MSc Public Health and Maritime Transport
(Stream 2)

Aim of Stream 2: Public Health and Maritime Transport

This stream focuses on the protection of public health in shipping on both passenger and commercial ships and aims to provide skills for a career in public health, epidemiology, occupational health, environmental health and the application of those skills in the context of maritime transport.

After the successful completion of the programme you will be awarded a Diploma of Postgraduate Studies (MSc) titled “Maritime Transport and Public Health”.  

Who is this programme for?

The MSc will suit both those who will follow a career in health and related sectors and those who will work or already working in the maritime transport sector.

It is suitable for both medical and non-medical backgrounds who intend to develop their research and technical professional skills.

Duration: two years full-time; four years part-time.

Learning objectives
The MSc provides students with three classes of competences as learning outcomes: transferable, subject-specific and research competences.

Transferable competencies:

• ability to develop self-directed learning skills to facilitate lifelong learning and continuous professional development
• ability to demonstrate a high level of critical reflection to develop and apply ideas in a research context
• ability to employ a systematic conceptual approach to gathering, analyzing and disseminating knowledge
• ethical sensitivity in the acquisition and application of information
• synthesis and presentation skills
• oral and written skills in communicating knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences
• competence in translating research evidence into practice
• competence in using new information & communication technologies
• excellent command of academic English
• intercultural communication skills

Subject-specific competencies (Stream 2: Public Health and Maritime Transport):

The MSc aims to train postgraduate students with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to meet the challenges of public health in the maritime transport through research and practice with an emphasis on the challenges associated with the maritime transport including the passenger shipping sector.

Upon completion of the studies, postgraduate students will be able to demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of the key disciplines of public health, consisting of statistics, epidemiology, health economics, social research, maritime administration, international health regulation and maritime law on real public health events, maritime health and cross-border health threats. In addition, they will be able to:

Subject-specific competencies:

The MSc aims to train postgraduate students, providing them with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to meet the challenges of public health through research and practice, with an emphasis on challenges associated to maritime transport, including the passenger shipping sector.

Upon completion of their studies, postgraduate students will be able to demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of the key disciplines of public health – consisting of statistics, epidemiology, occupational health, environmental health, health economics, social research, maritime administration, international health regulation and maritime law – to real public health events, maritime health and cross-border health threats. In addition, students will be able to:

• critically evaluate the basic functions of public health
• demonstrate knowledge and skills in a series of public health and maritime health related subjects
• participate in the development, implementation and evaluation of appropriate policies on public health issues
• understand the interaction between the various public health factors, environmental factors, the maritime profession on public health, environmental hygiene and occupational hygiene with an emphasis on shipping, taking into account the available human resources
• ability to apply theoretical knowledge to analyse and solve concrete problems in Public Health issues related to maritime transport: response and management of public health events in maritime transport, participation in the management of international public health events, public health and environmental hygiene, occupational health and human resources
• ability to work as a researcher and at private or public sectors working in the fields of public health and environmental hygiene, occupational health and at research laboratories
• ability to design and implement evidence-based strategies for the prevention and control of health threats in maritime transport sector.

Research competences (knowledge and understanding):

• understanding of the research process and how it is used to solve problems in new and unfamiliar environments
• demonstrate familiarity with current research findings and research methods in public health, occupational health and environmental hygiene with an emphasis in maritime transport sector
• ability to critically evaluate, use scientific literature and communicate research data
• ability to demonstrate a high level of critical reflection to develop and apply ideas in a research context
• ability to employ a systematic conceptual approach to gathering, analysing and disseminating knowledge