status in Later Life  (4.5 units)
 BUSN1012  Management, People and Organisations  (4.5 units)
 GEOG2050  Population Dynamics  (4.5 units)
 GEOG3761  Caring as a Country: Indigenous Environmental Management  (4.5 units)
 HIST2015  Maps and Dreams: Indigenous-Settler Relations in Australian History  (4.5 units)
 HLTH1011  Introduction to Digital Health  (4.5 units)
 HLTH1304  Interpersonal and Interprofessional Communication  (4.5 units)
 HLTH2101  Critical Social Analysis of Health  (4.5 units)
 HLTH2106  Project Management for Health Promotion  4.5 units
 INDG1001  Race and Representation: Indigenous Identities  (4.5 units)
 INDG2004  Reconciliation and Indigenous Knowledges  (4.5 units)
 INDG3002  Decolonising Institutions: Indigenous Critical Creative Praxis  (4.5 units)
 INNO1001  Innovative and Creative Thinking: Recognising Opportunities  (4.5 units)
 LEGL2117  Crimes Against Populations  (4.5 units)
 MDSC3100  Point-of-Care Testing: Application, Management and Effectiveness  (4.5 units)
 MHSC2001  Implementing Change in Healthcare Systems Supporting Chronic Condition Management  (4.5 units)
 NUTD2105  Individual, Social and Environmental Perspectives on Food Consumption  (4.5 units)
 WMST2016  Indigenous Women’s Voices: Race, Gender and Colonialism  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 3 topics

31.5 units comprising:

 INDG3001  Colonial Intimacies and the Economy: Mathematics of Genocide  (4.5 units)
 PHCA3506  Evaluation in Primary Health Care  (4.5 units)
 PHCA3511  Epidemiology for Practice  (4.5 units)
 PHCA3515  Public Health Project Development A (Capstone)  (4.5 units)
 PHCA3516  Public Health Project Development B (Capstone)  (4.5 units)
 PHCA3517  Economic Evidence for Health Care Decision Making  (4.5 units)
 PHCA3518  Transition to Public Health Professional Practice  (4.5 units)

Option - Year 3 topics

4.5 units selected from:

 AGES2001  Health Status in Later Life  (4.5 units)
 GEOG2050  Population Dynamics  (4.5 units)
 GEOG3761  Caring as a Country: Indigenous Environmental Management  (4.5 units)
 HIST2015  Maps and Dreams: Indigenous-Settler Relations in Australian History  (4.5 units)
 HLTH2101  Critical Social Analysis of Health  (4.5 units)
 HLTH3110  Risk Assessment and Quality in Health  (4.5 units)
 HLTH3112  Research and Study Skills 3  (4.5 units)
 HLPE3540  Drugs, Politics and Public Health  (4.5 units)
 INDG2004  Reconciliation and Indigenous Knowledges  (4.5 units)
 INDG3002  Decolonising Institutions: Indigenous Critical Creative Praxis  (4.5 units)
 INNO3001A  From Innovation to Impact: Creating a Roadmap from Opportunity to Action  (4.5 units)
 LEGL2117  Crimes Against Populations  (4.5 units)
 MDSC3100  Point-of-Care Testing: Application, Management and Effectiveness  (4.5 units)
 MHSC2001  Implementing Change in Healthcare Systems Supporting Chronic Condition Management  (4.5 units)
 NUTD2105  Individual, Social and Environmental Perspectives on Food Consumption  (4.5 units)
 WMST2016  Indigenous Women’s Voices: Race, Gender and Colonialism  (4.5 units)