Health and Society

Course details

Health and wellbeing are critical issues in society. The M.A. in Health and Society is a new and innovative programme which addresses health and its determinants from a rich interdisciplinary perspective. It is aimed at graduates from a broad range of disciplines in the sciences and humanities and is designed to provide a unique and critical analysis of contemporary discourses and issues from an inpidual, societal and global perspective.

Course Details

This course is about health, and not exclusively healthcare. Health is both a medical and a social issue. Students taking this course will explore health from a variety of different angles. The unique nature of this course is its interdisciplinary approach, as it brings together experts on issues of health from a vast range of disciplines and colleges, including medicine, epidemiology, philosophy, ethics, sociology, social policy and law. The M.A. in Health and Society is aimed at graduating students in Philosophy, Epidemiology and Public Health, Sociology, Geography and related disciplines and at graduates with continuing education needs, for example managerial staff working in the Health sector.

The M.A. in Health and Society aims to support the development of a set of advanced skills necessary in the practice and management of health and healthcare: practice skills, research skills, critical appraisal skills and clinical reasoning skills.

Students will take three core modules on the following topics: Principles and Practice of Public Health (10 Credits); Critical Social Science Perspective on Public Health (10 Credits); Philosophy and Health (10 credits). They will then choose from a range of modules offered by different disciplines, including law, sociology, social policy, applied psychology, epidemiology and public health, and philosophy. Finally, students will be asked to submit a minor dissertation, of approximately 10,000 words.

By the end of the course, students will be expected to demonstrate in-depth expertise in relation to philosophical, epidemiological sociological and psychological factors which contribute to health and well-being. This MA will open new career options in the health sector, as well as research opportunities in the humanities and social sciences.

Optional modules: 30 Credits Maximum

Postgraduate courses:

• AP6129 Health Psychology (5 credits)
• LW6002 Medical Law (5 credits)
• PH6048 The Philosophy of Death and Dying (10 credits)
• EH6026 Applied Research for Public Health (10 credits)

Undergraduate modules: (10 Credits Maximum)

• PH2002 Reasoning and Argument (5 credits)
• PH2019 Introduction to Philosophy of Science (5 credits)
• PH2028 Applied Ethics (5 credits)
• SC2027 Sociology of Health, Illness and the Body (5 credits)
• SC3023 Sociology of Health and Illness : New Directions and Current Debates (5 credits)
• EH4005 Health Services (5 credits)

Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Society (NFQ Level 9, Minor award)

Students who pass taught modules to the value of at least 30 credits (but less than 60 credits) may exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Society.

Postgraduate Diploma in Health and Society (NFQ Level 9, Major award)

Upon successful completion and passing of core modules to the value of 30 credits and optional modules to the value of 30 credits, students may exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Diploma in Health and Society. A student who subsequently applies to continue to Master's level must do so within 2 years from the date of successful completion of the Certificate Examination and must have obtained an aggregate of at least 40% overall 

Assessment

Each module will be assessed by continuous assessment, end-of-semester examination or a combination of both. The continuous assessment element will take the form of essays and assignments including class presentations. There will also be a final year dissertation ofapproximately 10,000 words.