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  • Fakultät für Gesundheitswissenschaften

    Uni-Halle
    © Universität Bielefeld

Public Health (Master of Science, MSc)

The degree programme Public Health is science-oriented, multidisciplinary and professionally qualifying. In the courses we provide you with scientific knowledge and analytical-methodical skills in the broad spectrum of Public Health, e.g. health policy reform processes, health and care system development, health psychology and sociology, etc.. During the history of the program, you will apply methods of epidemiology and empirical health research, you will gain knowledge about the structure and management of the health care system, and you will analyze concepts and strategies in health care areas such as prevention, nursing and rehabilitation.

After the basic courses in the first subject related semester, the degree programme Master of Public Health provides two comprehensive elective courses in the second and third subject related semester, which offer you a broad spectrum of public health relevant contents. This allows you to set your own focus areas according to your personal interests. Within our elective areas you can choose between two profiles:

  • In the profile "In-depth Interdisciplinary Content and Perspectives of Public Health", you will use a variety of combination options from the entire breadth of our elective offerings.
  • In the profile "International Perspectives of Public Health (IPPH)" you set an international focus in your course of study. For this purpose, you will complete part of the elective courses in English and in courses with international content. You will also complete your Master's thesis in English.

Fields of activity of our graduates are, for example: Research and teaching at Universities, project work and management as well as scientific support in public (health) administration (e.g. RKI), consultant work at social insurances (health, nursing and pension funds), project work and management as well as scientific support in company health management in business enterprises, institutions and departments of the social sector, consultant work at international organizations (e.g. NGO, WHO).

All important rules and regulations for the degree programme, the List of modules as well as General Information for the degree programme and the application procedure can be found on the BIS website. The Master's program in Public Health is subject to limited admission. In any case, please read the specific approval requirements for this Master's program in the subject-specific regulations.

All information about the application procedure at Bielefeld University can be found at the following link: https: //www.uni-bielefeld.de/studium/studieninteressierte/bewerbung/.

Head of the study program: Prof. Dr. Kerstin Hämel

Academic Counselling Service: Ms. Lena Schumann

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The Master Public Health starts every year in the Winter semester, i.e. in October. Information for application deadlines can be found on the website "Dates and deadlines" of Bielefeld University ( https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/studium/studieninteressierte/bewerbung/termine-fristen/ ).

The application for the Master Public Health is possible online via the application portal of Bielefeld University. The portal can be accessed via the application information page.

Please note that Applicants without a German university degree must also send their documents by mail to the International Office.

There is no classic NC for the Master Public Health at Bielefeld University. This is due to the fact that admission is based on the final grade and the score achieved in the aptitude test. Points are awarded for the final grade and the aptitude test, which are then added together to form a total score. The available places (currently 80) are allocated according to this total score.

The total number of points needed to obtain a place naturally varies each year and depends on the number of applicants and their academic achievements.

Yes, an application for the Master Public Health is also possible if no Bachelor's degree certificate is available at the time of the online application, but it will be received during the Summer semester. For the documents to be uploaded in the online application portal, a preliminary degree document showing a preliminary average grade and/or a current transcript of records or meaningful documents in the sense of a degree certificate are then sufficient. In case of admission to the Master Public Health program, the final Bachelor's degree certificate (as a certified copy) must then be submitted.

The Public Health Master's program is also explicitly aimed at "non-specialist" graduates, which is why previous courses or extensive knowledge of our Modules is not a prerequisite.

The application documents to be uploaded in the online application portal include:

  1. The degree certificate of a previous degree and the associated documents (transcript, transcript of records, diploma supplement or similar).
  2. If no degree certificate from a previous degree is available, a provisional degree document showing a provisional average grade and/or a current transcript of records or meaningful documents as defined in approach a) will be submitted. 3.
  3. 3. the subject-specific study ability test

The admission requirement is a successfully completed university or university of applied sciences degree with at least 6 semesters of standard study time or 180 LP. The Master's program in Public Health is also explicitly aimed at graduates from other disciplines, which is why previous courses or comprehensive knowledge of our Modules are not required.

For the application to Bielefeld University for the Master of Public Health, it is necessary to additionally submit a study ability test in the form of a project draft of approximately 10 pages. Master's places are then allocated on the basis of the final grade and the project draft.

All formalities concerning the aptitude test can be found in the subject-specific regulations, which also represent the legal framework. With the FAQ's on the aptitude test, the Faculty offers you an orientation guide, which should support you in preparing the aptitude test.

For the application at Bielefeld University for the Master of Public Health, it is necessary to submit a study ability test in the form of a project draft of approximately 10 pages. This project draft corresponds in form to an exposé in which a research project is outlined. The formal quality, coherence and relevance to health science of your submitted project outline (study skills test) are decisive for admission to the Master Public Health program. By completing the study skills test, you as an application should demonstrate that you are able to present a problem with public health relevance in a well-founded manner and explain how you would hypothetically work on it using scientific methods. A possible discussion of the results (as it is often required in classical seminar papers) is not required.

As an application, you are completely free to choose the topic of your project. You can use topics you have already worked on or follow your personal interests. The only condition is that your topic has a clear relevance to Public Health. The project is purely hypothetical (see also: What are the content and formal requirements for the study skills test?).

The study skills test is prepared by you independently in advance (declaration of independence) and then uploaded together with the other application documents in the online application portal. It is therefore part of the online application. Based on the final grade and the project design (see: How is the study skills test assessed and what formal influence does it have on the application?), the master's places are allocated.

The aim of the study skills test is for you, as an application, to show that you are able to present a problem with public health relevance in a well-founded manner and to explain how you would hypothetically work on it using scientific methods. A discussion of results (as is often required in traditional seminar papers) is not required.

The layout is like a project outline for a health science project or an exposé. By "health science project" it is meant that you should develop and justify a health science relevant problem. In a second step, it is then a matter of showing (and justifying) which selected scientific methods you would use to work on this problem in order to gain new insights and (if possible) a solution to the problem.

As an application, you are completely free to choose thetopics for your project. You can use topics you have already worked on or follow your personal interest. The only condition is that your topic has a clear public health relevance. The work project is purely hypothetical. However, it is not intended to submit unchanged homework/theses or similar already submitted elsewhere, as these usually do not have the character of a project draft. A good orientation are project drafts that are submitted, for example, when applying for third-party funding. Another good source of inspiration for the various scientific research methods are health science papers of all kinds (or method manuals from the social sciences).

There are no fixed format templates for the study skills test. Therefore, you can use common format templates that you already know from your Bachelor course as a guideline. Cover pages and indexes are not included in the given frame of about 10 pages. It is important that you include a declaration of independence with your work.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Departmental student representative committee

Academic Counselling Service

The study aptitude test comprises an examination of theoretical and methodological competencies. It serves to determine whether you, as an application, are likely to be able to successfully complete the master's program within the standard period of study.

The subject-specific study ability test is evaluated according to three criteria with regard to the following content requirements:

  • Development of a research question of relevance to health sciences
  • Theoretical justification of the research question
  • Methods for dealing with the question

A maximum of 20 points can be awarded for the subject-specific study skills test. The evaluation is carried out by two staff, people authorized to examine. Each authorized staff, people awards between 0 and 3 points for criteria 1 and 3 and between 0 and 4 points for criterion 2. Subsequently, the sum of the points for the subject-specific study ability test is calculated.

On the basis of the total number of points achieved for the final grade (24 points -1.0 ... 19 points 3.5 to 4.0 more information can be found here) and the subject-specific study ability test, the study places are allocated. In case of a tie, the (preliminary) grade of the first qualified degree is decisive. If there is still no clear ranking, the decision is made by lot. Admission is based on the ranking by the Student Office. Applicants will be informed about the results of the admission procedure by means of an electronic notification from the Student Office.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Departmental student representative committee

Academic Counselling Service

ForApplicants with an internationaldegree it is necessary that the equivalence with a study of at least 6 semesters incl.final exam(ination) at a German University orUniversity of Applied Sciences has been confirmed by the International Office at our University(io@uni-bielefeld.de). Please contact the International Office at Bielefeld University.

Applicants with a foreign degree must send the required documents (officially certified) together with the application form by post. The address to which Applicants must send these documents is indicated in the upper left-hand corner of the printed Application form.

If admission is granted, Applicants will receive the corresponding Notice of admission and will then be informed whether or not the study place has been accepted.

Enrolment is possible until September 30. If Applicants cannot meet this deadline, he/she should contact the International Office or the Faculty of School of Public Health. There is then the possibility of an extension of the deadline (November 15 at the latest).

If all required documents are available, they do not need to be resubmitted for enrolment. If documents are missing, the admission will include the requirement to submit these documents later.

For enrolment, only the Application for enrolment, the health insurance (possibly corresponding documents as a requirement) and possibly a copy of the passport/visa (for non-EU citizens) must be submitted.

Applicants with a German university entrance qualification do not have to prove their language skills.

Applicants with an international degree must prove their language skills by certificates such as TestDaF or DSH before the start date of the Master's program. Applicants should contact the International Office of Bielefeld University to have the certificate confirmed.
Contact form of the International Office.

Most of the lectures of the Master's program in Public Health are held in German. Comprehensive knowledge of German is therefore necessary.

For the change of programme to the Master's program, a provisional certificate of the successfully completed Bachelor's program (the so-called "4.0 certificate") must be submitted by 15.11. of each year at the latest. The final Bachelor's certificate (as a certified copy) must then be submitted later in the semester.

A schedule for the change of programme can be found at the Student Office at Bielefeld University

Most of the courses in the Master's program in Public Health are held in German. Comprehensive knowledge of German is therefore necessary.

Some of the courses of the profile "International Perspectives of Public Health" in the elective area of the Master's program are held in English. The coursework and examinations as well as the Master's thesis are conducted in English.

Applicants with an international degree must prove their language skills by certificates such as TestDaF or DSH before the start date of the Master's program. Applicants should contact the Student Office of Bielefeld University to have the certificate confirmed.

Feel free to contact the Academic Counselling Service:

studienberatung.gesundheit@uni-bielefeld.de

 

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