Specialized Master in Public health methodology - MPHM

This Specialized Master highlights the methodologies required for the critical analyses and investigation of major health issues, especially in developing countries, while adopting a global health approach.

Training content

This 60 credits program is composed of compulsory courses (50 ECTS) and 3 optional courses (5 ECTS each) as shown below. The student must select two optional courses (10 ECTS) out of the three proposed to acquire the required 60 ECTS necessary to validate the Master’s program. .

Compulsory courses:

• Biostatistics in public health 
• Methods in epidemiology 
• Clinical-decision making 
• Contextual factors in public health 
• Health system and public health research 
• Health economics & risk management
• Management of health services 
• Protocol development and health examination surveys 
• Qualitative methods 
• Research in health: dissemination & systematic reviews 
• Thesis

Optional courses :

• Advanced methods in biostatistics and epidemiology
• International health and rights: organizations and actors
• Infectious & environmental diseases: epidemiology & prevention 

Courses are taught exclusively in English.Evaluations are based on sitting exams, personal and in-group works throughout the year.

Career opportunities

Graduates enter careers in global health and national health policy and planning, academic and operational research, as well as advisory roles in governments and international agencies.

This one-year Master enables health professionals to specialize in the understanding of diseases and their determinants (epidemiology and biostatistics), organization and policy, systems and health services management (health economics, human relation management, quality and risk management, health planning and operational research) as well as the development of social approaches to health.  Learners will therefore develop transversal skills in research methodology, scientific writing and capitalization of public health actions.

• National and international health agencies: program or project officer/manager, public health surveillance specialist
• Non-governmental organizations: medical coordinator, project manager
• Health Ministries : regional program coordinator, consultant/ officer in national health policy and planning
• Community and hospital medicine: public health physician, district officer
• Universities, health research centers: epidemiologist, biostatistician, researcher in health services and policies
• The program may serve as excellent preparation for students wishing to go on to take PhD

Inter-university programme

Organized by:

• Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), École de Santé Publique (coordinator)
• Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Faculté de santé publique
• Université de Mons (UMONS), Faculté Warocqué d’Économie et de Gestion & Faculté de médecine et pharmacie

Specific features

 

• Seminars given by lecturers from foreign universities and by invited experts, especially from low- and middle-income countries
• Students from various countries and diverse backgrounds
• Opportunities to follow local conferences and seminars (annual seminar of the Belgian Platform for International Health - Be-cause Health)
• Opportunity to follow french class

Conditions of admission

• Master degree (minimum of 5 years of university education, equivalent to 300 credits)
• Open to medical doctors, nurses and other paramedics, social sciences professionals involved in public health, public health researchers, decision makers and executives…

This Specialized Master's is open to a wide range of practitioners (public health executives, medical doctors, health economists, research workers in the biomedical sector, etc.). This course is a Specialized Master's degree meaning a master's following a previous master's. Therefore, the general admission requirement for the course is that the applicants must possess a diploma at least equivalent to a master's degree (5 years of university education).

To be admitted, applicants must bear a 2nd cycle degree considered equivalent to 300 credits (minimum 5 years of study) by the Jury. If the degree represents only 240 credits (minimum 4 years of study), the candidate should have acquired 60 extra credits through other 2nd cycle studies or through some form of specialization, or must prove to have acquired the useful knowledge through personal or professional experience.

Please note that the registration procedure described in this section is not required for students who benefit from a scholarship from the Belgian development cooperation (ARES scholarships).

Registration deadline :

• For EU students : from april to the end of September
• For non-EU students : from mid february to the end of March

Registration steps and admission form

The registration steps and admission form can be accessed through this link to the registration office website: admission

The following information will help you to fill in the admission form:

On the page related to the course for which you would like to apply, you should select the following options:

•     Faculty: Ecole de Santé Publique
•     Study level: Master Complémentaire
•     Study year: Master Complémentaire in Public Health Methodology – STME6

You should fill in the admission form online, print it and gather all the requested documents.

All documents need to be uploaded online. Documents send by post, fax or e-mail will not be taken into account. Unless otherwise noted in the admission/registration form, the documents don't have to be legalised. The documents may not exceed 2 Mo. The following formats are accepted: JPG, JPEG, PDF, TIFF or RTF

The following languages are accepted for the documents and identification papers: French, English, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese. Documents written in another language must be translated by a sworn translator. The translation must be annexed to the original document. The absence of the translation or of the original document is a valuable reason to refuse a demand.A diploma that contains a complete translation in French/English and is certified by the establishment where the diploma was edited must not be translated.

Please pay attention to the fact that any incomplete file that reaches the registration office will be discarded for the forthcoming academic year. Therefore, as opposed to what is indicated on the registration office website, we recommend that you send your admission file to Mrs. Cathy Ververis, from the School of Public Health secretariat where it will be checked before being sent to the registration office.
mphm.esp@ulb.be

Price for the academic year

Our university tries to keep the tuition fees affordable to most students even if you are not eligible to any scholarships.
All the detailled fees' information are available on the registration departement page (tuition fees).

In summary:

• Belgian, European and assimilated students : 835 € 

• Non-European students :
  
  You are a student from a country listed in the annexe 2 and 3 - ARES : 835 €

  You are a student from a country listed in the annexe 1 - ARES :  2425 €

Scholarships

Our school doesn't have any scholarships to offer but various opportunities exist.

ULB student social service

For specialized masters, they are no discounts on tuition fee in the Wallonie-Bruxelles Federation so it's useless to contact the student social service for that purpose. However you can contact them to get informations about scholarships opportunities (mainly for European students, specialy belgian and french).

Study in Belgium

Some scholarships opportunities can also be found on studyinbelgium.be

ARES-CCD

If you come from a low and middle income country, you can try to apply to the ARES-CCD (Académie de Recherche et d'enseignement supérieur de Wallonie-Bruxelles - Commission de la coopération au développement) if your country is eligible.
Be national, reside and work in one of the following countries: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Guinea (Conakry), Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
Grants are available each year (deadline around mid november)

Many other technical or financial partners can also offer scholarships, we do not have a list as they are different in every country
(belgian cooperation Enabel, WHO, European Union, East African community, Organisation Ouest Africaine de Santé, NGOs, Ministry of Health...).

Location

The classes are organised part time in Erasmus campus (ULB), part time in Woluwe Campus (UCLouvain) and a few days during the year at Mons University. For courses in Mons, transportation is organised by ULB.

School of Public Health - ULB
Route de Lennik 808, 1170 Bruxelles
Subway: Erasme, line 5

Faculty of Public Health - UCLouvain
Clos Chapelle aux champs 30, 1200 Bruxelles

Subway: Vandervelde, line 1

Accommodation

ULB offers a wide choice of accommodation in its own halls of residence and private halls of residence, either on one of its three campuses (Solbosch, La Plaine, Erasme) or off-campus (with over 2,400 rooms or flats).

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Getting support

Having trouble paying your tuition fees? Want to know more about funding your studies? Looking for a student job? Need help navigating the administrative processes?
https://www.ulb.be/en/getting-support

Students with specific needs

Students with specific needs (students with disabilities, illnesses, or learning disabilities, students working as artists or high-level athletes, student entrepreneurs) may also benefit from special support. Do not hesitate to contact the Student Welfare Office (sse@ulb.be) if you have any concerns or to find whether you qualify for any benefits. You may also be directed to other ULB services, as appropriate

Students with disabilities (CEFES-IN-ULB)

You may wish to enrol in a study programme and have specific needs related to a diagnosed deficiency, a specific learning disability or a debilitating illness, and you believe that this situation may have an impact on your studies. While the university curriculum is the same for all students, you are entitled to reasonable accommodations, specific aid, and support, depending on your needs. You may therefore request the status of Student with Specific Needs (SSN) or Student with a Disability (SWD).

more information: CEFES in french: https://www.cefes.be