Health Promotion PDip

Course Overview

The MA/Postgraduate Diploma programme is an internationally recognised qualification with the course content informed by the agreed competencies and professional standards for Health Promotion. The programme is an IUHPE (International Union of Health Promotion and Education Accredited Health Promotion Course. This means that students who graduate from this course are automatically eligible to apply to become an IUHPE Registered Health Promotion Practitioner on the voluntary register. Graduates of the programme work in statutory services (e.g., Health Service Executive, local authorities, non-governmental organisations (e.g., Irish Heart Foundation, Dental Health Foundation, Irish Cancer Society, the private sector ( e.g., health insurance companies and in the academic sector (e.g., University of Galway, Atlantic Technological University Sligo, University College Cork , in a number of roles including dedicated Health Promotion Specialist posts. Past graduates are employed nationally and internationally, in posts in Ireland, UK, Australia, Canada and USA. Some graduates have gone onto further study in our doctoral programme (Further information on the PhD in Health Promotion is available by clicking here.

About the programme

Download: BROCHURE MA PG Diploma in Health Promotion

The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Promotion offers a taught programme, delivered over two semesters. Full-time students undertake four core modules and choose two optional modules. The MA course incorporates the taught component of the Postgraduate Diploma programme together with a minor dissertation based on original research, which is undertaken over the summer months with a submission date in August.

The MA in Health Promotion programme is an accredited International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE European Health Promotion Course (EuHP.

A range of teaching and assessment methods are used, including interactive lectures, work placements, small group teaching, skills development, and contributions from practitioners in the field, in a blended learning format with inperson and online teaching.

Academics that teach on the programme are research active in the Health Promotion Research Centre, a World Health Organization (WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion Research contributing to the WHO work programme.

Aims and objectives
The programme aims to provide students with professional education and training in the principles and practice of health promotion. Students will acquire knowledge and skills in the following:

• Theoretical background to the concepts and principles of health promotion and the application of theory to practice
• Determinants of physical, mental and social well-being.
• Key factors influencing the promotion of positive health.
• Application of a range of different health promotion approaches and strategies across diverse population groups, topics and settings.
• Critical role of the research process and its application in the development of knowledge and best practice in health promotion

Scholarships available
Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.

If you would like to meet us:

• We participate in the University of Galway postgraduate open days which are run twice a year.
• We put on our own course-specific open evening in Spring where you can hear about the programme, meet staff and other potential students.
• You can make an appointment by email to meet a member of staff at University of Galway

Details of open days/evenings will be posted on this website and here, or email hpinfo@universityofgalway.ie to be added to our mailing list.

As Health Promotion is a multidisciplinary field, we consider applications from candidates with a primary degree from a related discipline. For the MA, the minimum entry requirement is a 2.1 on an honours degree programme. For the PGDip, the minimum entry requirement is a primary degree at any level. The programme board evaluates each applicant’s academic record and relevant professional experience and assesses the applicant’s level of motivation and suitability from the personal statement submitted as part of the online application.

Accreditation

Accreditation of the programme by the International Union of Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), means that students who graduate from this course are automatically eligible to apply to become an IUHPE Registered Health Promotion Practitioner on the voluntary register. This facilitates movement across roles, organisations, regions and countries through the use of shared understandings and qualifications. This accreditation provides assurance that these programmes provide graduates with the knowledge and skills required for effective practice and that awards are validated based on agreed professional standards.

A wide variety of career opportunities in Ireland and abroad exist for graduates of this programme. Graduates are qualified to pursue a full-time career in health promotion or to incorporate health promotion principles into their work, especially those in the health and education sectors.

Graduates from the programmes have found employment in a broad range of work sectors: statutory, private, voluntary and community securing positions in a number of roles including dedicated Health Promotion Specialist posts. Graduates of the MA in Health Promotion have found employment in academia, in a diverse range of fields of health research both nationally and internationally. Some graduates have also gone onto further study undertaking PhDs at University of Galway and beyond, in Health Promotion and other Disciplines. The range of employment opportunities taken up by graduates who come from a wide range of disciplines and experiences, attests to the relevance and transferability of the health promotion competencies gained from the Health Promotion programmes to graduate employability

Graduates from the programmes have found employment in a broad range of work sectors: statutory, private, voluntary and community securing positions in a number of roles including dedicated Health Promotion Specialist posts. Graduates of the MA in Health Promotion have found employment in academia, in a diverse range of fields of health research both nationally and internationally. Some graduates have also gone onto further study undertaking PhDs at University of Galway and beyond, in Health Promotion and other Disciplines. The range of employment opportunities taken up by graduates who come from a wide range of disciplines and experiences, attests to the relevance and transferability of the health promotion competencies gained from the Health Promotion programmes to graduate employability.