Master of Public Health

The MPH is the first step toward a career in admissions/how-to-apply/master public health. It is suitable for medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and health professionals. It is also suitable for an established or early-career clinical specialist who is keen to learn more about health issues and research techniques related to disease causation and prevention.

The MPH seeks to produce specialist who has a strong foundation in the broad field of Public Health as well as adequate training and preparation to take up special functions as required in the speciality discipline of his or her own choice. The MPH from the Universiti Malaya offers a unique learning experience both in and out of the classroom. You will build skills in quantitative methods, problem-solving and the application of public health training in real-world situations.

The Master of Public Health programme is a coursework programme in which the credits for the research component comprises less than thirty (30) percent of the whole programme of study. After completion of the relevant programme of study specified in this Schedule, a candidate shall be eligible for the award of the Master of Public Health degree.

One of the requirements for admission to the Master of Public Health programme is one year of prior public health experience. The MPH programme is an applied programme as compared to an academic programme. Most of the courses offered in the MPH programme required the students to bring the real-world situation into the classroom to enhance the discussion. The real-world public health experience will make your classroom experience more valuable.

What is relevant public health experience?

There are many avenues to obtain relevant public health experience. Public health experience does not need to just come from working with the Ministry of Health or international health agencies alone. It can be obtained from volunteering in your national and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are involved in the delivery of community and health programmes to the public. The aim of volunteering work is to get your hands dirty and work directly with the community to improve the health of the community.

There are NGOs that focus on a specific health area and those that are more general. Here are some of the examples of relevant NGOs in Malaysia.

Example of NGOs that focused on a specific health area

• National Diabetes Institute
• Malaysian Diabetes Educators Society
• Diabetes Malaysia
• National Stroke Association of Malaysia
• Yayasan Jantung Malaysia
• Persatuan Epilepsi Malaysia
• Persatuan SLE Malaysia
• Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association
• Malaysian Mental Health Association
• Malaysian Association for the Blind
• Society of the Blind in Malaysia

Examples of more general health-related NGOs

• National Cancer Society of Malaysia
• Red Cresent Society
• St. John’s Ambulance
• APACPH-KL

Examples of umbrella organisations

• Malaysia AIDS Council
• MAKNA – National Cancer Council Malaysia
• Malaysian Mental Health Council

You can find the list of the NGOs in your local areas from the HATI website.

What is not considered relevant Public Health experience?

Having research experience alone is not considered a relevant public health experience. The research should involve the process of engaging with a community through data collection or the implementation of an intervention programme.

Having experience in organising conferences or workshops is not relevant public health experience.

• The minimum duration of study shall be two (2) regular semesters and one (1) special semester..
• The maximum duration of study shall be eight (8) semesters.

NOTE

• A regular semester consists of 14 weeks of lecture/guided learning, one (1) week of mid-semester break, three (3) weeks of examination and two (2) weeks of end-of-semester break, which gives a total of 20 weeks per regular semester.
• A special semester consists of 8 weeks of lecture/guided learning and two (2) weeks of examination giving a total of 10 weeks.
• The regular semester starts in September and February, and the special semester starts in June.
• The special semester is for candidates to complete their research project.
• The total duration of an academic year is 50 weeks.
• The academic year starts in September.
• Candidates registering for the September intake will be able to complete the Master of Public Health programme in one academic year (two regular and one special semesters).
• Candidates registering for the February intake will only be able to complete the Master of Public Health programme in one and a half year (three regular semesters).

Entry requirements for this program are as follows:

(1) The degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery of the University or an equivalent medical qualification approved by the Senate;
OR
(2) The degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery;
OR
(3) The degrees of Bachelor of Allied Health with a CGPA of at least 3.00;
OR
(4) A Bachelor’s degree with a CGPA of at least 3.00 in a relevant discipline;
AND
(5) At least one (1) year of working experience in the relevant field after graduation;

OR

(6) The degrees of Bachelor of Allied Health with a CGPA of 2.5 to 2.99;
OR
(7) A Bachelor’s degree with a CGPA 2.5 to 2.99 in a relevant discipline;
AND
(8) At least two (2) years of work experience in the relevant field after graduation;
AND
(9) Pass the interview;

OR

(10) The degrees of Bachelor of Allied Health with a CGPA of 2.0 to 2.49;
OR
(11) A Bachelor’s degree with a CGPA 2.0 to 2.49 in a relevant discipline;
AND
(12) At least five (5) years of work experience in the relevant field after graduation;
AND
(13) Pass the interview

Language Requirement

The Non-Malaysian applicant whose degree is from university or institution of higher learning that did not use English as the medium of instruction for that degree shall be required to obtain:

The Master of Public Health programme is a coursework programme in which the credit hour for the research component comprises less than thirty (30) percent of the whole programme of study. After completion of the relevant programme of study specified in this Schedule, a candidate shall be eligible for the award of the Master of Public Health degree.

Structure of programme

The medium of instruction for this course is English and candidates are required to complete their assignments, reports, tests and examination in English. The candidate will follow a program of in-house instruction in General Public Health.

(1) The Master of Public Health programme comprises forty-two (42) credit hours namely:

• Four (4) core courses each of three (3) credits, totalling twelve (12) credits;
• One (1) core course that leads to one (1) Research Project of nine (9) credits;
• Five (5) specialisation courses each of three (3) credits, totalling fifteen (15) credits;
• Three (3) elective courses each of two (2) credits, totalling six (6) credits.

(2) Details of the courses offered are as approved by Senate from time to time on the recommendation of the Faculty and candidates shall be informed of such details at the beginning of each session.

(3) The list of courses for the programme of Master of Public Health is provided below:
Course Outline

• Registration for the courses of study shall commence the week prior to the start of the relevant semester.
• A candidate is required to register for at least three (3) credit hours in any semester except where the candidate has been permitted to withdraw from the semester concerned.

During his programme of study, a student may be permitted to undertake part of his training in other institutions or agencies recognised by the Faculty.

• The Faculty shall appoint at least one supervisor for each candidate no later than two months after the candidate’s registration.
• The co-supervisor and/or consultant shall be appointed when required.
• A consultant shall be appointed for a candidate who undertakes part of his programme of study outside the University. The consultant shall be appointed no later than two months after the candidate has commenced training in the outside location.

The title of the Research Project for a candidate shall be determined by the Department responsible for the candidate’s program of study not later than two months prior to the commencement of the research project.

A candidate is required to submit his research papers no later than one month before the end of the relevant semester for examination.

The examination leading to the degree of Master of Public Health shall consist of an examination or examinations in each of the courses prescribed for the Master of Public Health degree programme as follows:

Marking Scheme

No candidate shall be recommended for the award of the Degree of Master of Public Health unless he has completed all parts of the course and has passed the prescribed Examinations.

Candidates must obtain at least a ‘B’, i.e., a score of more or equal to 65 (Grade Point Average 3.0) in the courses (both core and elective) to be considered to have passed the course. Candidates must have completed 42 credits to be considered for the degree of Master of Public Health.

Core Courses

Specialisation Courses

Elective Courses