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TRANSCRIPT
Role of this Handbook
This handbook is a guide to our MSc programmes and to the academic and pastoral support available to you. The handbook is specific to students studying programmes within the Global Public Health Unit (GPHU). It should be read alongside the School’s generic Taught Masters Students Handbook which provides information common to all taught MSc programmes within the School of Social & Political Science.
Global Public Health UnitSocial Policy, School of Social & Political Science
Taught MSc ProgrammesProgramme handbook
2015-16
Global Health & Public PolicyHealth Systems & Public Policy
Health Inequalities & Public Policy
Please read this handbook carefully, and keep it for future reference. It will help you to you make the most of your time on your programme.
Some important general aspects covered in this handbook are amplified in the University’s Code of Practice for Taught postgraduate programmes (taught MSc) which will be issued with your matriculation papers and which you are also expected to read. This code of practice is also available online at http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-services/policies-regulations/codes .
Note that whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this handbook is as correct and up-to-date as possible, the handbook does not form part of any contract between the University and an MSc student. The handbook does not supersede the University Regulations, nor the formal requirement for each degree as set out in the University’s Postgraduate Study Programme in the University Calendar, nor the Terms and Conditions of Admissions set out in the Postgraduate Prospectus.
An electronic copy of this handbook is available here http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/prospective/taught_masters/a_g/msc_global_health_and_public_policy/structure_and_courses
Contents
Role of this Handbook......................................................................................................2
1. Introduction..........................................................................................................2Who we are......................................................................................................................2Induction week................................................................................................................ 3Arrival, Confirmation of Attendance and Matriculation...................................................3
2. Key contacts and support......................................................................................4Programme Directors.......................................................................................................4Administrative Support....................................................................................................5The Graduate School........................................................................................................5Additional advice and support.........................................................................................6
3. Facilities and communication.................................................................................74. Programme Structure...........................................................................................10Overview of the Programmes:.......................................................................................10Programme table: MSc global health and public policy.................................................12Programme table: MSc health systems and public policy..............................................13Programme table: MSc health inequalities and public policy........................................14Course credits, schedule and assessment..........................................................................
5. Assessment..........................................................................................................16Marking scheme.............................................................................................................16Submission of assessed work.........................................................................................16Extensions......................................................................................................................17Referencing....................................................................................................................19Plagiarism.......................................................................................................................19External Examiners and Board of Examiners..................................................................21Appeals.......................................................................................................................... 21
6. Course outlines for core and specialist courses.....................................................237. Elective courses....................................................................................................338. Dissertation..........................................................................................................45What is a dissertation?..................................................................................................45
9. Global Public Health Unit Staff – Biographical Details...........................................4810. GPHU Timetable 2015-2016................................................................................51Map of the University Central Campus Area..................................................................54
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1. Introduction
Who we are
The Global Public Health Unit
The Global Public Health Unit (GPHU) is located within the subject area of Social Policy within the School of Social and Political Science. It aims to offer exceptional cross-disciplinary training in the principles and methodology of international public health policy, playing a key role in the University's internationalisation strategy.
The GPHU staff is committed to conducting outstanding research, and to playing a leading role in debates around the impact of current policies on public health and social inequalities. We contribute to the world's leading peer-reviewed journals, and to professional journals, newspapers and magazines, and radio and television programmes.
Our research agenda is interdisciplinary and international, and our staff offer high-level expertise and experience in public health, public policy, medicine, political science, economics, anthropology, and health services research. Our research activities directly inform our innovative postgraduate teaching.
We currently run three taught MSc programmes:
Global health and public policy Health systems and public policy Health inequalities and public policy
The GPHU has close teaching and research links with the Centre for Population Health Sciences section in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine: http://www.cphs.mvm.ed.ac.uk/
Social Policy
The GPHU is part of the subject area of Social Policy which is the leading centre for research and teaching in social policy in Scotland and one of the major centres in the UK. Social Policy includes four research interest groups: Global Public Health, Work, Economy and Welfare, Policy and Governance and Families, Children and Welfare. Further details are available on the Social Policy website: http://www.socialpolicy.ed.ac.uk/
The School of Social and Political Science, College of Humanities and Social Science
The School of Social and Political Science (SSPS) is part of the College of Humanities and Social Science. It was established to promote interdisciplinary collaboration across the member subjects: Politics and International Relations; Science, Technology and
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Innovation Studies [STIS]; Social Anthropology; Social Policy; Social Work; and Sociology. The Global Public Health Unit joined the school in 2010 as part of the Social Policy subject area. The School also includes the Institute of Governance, and the Centres for African Studies and South Asian Studies. The Head of School is Professor Fiona Mackay. Its academic staff complement currently number around 175.
Induction week
A series of induction events will be held in the week beginning on Monday 14th September that are designed to introduce you to GPHU, the School of Social & Political Science and the University more generally, and to the running and requirements of your MSc programme. Detailed orientation programmes are available from the School website at http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/applicants/incoming_students/welcome_week_2015
We appreciate that arriving in Edinburgh may be a difficult and demanding time, and so we have ensured that you will have plenty of time during this week to sort out the diverse non-academic issues that arise in moving to a new city or country. But we would emphasise that this week is important to ensuring the success of your studies, and we strongly recommend that you make yourself available to attend the sessions organised for you. If this is not possible, then please contact us as soon as possible to enable us to develop alternative arrangements.
Arrival, Confirmation of Attendance and Matriculation
As a new student you will be sent a registration pack prior to coming to Edinburgh which includes information on arrival procedures. If you have not received the registration pack by early September please contact Student Administration Services in the University Registry on telephone +44 (0) 131 650 2845 or Email [email protected] (http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-administration/about/about-us).
An important component of these procedures is Matriculation, the official administrative act of becoming a student of the University. Matriculation entitles a student to pursue the programme of study to which s/he was admitted and allows access to student services and facilities in the University. It also represents the student’s agreement to abide by the rules of the University, including the payment of fees and other tuition costs.
Details of the steps involved in matriculation are available elsewhere (http://www.studentsystems.ed.ac.uk/student/matriculation/how_to_register_new.htm) but can be summarised as:
Registration – registering attendance at the University and making arrangements for the payment of your tuition fees;
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Meeting with your Programme Director and agreeing your courses (see induction week programme for details);
Fulfilment of any additional admissions criteria required by the College to admit you to the University
It is your responsibility to ensure that you complete the matriculation process as soon as possible after your arrival at the University.
2. Key contacts and support
Programme Directors
MSc Global health and public policy - Anuj KapilashramiMSc Health systems and public policy - Mark HellowellMSc Health inequalities and public policy - Mark Hellowell
Contact details and office hours (programme directors and core teaching staff)
Anuj Kapilashrami2.02, 22 George SquareEdinburgh, EH89LDEmail: [email protected]: (0131)651 1929Guidance and Feedback hours: Wednesday, 1300-1430 hrs
Mark Hellowell2.20, Chrystal Macmillan Building15a George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LDEmail: [email protected]: (0131) 651 1330Guidance and Feedback hours: Monday 11.00- 12.30
Katherine Smith2.27 Chrystal Macmillan Building15a George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LDEmail: [email protected] Tel: (0131) 651 1323Guidance and Feedback hours: Thursday 15.30-17.00
Sarah Hill2.07, Chrystal Macmillan Building15a George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LDemail: [email protected] Tel: (0131) 650 3884Guidance and Feedback hours: Monday 12.00-13.30
Sudeepa Abeysinghe3.01, Chrystal Macmillan Building15a George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LDemail: [email protected]: (0131) 651 5471Guidance and Feedback hours: Thursday 1300-1430
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You can meet with staff during their office hours without an appointment. Longer meetings, or meetings at alternative times, may be arranged via e-mail when necessary. Please note that it may take up to five days for staff to respond to emails. Please do not come to staff offices expecting to be able to meet with them outside the above times (except in cases where a prior appointment has been made) as this can be disruptive and a source of frustration for both staff and students.
You will meet with your Programme Director during induction week to discuss course options prior to selecting what courses you will take. Thereafter, your Programme Director is available as a first line of support and advice for any scholarly or personal issues which may arise during the programme. It is your responsibility to inform your Programme Director immediately of any problems that are interfering with your coursework or progress through the programme, including any religious or medical requirements or disability that might affect your participation in any aspect of the programme. The Programme Director is designated as the supervisor for all students on the Programme; when you progress to the dissertation stage, supervision responsibility may transfer to a new supervisor suitable for your chosen dissertation topic.
Administrative Support
Administrative support for the MSc programmes is provided through the Graduate School Office (GSO) on Level 1 (room 1.20) of the Chrystal Macmillan Building. The GSO is open Monday to Friday from 09.30am to 12.30 and from 13.30 to 16.00 (Note the office is closed on Thursdays from 11.00am to 12.00 for the weekly staff meeting).
The administrative secretary for GPHU’s taught MSc programmes is Jade Birkin:
Jade BirkinAdministrative Secretary, Graduate School Office, School of Social and Political ScienceRoom 1.20, Chrystal Macmillan Building15a George Square, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9LDEmail: [email protected] Tel: 0131 651 1659
The Graduate School
The Graduate School is responsible for the provision of MSc degrees, and research training in the social sciences, and is the administrative home for all postgraduates from the School’s subject areas and centres. The Co-Deputy Director of the Graduate School for taught postgraduate issues is Dr Gerhard Anders ([email protected]).
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The Graduate School Office provides an accessible point of personal contact for new enquiries and for existing students. In addition to providing administrative support, the GSO organises social events for postgraduate students throughout the year to welcome new students, at the end of the semester and after graduations.
Additional advice and support
In addition to your Programme Director and the Administrative Secretary, other sources of support are available to you:
If an issue arises that is specific to one particular course or session, please feel free to approach the respective Course Organiser, lecturer or seminar leader.
Should any difficulty emerge in your relationship with your Programme Director that you are unable to resolve through direct discussion, please contact the Director of GPHU (Sarah Hill) or one of the other Programme Directors (Anuj Kapilashrami and Mark Hellowell).
Once your dissertation topic has been agreed and an appropriate supervisor has been appointed, this person may act as your de facto Programme Director during the dissertation period.
In situations where you would be more comfortable discussing an issue with a female member of academic staff, please contact Dr Anuj Kapilashrami ([email protected]).
In situations where an issue or problem is common to a number of students, your class representative(s) may facilitate communication of these issues to GPHU staff.
In situations where you are uncomfortable discussing an issue with any of the GPHU staff, please contact the Deputy Director for taught postgraduate issues - Dr Gerhard Anders ([email protected])
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3. Facilities and communication
School FacilitiesThe Global Public Health Unit is based in the School’s main building, the recently-refurbished Chrystal Macmillan Building on George Square. George Square is centrally located in Edinburgh’s Old Town, at the heart of the University, with easy access to all University and student facilities including the Main Library.
As a postgraduate student within the School of Social & Political Science you have access to a wide range of facilities, including 24 hour access to computing and printing facilities and 250 pages credit on the School printers. The Chrystal Macmillan Building is fully accessible (24 hours, 7 days a week) and includes a large and bright reading room, a designated computer lab and a comfortable common room for postgraduate students. Facilities for postgraduate students may be found on the first floor of the CMB near the Graduate School Office.
A detailed description of School facilities and resources are provided in the School’s generic Taught Masters Students Handbook.
Teaching rooms
Lectures and seminars run by GPHU will be held in various locations around the central campus area (see map on last page of this handbook). Most teaching areas are centred around George Square / Forrest Road / Chambers Street and include the Chrystal Macmillan Building, David Hume Tower, Appleton Tower. Some lectures and seminars are also held in the Medical School (building 18 on the map), Forrest Hill (off Forrest Road – opposite building 16 on the map) and Minto House (building 2).
Lectures and seminars run by the Centre for Population Health Sciences are usually held in the Medical School (building 18 on the map), usually in the Sydney Smith lecture theatre (on the second floor of the Medical School – accessed through Doorway 1) or the Teviot lecture theatre (on the ground floor of the Medical School – accessed through Doorway 5).
Disabilities
Students with disabilities should contact the Graduate School office and the University Disability Office (http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-disability-service/students/making-an-appointment) as far as possible in advance of commencing study to discuss their requirements. The Disability Office is an established and well used resource for students at all stages in their studies: http://www.disability-office.ed.ac.uk/
Communication
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Email is the University’s formal means of communication. Information about your degree programme, other relevant activities, workshops, and other postgraduate matters is circulated by email to your University email account. It is vital that you check your email regularly. If you use another email account you should arrange for an autoforward to be set up from your University email account.
Much information is also to be found on the Graduate School website (http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool) and the student intranet (http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/on_course/student_intranet).
Blackboard Learn
Blackboard Learn is the main virtual learning environment used within the University of Edinburgh, and will be used as a means of communication of key information for each of the courses taught within GPHU (for example, course documentation).
Students will automatically be able to access course and programme websites applicable to them through the MyEd portal, accessed via your University user name and EASE password at: https://www.myed.ed.ac.uk/
This will allow you to access your Learn page either from a university computer or externally. Students will be expected to access Learn regularly to check for programme and course announcements.
The majority of students learn to access and navigate Learn without needing any specific training. If you want some extra help in learning to use this platform, the University’s Information Services provides some online support: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/services/learning-technology/virtual-environments/learn/students/student-help.
Class representatives
A class representative from each MSc programme will be selected to discuss the group’s progress through and experience of the programmes, and to represent their peers at School meetings (see below). Class representatives are an important means of coordinating communication between the student body and teaching staff. The primary requirement for this position is a willingness to listen and speak on others’ behalf, but at times the role may also call for good judgement. Class representatives are encouraged to talk to and support one another in this role.
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Meetings with GPHU teaching staff will be held once in each semester, while additional meetings may be called on an ad hoc basis should either students or staff identify this as appropriate.
The process for selecting class representatives will be discussed during induction week.
Representation at School meetings
Postgraduate ForumThe School’s Postgraduate Forum is an informal meeting of all student representatives, giving an opportunity to air views, issues and ideas on behalf of the postgraduate student community. The Forum meets once each semester and is convened by the Director of the Graduate School, and also attended by the Deputy Directors, Graduate School Administrator, and School Computing Officer.
Postgraduate GroupThe School’s Postgraduate Group is the main postgraduate discussion and policy-making forum at School level. Membership of the group includes one student representative for each taught MSc programme and one student representative from each postgraduate research subject area, as well as all Postgraduate Advisors and Programme Directors. It meets three times a year.
For further details on student representation within the School please seehttp://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/intranet/administration/student_representation.
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4. Programme Structure
Introduction
The various MSc programmes offered by the Unit each aim to enable students to analyse and evaluate public policy and institutions so as to respond to the challenge of reducing health inequalities. They are distinctive in providing for specialisation in health policy issues, in addressing the health impacts of globalisation, in addressing health inequalities within and between states and in anthropology and global health.
The programmes have been designed to be accessible to students from diverse national and disciplinary backgrounds and this is reflected in their structure. The first semester consists of courses in Core skills and key concepts, including one 20-credit course which runs for the whole semester and a mix of 10 credit courses which each run for one teaching block. These courses are designed to equip students with the skills and understanding necessary to undertake our second semester Specialist courses, each accounting for 20 credits and running for the full semester.
The structure of the programmes reflects the substantial common ground shared by them, and also incorporates substantial flexibility to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the work involved and the diverse experiences and interests of students.
Modes of study
The programmes are designed to be completed via either:(i) one year of full-time study; or(ii) part-time study over two or three years (with students acquiring at least 120
credits by the end of year two).
Overview of the Programmes:
Before progressing to the dissertation stage, students on all four programmes will be required to acquire a total of 120 credits across three categories of taught courses:
Core skills and key concepts - minimum of 40 credits from the following courses:o Population health and health policy (20 credits)o Health systems analysis (20 credits) o Globalisation and public health (10 credits)o Introduction to epidemiology for public policy (10 credits)o Introduction to medical anthropology (10 credits)
Specialist courses – minimum of 40 credits from the following 20 credit courses:o Global politics of public health (20 credits) - mandatory for MSc global health and
public policy
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o Health Systems: Strengthening and Reform (20 credits) - strongly recommended for MSc health systems and public policy
o Social determinants of health and public policy (20 credits) - mandatory for MSc health inequalities and public policy
o Infectious Disease and Global Governance (20 credits)
Elective coursesSubject to courses taken in the above categories, and with the approval of the programme director, students may acquire up to 20 credits from courses offered within the Graduate School of Social and Political Studies, Centre for Population Health Sciences, or more widely within the University. Selection of courses must always be made in consultation with your Programme Director.
Course selection for the three programmes
This structure incorporates substantial flexibility to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the work involved and the diverse experiences of students. Though the programmes include a low quotient of courses that are strictly compulsory (mostly restricted to one specialist course each), their respective emphases strongly suggest courses that should usually be taken in most cases. These are indicated in the tables below by italics and are marked with an asterisk (*).
Please note that selection of courses must always be made in consultation with your Programme Director.
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Programme table: MSc global health and public policy http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/15-16/dpt/ptmscglohp1f.htm
Compulsory course – 20 creditsIPHP11003 Global politics of public health (20 credits)
Additional courses – 100 credits
1) Select at least 40 credits from the following courses (core skills and key concepts):SCPL11017* Population health and health policy (20 credits)IPHP11009* Globalisation and public health (10 credits)PGSP11363 Health Systems Analysis (20 credits)IPHP11022 Introduction to epidemiology for public policy (10 credits)
AND
2) Select at least 20 credits from the following courses (specialist public health policy):IPHP11002 Social determinants of health and public policy (20 credits)PGSP11364 Health systems: strengthening and reform (20 credits)SCPL11020 Infectious disease and global governance (20 credits)
AND
3) Select up to 20 credits from any Level 11 courses (elective). These may be:o Additional course(s) from those listed under 1) and 2) above;o Courses offered elsewhere within the School of Social & Political Science or
Centre for Population Health Sciences; or (where appropriate and subject to approval)
o Courses from across the wider University.
Dissertation – 60 creditsIPHP11005 Dissertation – Msc Public Health Policy (Global Health)
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Programme table: MSc health systems and public policyhttp://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/15-16/dpt/ptmschltsy1f.htm
Compulsory course – 20 creditsPGSP11363 Health systems analysis (20 credits)
Additional courses – 100 credits
1) Select at least 40 credits from the following courses (core skills and key concepts):SCPL11017* Population health and health policy (20 credits)PGSP11364* Health systems: strengthening and reform (20 credits)IPHP11009 Globalisation and public health (10 credits)IPHP11022 Introduction to epidemiology for public policy (10 credits)
AND
2) Select at least 20 credits from the following courses (specialist public health policy):IPHP11003 Global politics of public health (20 credits)IPHP11002 Social determinants of health and public policy (20 credits)SCPL11020 Infectious disease and global governance (20 credits)
AND
3) Select up to 20 credits from any Level 11 courses (elective). These may be:o Additional course(s) from those listed under 1) and 2) above;o Courses offered elsewhere within the School of Social & Political Science or
Centre for Population Health Sciences; or (where appropriate and subject to approval)
o Courses from across the wider University.
Dissertation – 60 creditsIPHP11014 Dissertation – MSc Health Systems & Public Policy
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Programme table: MSc health inequalities and public policy http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/15-16/dpt/ptmschltip1f.htm
Compulsory course – 20 creditsIPHP11002 Social determinants of health and public policy (20 credits)
Additional courses – 100 credits
1) Select at least 40 credits from the following courses (core skills and key concepts):SCPL11017* Population health and health policy (20 credits)IPHP11009 Globalisation and public health (10 credits)PGSP11363 Health systems analysis (20 credits)IPHP11022 Introduction to epidemiology for public policy (10 credits)
AND
2) Select at least 20 credits from the following courses (specialist public health policy):IPHP11003 Global politics of public health (20 credits)PGSP11364 Health systems: strengthening and reform (20 credits)SCPL11020 Infectious disease and global governance (20 credits)
AND
3) Select up to 20 credits from any Level 11 courses (elective). These may be:o Additional course(s) from those listed under 1) and 2) above;o Courses offered elsewhere within the School of Social & Political Science or
Centre for Population Health Sciences; or (where appropriate and subject to approval)
o Courses from across the wider University.
Dissertation – 60 creditsIPHP11021 Dissertation – MSc Health inequalities and public policy
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Course credits, schedule and assessment
Course Credits Assessment Semester
Population health and health policy 20 Essay, 2500-3000 words and discussion portfolio
1 (1-2)
Health systems analysis 20 Essay, 2500-3000 words and discussion portfolio
1 (1-2)
Globalisation & public health 10 Essay, 2500-3000 words 1 (1)
Introduction to epidemiology for public policy
10 Critical appraisal assignment, 2500 words
1 (1-2)
Social determinants of health & public policy
20 Essay, 4000 words 2 (3-4)
Global politics of public health 20 Essay, 4000 words 2 (3-4)
Health Systems: Strengthening and Reform
20 Essay, 2500-3000 words and discussion portfolio
2 (3-4)
Infectious Disease and Global Governance
20 Annotated bibliography, 1000 words and essay, 3000 words
2 (3-4)
Dissertation 60 Dissertation, not to exceed 15000 words
2 and summer
A more detailed timetable outlining GPHU courses is provided in section 6.
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5. Assessment
All courses are subject to formal assessment, but the format, timing and requirements for assessed work vary across courses and departments. Students are required to familiarise themselves with the assessment requirements of individual courses via the relevant course handbooks.
Marking scheme
All assessed work will be marked according to the University’s Postgraduate Common Marking Scheme, a detailed description of which is included in the School’s Taught Masters Students Handbook. The table below provides an abbreviated version of this scheme.
Mark Grade Description%90-10080-8970-79
A1A2A3
An excellent performance, satisfactory for a distinction
60-69 B A very good performance50-59 C A good performance, satisfactory for a masters degree40-49 D A satisfactory performance for the diploma, but inadequate for a
masters degree30-39 E Marginal fail20-29 F Clear fail10-190-9
GH
Bad fail
Please note that this marking scheme may be very different to those used by non-UK universities. For most assessments a majority of students achieve marks in the 50-69 range, indicating a good or very good performance. Marks of 70 or above indicate an excellent performance; this usually applies to only 10-15% of student assessments.
Submission of assessed work
For courses run within GPHU, coursework is submitted in electronic form only. (Note that for some other courses - for example, those run through the Centre for Population Health Science - you will be required to submit course work both electronically AND as a hard copy. You should therefore be careful to check submission requirements in course handbooks.)
Electronic submissionFor all SSPS courses, coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will not be required to submit a paper copy of your work.
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Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback.
For information, help and advice on submitting coursework and accessing feedback, please see the ELMA wiki at: https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/SPSITWiki/ELMA.
When you submit your work electronically, you will be asked to tick a box confirming that your work complies with university regulations on plagiarism. This confirms that the work you have submitted is your own.
Occasionally, there can be problems with a submission. We request that you monitor your university student email account in the 24 hours following the deadline for submitting your work. If there are any problems with your submission the Course Secretary will email you at this stage.
We undertake to return all coursework within 15 working days of submission. This time is needed for marking, moderation, second marking and input of results.
Feedback for coursework will be returned online via ELMA, the date to expect this return will be in each course handbook.
If there are any unanticipated delays, it is the Course Organiser’s responsibility to inform you of the reasons.
All our coursework is assessed anonymously to ensure fairness: to facilitate this process put your Examination number (on your student card), not your name or student number, on your coursework or cover sheet.
Cover PageA correct cover page must be attached to the beginning of each assignment. The cover page will be available on the course page on Learn prior to the assignment deadline. Failure to attach a cover page or to attach the correct cover page will incur a 5% penalty (i.e. 5% will be deducted form your final grade).
Extensions
Extension requests must be made by completing the electronic form which can be found at
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/on_course/for_taught_masters/extensions
Extension requests should normally be made no more than two weeks prior to the deadline and should indicate the duration sought and require a separate application for each course. Extensions cannot be retrospectively granted after a deadline has passed and instead special circumstances need to be submitted.
All extension requests must use this process. You are welcome to discuss any issues affecting your studies with your Programme Director/Personal Tutor prior to submission.
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However, all extension request decisions for Graduate School programmes are made by the Graduate School Office, and any informal advice from any other member of staff does not equate to a final decision.
If you have a Learning Profile from the Student Disability Service allowing you the potential for flexibility over deadlines you must still make a formal extension request for such flexibility to be taken into account.
In cases where medical evidence is required please note that your work will be considered as late until evidence is submitted and confirmed. Evidence is to be submitted if requested by the GSO via your University email account or in person to GSO reception.
Further guidance on extension requests can be found at
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/on_course/for_taught_masters/extensions
The following are circumstances which would USUALLY be considered:
Serious or significant medical conditions or illness (including both physical and mental health problems).
Exceptional personal circumstances (e.g. serious illness or death of an immediate family member or close friend, including participation in funeral and associated rites; being a victim of significant crime).
Exceptional travel circumstances beyond your control. Ailments such as very severe colds, migraines, stomach upsets, etc., ONLY where
the ailment was so severe it was impossible for you to submit your work.
This list is not exhaustive
The following are examples of circumstances NOT normally considered for coursework extensions:
Minor ailments such as colds, headaches, hangovers, etc. Inability to prioritise and schedule the completion of several pieces of work over a
period of time. Problems caused by English not being your principal language. Poor time management or personal organisation (e.g. failure to plan for
foreseeable last-minute emergencies such as computer crashes, printing problems or travel problems resulting in late submission of coursework).
Circumstances within your control (e.g. a holiday; paid employment if you are a full time student; something considered more important).
Requests without independent supporting evidence. Requests which do not state clearly how your inability to hand in your assessment
on time was caused. Learning Profiles will be treated sympathetically as part of the case for an
extension but do not by themselves guarantee this case.
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Referencing
You will be required to use the Harvard system of referencing (author, date) for all written assessment (both essays and dissertations). A very useful guide to using this system is available at: http://www.uwl.ac.uk/library/finding-and-using-information/referencing/harvard-referencing-guide
Plagiarism
(Please also refer to the School’s generic Taught Masters Students Handbook.)
All material you submit for assessment (essays, exercises and dissertation) must be your own, original work, carried out specifically for your Edinburgh University Degree, and must not be work previously submitted for any other assessment or qualification. You should draw on published work, and you may (if appropriate) cite ideas from lectures and class discussions, and possibly discussions with other students, but you must always make clear that you are doing so.
Plagiarism takes place when you include, or copy, someone else’s work in your work, without adequate acknowledgement. This includes copying the work of another student, or copying material from the Web or from a published author. For example, to take text verbatim (word for word) from another source, and not place it within quotation marks, is plagiarism.
Note also that duplication of your own previously submitted coursework constitutes 'self plagiarism'. The electronic submission of work and the use of plagiarism detection software means that both standard plagiarism and self-duplication will be easily identified (see below). If it is found that a substantial portion of an essay duplicates work previously submitted for assessment, the work will be referred to the School Academic Misconduct Officer, penalties could be imposed on that piece of work, and the student could be subject to disciplinary action.
All plagiarism is academically fraudulent and an offence against University discipline. It will be punished severely. Assessed work containing plagiarised material will normally be awarded a mark of zero, and serious cases of plagiarism will be reported to the University’s Discipline Committee. In either case, the actions taken will be noted permanently on the student’s record. If plagiarism is detected after a candidate's graduation, it will still be investigated and dealt with appropriately by the University.
You will frequently want to draw on published material without directly quoting it. When you do this, you must:
a) state the source; and b) put it into your own words.
Guidance for students on both the avoidance of plagiarism and the University’s
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procedures for dealing with plagiarism cases is available at:http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-services/students/postgraduate-taught/discipline/plagiarism
Useful guidance on referencing is also available at: http://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/harvard_referencing.htm
Plagiarism detection softwareMany areas of the University now use ‘Turnitin’ plagiarism detection software to assist in detecting possible cases of plagiarism. ‘Turnitin UK’ is an online service which searches the World Wide Web and extensive databases of reference material, as well as content previously submitted by other users. Once work has been submitted to the system, it becomes part of the ever-growing database of material against which subsequent submissions are checked. Turnitin makes no decisions about whether a student has plagiarised, it simply highlights sections of text which are duplicated in other sources. In most cases, the text will have been correctly cited. Where highlighted sections are relevant and appropriate cited, the course tutor will be able to see this.
Progression to the MSc Dissertation
In order to proceed from the Diploma to the MSc, you must pass the specified coursework with an average mark of 50% or above, gain a mark of 50% or above in at least 80 credits worth of work, and normally have no mark of less than 40%. Students with one marginal failure in an element assessed early in their course, and for whom such a mark may be shown to be atypical in the light of later performance, may be allowed to proceed to dissertation at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. Resubmission of work for the MSc is not allowed.
Where students fail to meet the requirements for progression to the Dissertation, they may be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma. The Board of Examiners may recommend award of the Diploma for students who have successfully completed courses totalling 120 credits with an overall mark of at least 40-49%.
Students who do not complete the MSc programmes may be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate upon successful completion of courses totalling 60 credits with an overall mark of at least 40-49%.
DistinctionThe MSc and Diploma are 'unclassed' which means that no formal mark or grade is attached to overall performance on graduation. However it is possible for the MSc to be passed 'with distinction'. A Distinction is awarded by the Board of Examiners where the dissertation receives a mark of 70 or above, and is supported by coursework of an equivalent standard (normally, at least half the coursework must receive a mark of 70 or above, and no mark should be below 60).
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External Examiners and Board of Examiners
Taught postgraduate programmes at the University of Edinburgh are overseen by External Examiners in accordance with the Code of Practice for External Examiners (http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Quality/QA/Ext%20examiners/CoPExternalExaminers.pdf). External Examiners help to ensure that degrees awarded by the University are comparable in standard to those of other equivalent departments in appropriate universities, although their content may differ. They also ensure that the assessment system is operated equitably and fairly in respect of the treatment and classification of students.
Confirmation of marks for all GPHU courses (including MSc dissertations) is the responsibility of the Board of Examiners, which meets twice per year (in Autumn and Spring) in accordance with the Taught Assessment Regulations (http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Regulations/Temp/TaughtAssessmentRegulations.pdf).
The External Examiners for The Global Public Health Unit are: Prof Jim McCambridge of York University and Dr Suzanne Fustukian of Queen Margaret University. (Dr Fustukian’s appointment will finish later in 2015, at which time a new External Examiner will be appointed in her place.)
Appeals
If you believe that a decision taken by a Board of Examiners about your marks, progression, degree classification or award is incorrect, then you may wish to consider making an appeal. The University allows for you to make an appeal through the academic appeals process. Procedures and ground for academic appeals are described in section 16 of the University’s Postgraduate (Taught) Assessment Regulations (seehttp://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-services/policies-regulations/regulations/assessment) and in section 10.3 of the Code of Practice for Taught Postgraduate Programmes (http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-services/policies-regulations/codes).
If you are considering making an appeal, you are strongly advised to speak with your Supervisor/Programme Director, and to contact an Advisor at the Advice Place (run by EUSA): http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk. Staff at the Advice Place are experienced in the University's academic appeals process, and can offer independent advice and guidance on making an appeal and throughout the process itself.
The grounds of appeal are set out in full in the assessment regulations (see above link) but can be summarised as follows:
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a) Substantial information directly relevant to the quality of performance in the examination which for good reason was not available to the examiners when their decision was taken.
b) Alleged irregular procedure or improper conduct of an examination. For this purpose “conduct of an examination” includes conduct of a meeting of the Board of Examiners.
Students wishing to appeal should write to the University Secretary, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, setting out their grounds of appeal and enclosing any supporting documents. For taught postgraduate students appeals need to be submitted within six weeks of results being issued, unless special circumstances apply.
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6. Course outlines for core and specialist courses
Population health and health policy (SCPL11017)
Course organiser: Dr Sarah Hill ([email protected])Semester 1, block2 1-2, 20 creditsAssessment: Portfolio of contributions to class discussion (30% of total mark)
Essay (70% of total mark)Pre-requisites: noneLecture: Thursday 9.00- 10.00 (Lecture Theatre 183, Old College)Seminars: Group 1 Thurs 11.10-13.00 (Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building);
Group 2 Fri 09.00-10.50(Seminar Room 2, Chrystal Macmillan Building); Group 3 Fri 11.10-13.00 (Seminar Room 3, Chrystal Macmillan Building)
Aim: This course examines concepts and debates relating to public health, health inequalities and health policy in a global context. It enables students to understand the policy making process, to analyse the roles of key health policy actors, and to consider the relationship between evidence and policy in relation to health.
Public health emphasizes the dual objectives of population health improvement and the reduction of health inequalities; yet there is a lack of consensus over the principal determinants of health, appropriate policy approaches for achieving these goals, and effective strategies for engaging in the making of public policy. This course will introduce students to key concepts and principles in public health and policy analysis, exploring the role of public policy in meeting population health objectives. It offers a problem-focused and multi-disciplinary approach that draws on public health medicine, epidemiology, political science, public administration, sociology and political theory, with a normative focus on health equity a central theme throughout the course. Students will be provided with a conceptual framework within which to analyse the making of health policy, focusing on the varying distribution of power among different actors and stakeholders. Key theories of the state will be introduced, including its various functions in relation to population health, and we will explore changes in health policy associated with the “hollowing out” of the state via the increased role of markets, civil society, and international agencies. The course offers different approaches to understanding the policy process, looking at why some health issues obtain a privileged position within the policy agenda and why others are denied access to it, and emphasising the importance of understanding obstacles to effective implementation.
This course will enable students to: Critically analyse the concept of health and its determinants at a population level, and
consider the relevance of these for contemporary public policy Demonstrate a critical understanding of the range of factors that influence population
health and the causes of health inequalities Critically apply a conceptual framework for analysis of the health policy process Critically assess theories of the state and their implications for the state’s role in
relation to health Consider the increasing role of market actors within the policy process Assess the varying roles of civil society organisations within the policy process Examine different theoretical approaches to understanding which health issues are
situated on the policy agenda and to effective implementation of heath policy
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Evaluate the role of the health system in promoting health and reducing health inequalities at a population level
Understand conceptual and methodological issues in measuring and monitoring health and health inequalities, and be able to interpret and critically appraise information on health and health inequalities
Consider the role of scientific evidence in policy-making and examine competing models of the relationship between research and policy
Indicative readingBuse K, Mays N and Walt G (2012). Making Health Policy (2nd ed). London: Open University Press.Blank R and Buray V. (2010) Comparative Health Policy 3rd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Crinson I (2009) Health Policy: A Critical Perspective. London: Sage.Graham H (2007). Unequal Lives: Health and socioeconomic inequalities. Maidenhead; Open
University Press.Sim F and McKee M (eds) (2011). Issues in public health (2nd ed). Maidenhead: Open University Press.Beaglehole R, Bonita R (2004). Public health at the crossroads (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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Globalisation and public health (IPHP11009)
Course organiser: Dr Anuj Kapilashrami [email protected] Semester 1, block 1, 10 creditsAssessment: essayPre-requisites: noneLecture: Thursday 14.10-15.00 (Chrystal MacMillan Building, Seminar Room 1) Seminars: Group 1 Thurs 16.10–18.00(Seminar Room 1, Chrystal Macmillan Building);
Group 2 Fri 09.00-10.50 (Seminar Room 4, Chrystal Macmillan Building); Group 3 Fri 11.10-13.00 (Seminar Room 3, Chrystal Macmillan Building)
Aim: to enable students to analyse and evaluate the diverse impacts of globalisation on public health and on policy-making.
Globalisation can be understood as the widening, deepening, and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness. A common delineation refers to globalization as a set of processes that are changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of social spheres: political, economic, cultural, technological and ecological. Each process has particular implications for public health, transforming health risks while simultaneously creating new opportunities. Most importantly, economic globalisation affects the health status of populations through its impact on wealth creation and distribution within and between countries. In a global economy health risks and the determinants of health become increasingly transnational, and the traditional primacy of the nation state in determining health policy is challenged. Public health has traditionally emphasised equity and distributive justice. However, the increased reliance of governments and international organisations on market forces constitutes a challenge to the normative and conceptual bases of this tradition. This course will enable students to develop an understanding of the key drivers of globalization, and the processes, institutions and mechanisms by which it is impacting on public health policy.
This course will Examine competing analytical approaches to the nature and significance of globalisation Introduce a conceptual framework within which to assess the diverse implications of
global change for public health Critically assess the impacts of global economic integration on health inequalities Discuss the impacts of evolving international policy mechanisms on health policy,
including the constraints imposed by agreements under the WTO Assess the implications for global health of the expansion strategies of transnational
corporations
Indicative readingBeaglehole R. ed. (2003) Global public health: a new era. Oxford; Oxford UP.Kawachi I and Wamala S. eds. (2007) Globalization and Health Oxford: Oxford University Press.Parker R & Sommer M (2011). Routledge Handbook of Global Public Health. New York: RoutledgeLee K and Collin J eds (2005) Global Change and Health Milton Keynes: Open University PressLee K ed (2003) Health Impacts of Globalization: Towards Global Governance London: PalgraveHeld D, Kaya A (2006) Global inequalities: Patterns and explanations Oxford: Polity PressHeld D, McGrew A (2003) The global transformations reader: An introduction to the globalization
debate (Oxford: Polity Press)
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Health systems analysis (PGSP11363)
Course organiser: Mark Hellowell [email protected] Semester 1, block2 1-2, 20 creditsAssessment: Portfolio of contributions to class discussion (30% of total mark)
Essay (70% of total mark)Pre-requisites: NoneLecture: Monday 10.00 – 11.00 am (Lecture Theatre G.03, 50 George Square)Seminars: Group 1 Mon 14.10-16.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building);
Group 2 Mon 16.10-18.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building); Group 3 Tues 16.10-18.00 (Seminar Room 6, CMB)
Aim: to provide students with the ability to evaluate health systems in any country or region. A core goal is to provide students with an understanding of core economic principles and how these can be applied: (a) by health sector decision-makers in policy design, and (b) by analysts of health system performance.
The intended learning outcomes are:
• A critical understanding of the role played by economic analysis in health policy.• A critical understanding of how different models of revenue collection and pooling
can lead to different outcomes in terms of equity and efficiency.• An ability to evaluate the various models of health system governance, with a
particular focus on the evaluation of market vs. planned approaches.• An ability to evaluate the organisation and delivery of health systems, with a focus on
human/ pharmaceutical resources and use of information.• An ability to identify and evaluate methods by which resources are allocated or
channelled to individual and institutional providers of health services.• An ability to use economic principles to look critically at factors – including micro-
and macro-economic factors – that have an influence on policy.• An ability to analyse the concepts of economic and fiscal sustainability, in contexts of
socio-economic/ demographic change and resource constraint.• Demonstrating the analytical skills required to present, communicate and debate
issues in health systems policy from an economist’s point of view.
Indicative readingCarrun, C et al (2011). Health Systems Policy, Finance and Organization, Elsevier. Morris, S et al (2012). Economic Analysis in Health Care, Wiley (2nd ed).
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Introduction to epidemiology for public policy (IPHP11022)
Course organisers: Dr Sarah Hill [email protected] Semester 1, blocks 1&2, 10 creditsAssessment: essay Pre-requisites: noneLecture: Tuesday 14.10-16.00 (Lecture Theatre 183 Old College)Seminar: Tuesday 14.10-16.00 (seminar locations TBC)
Aim: To examine the principles and tools of epidemiology in relation to population health and public policy.
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in populations and the application of the knowledge gained to improve population health. Epidemiology is one of the central disciplines underpinning public health research, practice and policy. This course examines the nature and scope of epidemiology and the contribution it makes to public health policy in an international context. It provides an overview of: key approaches to measuring and monitoring disease in populations and comparing populations in terms of specific disease outcomes; epidemiological approaches to study design, analysis and interpretation; measuring and interpreting associations between health exposures and disease outcomes; global measures of health and disease; and critical evaluation and interpretation of epidemiological data.
This course will enable students to: Have a critical understanding of how health outcomes are measured and compared
across populations; the strengths and weaknesses of key sources of population health data; and the interpretation of summary measures of population health and disability.
Understand the design, analysis and interpretation of epidemiological studies in the context of public health practice, research and policy
Understand and critically interpret epidemiology measures such as odds ratios and relative risks in quantifying the link between health exposures and disease outcomes.
Critically understand potential sources of data error (including the role of confounding) and how to account for these errors in analysis and interpretation of epidemiological data.
Critically evaluate and interpret epidemiological data.
Course texts:Bailey L, Vardulaki K, Langham J, Chandramohan D (2005). Introduction to Epidemiology.
Maidenhead: Open University Press.Bonita R, Beaglehole R, Kjellstrom T (2006). Basic Epidemiology, 2nd ed. Geneva: World
Health Organization.
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Infectious Disease and Global Governance (SCPL11020)
Course organiser: Sudeepa Abeysinghe ([email protected]) Semester 2, blocks 3 & 4, 20 creditsAssessment: annotated bibliography; essayLecture: Monday 3:10-4:00 LT3, 7 Bistro SquareSeminar Group 1: Monday 4:10-5:00 LG.08, David Hume Tower; Seminar Group 2: Tuesday 9:00-10:50, Elliot Room, Minto House; Seminar Group 3: 11:10-1:00, BLT, Doorway 6, Medical School
Aim: The course will explore how local, national and global-level factors interlink to determine the way in which infectious diseases are experienced and handled. It emphasises the impact of enduring inequalities at each of these levels in both determining who gets sick and how events are managed.
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases have been a matter of increased global public health focus. While biomedical explanations are important, the experience and management of infectious disease is fundamentally bound in social, political, cultural and economic structures. This course focuses upon the way in which social scientific approaches can be harnessed to understand and evaluate the context which surrounds infectious disease governance. The course introduces students to key social scientific concepts in understanding infectious disease, and encourages students to consider how these can be applied in the formulation of effective policy.
This course will enable students to:o Demonstrate a critical awareness of current issues in infectious disease and global
healtho Critically assess the relationship between infectious disease and socio-political
structures at the local, national, and global levelso Consider and critically analyse the role of key discourses, actors, structures and
institutions that underpin the experience and management of infectious diseaseo Understand and critically assess various social scientific conceptual and analytical
tools in investigating infectious diseases o Critically evaluate and synthesise academic and policy literatures around infectious
disease governance
Indicative readingAllen, T. and Parker, M. 2011.The Other Diseases of the Millennium Development Goals: Rhetoric and reality of free drug distribution to cure the poor's parasites, Third World Quarterly 32(1):91-117Briggs, C.L. and Nichter, M. 2012. Biocommunicability and the biopolitics of pandemic threats, Medical Anthropology 28(3):189-98Coker, R., Rushton, J., Mourier-Jack, S., Karimuribo, E., Lutumba, P, Kambarage, D., Pfeiffer,
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Dingwall, R., Hoffman, L., and Staniland, K. 2013. Pandemics and Emerging Diseases: A Sociological Agenda, Chichester: Wiley PublicationsEichelburger, L. 2007. SARS and New York's Chinatown: The politics of risk and blame during an epidemic of fear, Social Science and Medicine 65(5):1284-95Fidler, D.P. and Gostin, L.O. 2003. Biosecurity and Public Heath, in: Biosecurity in the Global Age, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp 121-187
Global politics of public health (IPHP11003) (IPHP10002)
Course organiser: Anuj Kapilashrami [email protected] Semester 2, blocks 3 & 4, 20 creditsAssessment: essayPre-requisites: Globalisation and public healthLecture: Thursday 10.00-10.50 (G8 Gaddum LT, 1 George Square)Seminars: Group 1 Thurs 11.10-13.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building);
Group 2 Fri 09.00-10.50 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building); Group 3 Fri 11.10-13.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building);
Aim: To examine how health policy is increasingly being shaped beyond the level of the nation state, focusing on the changing roles of international organizations, the commercial sector and civil society.
This course examines how the process and content of health policy are being transformed by the powers and policy instruments of international and supranational institutions and new global actors. The course examines contemporary challenges confronting the World Health Organization, discussing the extent to which recent innovations like the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the revised International Health Regulations embody a new mode of global health governance.
Health policy is increasingly influenced by organisations that have been created to promote trade, and the significance of the European Union is considered alongside detailed assessments of the involvement of the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. There has been increased involvement of non-state actors in health policy, and the module addresses the expanded roles of the commercial sector and civil society and the implications of the recent profusion of global health partnerships such as the Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.
This course will enable students to: Examine challenges confronting the World Health Organization and assess recent
attempts at institutional and policy reform Assess the increasing significance for public health of regional institutions such as the
European Union Understand the significance of the World Bank’s emergence as the leading agency in
international health Consider the implications of the World Trade Organization for health policy Review global partnerships between public and private sectors in the context of new
initiatives to combat infectious disease
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Consider the expanded role of commercial actors in health Examine the role of civil society organisations in health policy.
Indicative readingKawachi I & Wamala S eds (2006) Globalization and Health Oxford: OUPLee K, Collin J. eds (2005) Global Change and Health Milton Keynes: Open UP.Lee K (2003) Globalization and Health: An Introduction London: PalgraveLee K ed (2003) Health Impacts of Globalization: Towards Global Governance
London: Palgrave.McKee M, Garner P and Stott R eds (2001) International co-operation in health
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Health Systems: Strengthening and Reform (PGSP11364) (SCPL10030)
Course organiser: Mark Hellowell [email protected] Semester 2, blocks 3 & 4, 20 creditsAssessment: essayPre-requisites: Introduction to health systems; Economic issues in health policyLecture: Tuesday 14.10-15.00 (Chrystal MacMillan Building, seminar room 5)Seminars: Group 1 Mon 14.10-16.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building)
Group 2 Mon 16.10-18.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building); Group 3 Tues 16.10-18.00 (Seminar Room 6, Chrystal Macmillan Building)
Aim: To examine the mechanisms and processes of health care reform and evaluate the consequences with respect to equity, efficiency and quality.
In many developed and developing countries, there is a move away from unified public financing and delivery of health care towards governance through markets in insurance and/or provision. Processes of privatisation and marketisation involve the private sector more directly in decision-making within health systems. Such reform measures can have a material impact on the efficiency and quality of health care services. A broader range of reform programmes are taking place around the world, many of which do not involve an explicit attempt to increase private sector involvement, and are more directly focused on improving equity and access. The move towards strengthening primary care provision is an important case study for analysis.
By the end of the course, students will: have a detailed knowledge and understanding of the reform processes being
undertaken in health care systems around the world; have a detailed understanding of the concepts of marketisation and privatisation and
their application to health care; be able to evaluate the consequences of reform processes with respect to health
care quality and efficiency; be able to identify, describe and evaluate reforms aimed at improving access to
health care and equity in financing and provision.
Indicative readingOECD (2003), Health care systems: Lessons from the reform experience. Available at:
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/5/53/22364122.pdfWorld Health Organisation (2010), The world health report 2010 - Health systems financing:
the path to universal coverage. To be available (from November 2010) at: http://www.who.int/whr/2010/en/index.html
The World Bank (1993), Bureaucrats in business. The economics and politics of government ownership, Washington DC: World Bank. Available at: http://econ.worldbank.org
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Social determinants of health & public policy (IPHP11002) (IPHP10001)
Course organisers: Dr Sarah Hill ([email protected])Semester 2, blocks 3 & 4, 20 creditsAssessment: essayPre-requisites: none, but helpful to have taken Public health and health inequalitiesLecture: Thursday 14.10-15.00 (LG11, David Hume Tower)Seminars: Group 1 Thurs 16.10-18.00 (4.09 Darwin, Geography)
Group 2 Fri 09.00-10.50 (Seminar room 4, Minto house) Group 3 Fri 11.10-13.00 (4.09 Darwin, Geography)
Aim: to examine the social determinants of health inequalities and to evaluate the public policy response.
Inequalities in health persist both within and between countries. These inequalities can be seen across various axes including gender, ethnicity/race, area and socioeconomic position. This course aims to demonstrate the extent of inequalities in health and to explore the underlying determinants of health and health inequalities. It expands on theories explaining how inequalities arise, including behavioural/cultural, psychosocial, material and lifecourse approaches. The course also investigates the role of government and the impact of economic, social and health policy in creating or reducing inequalities. Different explanatory paradigms and their implications for policy intervention will be discussed in relation to the health status of various population subgroups.
This course will assist students to: Understand the range of factors that influence health Interpret information on inequalities in health Understand the extent of inequalities in health within and between countries Critically examine contemporary debates regarding the causes of inequalities in
health Understand that inequalities in health reflect broader inequalities in society Understand that the overall philosophy a government adheres to drives its approach
to economic and social policy and the distribution/redistribution of resources within society
Critically examine the impact that aspects of public policy (specifically approaches to taxation, provision of the welfare state, and the funding and delivery of health services) have on the extent of inequalities in society
Indicative readingGraham H (2007). Unequal Lives: Health and socioeconomic inequalities. Maidenhead; OUPGraham H ed. (2009). Understanding Health Inequalities (2nd ed). Maidenhead: OUPBartley M (2003). Health inequality: an introduction to theory, concepts, and methods.
London: Policy Press.Marmot M & Wilkinson R (eds) (2005). Social Determinants of Health (2nd ed). Oxford: OUPWHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (2008). Closing the gap in a
generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Geneva, World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/social_determinants/final_report/en/index.html
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7. Elective courses
In addition to the above courses, students also have the opportunity to select up to 20 credits’ worth of Level 11 course(s) from other subject areas within the School of Social & Political Science, Centre for Population Health Sciences and from a variety of other schools across the University of Edinburgh. Such study is subject to the approval of the programme director.
The following is a selection of courses that may be of interest to students. Space precludes the inclusion of either a comprehensive list of all possible options or full details of those courses listed below; you are therefore strongly encouraged to consult the University’s Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study 2014-15 (http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/), particularly for courses offered by the Postgraduate School of Social & Political Science (http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/13-14/dpt/cx_s_su809.htm). In considering potential elective courses, you should make the course is offered at SCQF Level 11. Please also ignore those taught as 15 credit options as these are not available to students on our MSc programmes.
Prerequisites apply to some of the optional courses below. Optional courses may not be available every year and may be subject to negotiated limits regarding numbers of students.
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School of Social & Political ScienceThe following is a small selection of the many courses delivered through the Graduate School of SSPS (except those associated with specific subject areas). A full list of Level 11 courses provided by the Graduate School is available at http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/13-14/dpt/cx_s_su809.htm. (Please note that 15 credit courses are not available to students in this programme.) Further details of timetable and rooms for these courses can be found at http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/on_course/timetable.
Semester 1
Anthropology of Health and Healing (PGSP11071)Semester 1 blocks 1&220 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Stefan Ecks ([email protected])
Medical anthropology studies health, illness, and healing in different cultural contexts. One of anthropology’s most rapidly growing sub-disciplines, medical anthropology explores both traditional healing and modern medical technologies. This course introduces the students to the key issues in medical anthropology and gets them engaged with the field's distinctive perspective on health and healing. It takes students away from the view that there is only one standardized 'best practice' and shows them the diversity of therapeutic methods, ideas of disease causation, healer personalities, and spaces for healing around the world.
Global Environment : Key Issues (PGSP11358)Semester 120 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Elizabeth Bomberg [email protected]
This course gives students a broad-based introduction to the political, normative and social challenges of global environmental change. It covers core concepts and debates in social science and law, engaging students with key questions from across the disciplines. What does climate change mean for state sovereignty? Do we have environmental human rights? How has the relationship evolved between society and the natural world? What does sustainable development really mean? What is 'global' environmental law? To what extent is environmental science constructed by social interests?
European Social Policy (PGSP11203) Semester 120 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Elke Heins [email protected]
The course is organised in three sections. The first aims to provide an understanding of why welfare states emerged in Europe, how welfare states have been restructured and how welfare states are organised in selected European countries. We then address how we can make sense of the variations in national welfare state design and the wider political economy. The second part deals with the main challenges that all European welfare states
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are currently facing, most notably globalisation, demographic change and the transition to a service sector economy. The third section moves the focus to the European Union level - what are EU competences in social policy, how is social policy made at EU level, how has this changed over time and what future is there for a 'European Social Model' in the context of the Eurozone crisis, changing EU membership and different scenarios for the future EU?
Introduction to Risk, Regulation and Governance (PGSP11336) Semester 110 creditsCourse organiser: Dr James Mittra [email protected]
Risk governance and regulation is a fundamental component of virtually all scientific and technological fields, whilst also being intrinsic to a variety of social and economic processes. The International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) defines risk governance as "the identification, assessment, management, and communication of risks in a broad context. It includes the totality of actors, rules, conventions, processes, and mechanisms concerned with how relevant risk information is collected, analysed, and communicated; and how and by whom management decisions are taken and implemented." There are many approaches to risk governance and regulation, which largely reflects the different levels of risk, uncertainty and potential benefits of specific types of science, technology or socio-economic activity within or across a diverse range of sectors or 'risk fields'.
The application of any new technology, process or industry must have a carefully considered process of risk governance to mitigate risk of harm, and ideally in a way that does not hinder innovation. This introductory course on key concepts of risk governance and regulation is both a key component of the MSc BIG Programme, but will also appeal to students with more general interests in science, technology, management, policymaking and governance seeking a general introduction to the basic concepts, theory and practice of risk, governance and regulation.
Social Interventions in HIV and AIDS (PGSP11305)Semester 120 creditsCourse organiser: Dr George Palattiyil [email protected]
HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic that affects individuals, families, and communities across the world, and has profound social and economic implications. Despite advances in treatment, HIV/AIDS continues to present challenges to the health and well-being of those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly in resource-poor countries. While prevention of HIV infection remains crucial to the control of the epidemic globally, care and social support for the infected and affected is equally vital. This entails carefully planned methods of intervention, integrated with the involvement of civil society and people living with HIV and AIDS.
Social work has been in the forefront of the AIDS epidemic from the outset, providing support and leadership, which are vital in offsetting the impact of stigma and discrimination and ensuring basic human rights. This course will aim to develop a deeper understanding of social interventions with individuals, families and communities affected by HIV/AIDS,
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examine successful HIV/AIDS intervention strategies, explore strategies and barriers in involving civil society and people living with HIV in designing and managing HIV/AIDS programmes. Particular attention will be paid to developing a human rights based approach to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care.
Semester 2
Africa and International Politics (PGSP11151)Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Jana Hoenke [email protected]
This course examines contemporary African politics in national, regional, international and global contexts through several disciplinary perspectives, including political economy, sociology, and history. The course will examine the nature of Africa's integration into the world economy and political systems; the cold war and post-cold war periods; the changing relations within and between Africa's states and regions; and changing relations between Africa's States and external organizations. No prior knowledge of African politics or economics is assumed.
Anthropology of Global Health (PGSP11379) 20 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Alice Street [email protected]
Medical anthropologists often deal directly with problems in global health initiatives, whose agendas are frequently intertwined with international development institutions. Increasingly a link is being made (and contested) between disease control and poverty reduction. Some anthropologists who work in applied contexts attempt to translate public health knowledge and policy into effective action. Other anthropologists reflect critically on how governmental health initiatives are ever more central to everyday life and how global health organizations are producing a transnational government of the body. This takes place through processes of globalization, as 'universal' concepts and practices related to health and illness travel to different parts of the world and interact with local agendas. In this course, we explore the tensions between different standpoints alongside case studies on how anthropologists engage with global health agendas.
Contemporary Social Theory (PGSP11276) Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Stephen Kemp [email protected]
This course is designed to introduce students to selected major contemporary sociological theorists. A range of each theorist's work will be discussed though an effort will be made to single out their most important contributions. The discussion will be both exegetical and critical. The course will also compare and contrast the theorists and consider how their work might be applied to particular contemporary issues.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contagion (PGSP11421)Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Ian Harper [email protected]
Infectious diseases have impacted human relations in profound and far reaching ways. Drawing on a range of pathogens, this course examines their historical, social and economic impact.
The aims of the course are for students to develop an understanding of the role of infectious disease in both history and social organization; to understand how infectious disease leads to a deeper appreciation of issues relating to globalization, international politics and global health; to be able to analyse these issues of infection, and its consequences - from an anthropological perspective.
Critical perspectives on mental health and well-being in the global south (PGSP11377) Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Sumeet Jain [email protected]
This course has two aims: to provide students with an understanding of key theoretical, conceptual and policy debates related to mental health and well-being in the 'global south' and to examine how these debates shape public health and development interventions that address mental health and well-being. The course draws on inter-disciplinary perspective integrating relevant knowledge from cultural psychiatry, medical anthropology, development studies, public health, and social work. Teaching will make use of case studies of innovative programmes, national and international policy reports, and ethnographic data from diverse contexts.
Sessions are divided into three blocks. The first block (sessions 1-3) will develop conceptual perspectives to help students assess the relevance, scope and importance of mental health and well-being. This will focus on a culturally contextualized exploration of key concepts including 'mental health', 'well-being' and 'mental illness', consideration of the social and cultural determinants that shape both mental health & well-being, and cross-cultural perspectives on illness experience.
The second block (sessions 4-6) will deploy these conceptual understandings to analyse and critique policy efforts to internationalize and globalize ideas about mental health, drawing on research and policy material from specific regions. These sessions will examine the relationship between 'community' and 'mental health' in national and international mental health policies, trace the emergence of the 'global mental health' movement, and consider the role of human rights and service-user/ 'survivor' movements in globalizing mental health.
The third block (sessions 7-10) will discuss ways of addressing mental health and well-being from a 'local' perspective through the use of relevant case studies from a variety of regional contexts. These sessions will develop critical perspectives on issues in humanitarian and conflict settings, the relationships between mental health, well-being and development,
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working with marginal and stigmatized populations, and the potential for innovation grounded in local concerns and 'community participation'.
Gender and Development (PGSP11225) Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Prof. Patricia Jeffery [email protected]
Gender studies and development studies are both interdisciplinary in orientation, and touch on issues as diverse as work and family life, health and population, labour and international economic change. It is now widely recognised that pervasive pre-existing gender inequalities mean that development processes have differential effects on women and men. Early feminist critiques emphasised the ‘marginal’ position of women in development and advocated their ‘integration’. More recently, critiques have argued that women's ‘marginality’ reflects the systematic gender bias in official statistics and development planning in general, and that women are already affected by and involved in development, although in locally variable and class specific ways.
Global and International Social Policy (SCPL 11021)Semester 220 creditsCourse Organiser: Dr. Jay Wiggan [email protected]
Traditionally nation states were perceived to be the pre-eminent actors shaping social policy and the distribution of resources and life-chances. Increasingly however international organisations have become important actors in the generation, championing and dissemination of policy ¿best practice¿ and the prescribing of social policy reforms for high and middle income countries. In the former many mature welfare states are under pressure to reform services to fit with more austere socio-economic times. In the latter the rapid economic growth experienced by countries such as India, China and Brazil has created new demands and opportunities to create innovative social protection and welfare services.
The course provides an introduction to the roles of international governmental organisations, national governments and non-state actors in social policymaking and the common and distinct socio-economic and political pressures driving and constraining reform in high and middle income countries.
The first four weeks of the course outline the context, institutions and actors shaping the politics of global social policy and the variation between countries in how they approach social policy. Weeks 5-8 begin the focus on the substantive policy areas covering social assistance and labour policy. These sessions draw out how variations in formal and informal employment affects policy preferences and explore the role of the ILO and World Bank in debates about decent work and a social protection floor. Weeks 9-11 each explore the specific policy sub-sectors of health, education and care policy. The six weeks spent examining discrete policy areas will examine the common and divergent pressure for reforms, the variation in policy practices and goals and critically reflect on the relative influence of international organisations and other non-state actors in each policy sub-sector. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Global Environment and Society (PGSP11359)Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Isabelle Darmon [email protected]
The idea of separation of modern human kind from nature has become a trope of our times, and has come to be seen as a component of 'modernity' ¿ in turn giving rise to protests and quests for 're'-unification with nature.
In this course we start from a different premise: that the relations between humans and nature are socially mediated, in other words that they cannot be conceived outside of social relations. We look at these relations through 3 main prisms: appropriation, rationalisation (the production of sameness), and livelihoods and communities ¿ and in three domains: mining, agriculture and food, and forest 'management'.
Governance, Development and Poverty in Africa (PGSP11327)Semester 220 creditsCourse organiser: Dr Gerhard Anders [email protected]
A vast proportion of the world's poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and the continent has seen considerable inflows of international development assistance in its various forms. Drawing on academic literature and empirical research this course explores how Africa became a 'development problem' and the various strategies employed over the decades since colonial times to bring about social, political and economic transformation in Africa. It discusses key issues in African development including the discovery of poverty as the main development issue in the 1960s, the role of the state and the advent of good governance in the 1990s, and the various humanitarian and legal interventions that have shaped social life and politics in recent years. The course aims at providing a platform to discuss poverty, development and the challenges of realizing justice in contemporary Africa.
Interpreting Development: Institutions and Practices (PGSP11296)20 creditsSemester 2Course organiser: Dr Catherine Long [email protected]
Development policies and strategies are important in all societies, and their outcomes, intended and unintended, have profound effects on the peoples and states where they are implemented. In this course we will explore these effects through a series of case studies focusing on the institutions that are responsible for delivering planned social change. In particular an ethnographic and culturally sensitive approach to understanding these development processes and practices will be developed, and the course will highlight anthropology's particular contribution to understanding and engaging in social development institutions. Through looking at these institutions involved in development, we will explore the relationship between development, the economy, science, health and the environment and climate change.
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Regulation and Governance of the Life Sciences (PGSP11337)10 creditsSemester 2Course organiser: Dr James Mittra [email protected]
Issues of risk, governance and regulation have had a particular resonance in a range of life science sectors. Indeed, processes of regulation and risk management are a core component of most life science industries and shape the very nature of innovation. It is essential for students wanting training in core competencies and broader knowledge and understanding of the bioeconomy to be acquainted with systemic issues around risk governance and regulation as they apply to different sectors within the life sciences. This course, which is a continuation from RGR-I, is an essential component of the BIG Programme and provides in-depth knowledge and understanding, through rich case studies from the contributors’ long-standing expertise and research findings in the field, of how regulation and risk-governance processes have impacted on life science-based innovations in the health, agriculture and environmental sectors.
Centre for Population Health Sciences
Further details of these and other courses offered in the Centre for Population Health Sciences are available from http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/13-14/dpt/cx_sb_puhr.htm. Please note that several of these courses have pre-requisites, and that the availability of places on some courses may be limited.
To enquire about entry to any of these courses please contact Mr Stuart MallenTel: (0131 6)50 3227 Email: [email protected]
Semester 1Introduction to Qualitative Research (PUHR11033) 10 creditsSemester 1 (1-2), Wed. 11.10-13.00Course Organiser: Mrs Zoe Morrison
This ten week course will provide an introduction to qualitative research methods. Underlying approaches will be examined and then different methods will be looked at in more detail. Practical components will be incorporated into the sessions, and visiting lecturers who are actively involved in qualitative research will talk about their research experience. Students will be expected to carry out one in-depth interview, participate in class exercises and discussions and do background reading on the topics. Students will also learn how to analyse qualitative data, what some of the challenges of mixing methods are and how to appraise published qualitative research.
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Introduction to Research Ethics (PUHR11030) 10 creditsSemester 1 (1), Wed.14.00-15.50Course organiser: Prof Sarah Cunningham-Burley
The course will look at the ethical requirements for undertaking public health research: epidemiological, experimental and qualitative research. It will also consider the basic principles of good scholarship common to all fields of public health research. The areas to be considered will include issues of ethics and governance and basic ethical principles.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Health Promotion (PUHR11001)Semester 1, blocks 1 & 2, 10 creditsCourse organisers: Prof Amanda Amos Course secretary: Stuart Mallen [email protected]
Aim: To provide an introduction to the theory and practice of health promotion, and to critically review approaches to planning and evaluation in health promotion and their application. The course will introduce and explore some of the key concepts and models in health promotion and health education and their underpinning principles and values. The main part of the course will consider the stages involved in health promotion programme planning, development and evaluation. This will include critical reflection on most widely used models and theories of health-related behavioural change. Examples of good practice will be used to illustrate and explore key issues.
Semester 2
Communicable Disease Control and Environmental Health (PUHR11008) 10 creditsSemester 2, Tues 09:00 - 10:50Course organiser: Dr Niall Anderson
This course aims to provide an introduction to communicable diseases and non infectious environmental hazards to health and an appreciation of the theory and practice of their control and prevention in the UK.
By the end of this course students will be able to: understand the significance of communicable diseases as a public health issue in the UK
and globally describe the epidemiology of important communicable diseases in the UK describe the principles of surveillance, investigation, control and prevention of
communicable diseases outline the different methods available for the control of communicable diseases apply the principles of investigating an outbreak of communicable disease outline the principles of investigation, control and prevention of environmental health
hazards
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Further Statistics (PUHR11051)10 creditsSemester 2, Thurs (Block 3) Wed (Block 4) 09.00 - 10.50 Course organiser: Dr Pam Warner
This course is designed to consolidate understanding of the key statistical concepts introduced in the core Introduction to Statistics course, and build on these, extending knowledge and skills to: · Further types of simple analysis, and more advanced methods (eg for more than 2 groups, using data transformations, repeated measurements). · Use of stratification to explore confounding and effect modification.· Sample size calculations.
Global Health Epidemiology (PUHR11056) 10 creditsSemester 2 (2-3), Thurs. 11.10-13.00Course organiser: Prof Harry Campbell
Course description: This course will consider some research aspects of important topics in International Health. By the end of the course the student will understand: The methods employed in estimating Global Burden of Disease How global health research spending relates to the global burden of disease Gender issues in international health research Ethical considerations to conducting health research in developing countries Some issues related to the impact of child infections, HIV and war/ conflict on
international health (through case studies)
Extended Epidemiology (PUHR11036) 10 creditsSemester 2(3), Fri 11:10 - 13:00Course organiser: Dr Igor Rudan
The module covers issues in epidemiological study design, analysis and interpretation including effect modification, measurement error, regression dilution bias, limitations of routine data, power and sample size, scales and the role of multi-variable analyses in epidemiology, with reference to specific study design and areas of epidemiology (eg migrant studies, twin studies, life-course epidemiology).
The course aims to provide an opportunity for students to extend their knowledge and understanding of design, analysis and interpretation of epidemiological studies and to improve their critical appraisal skills. By the end of the course, students will: Have knowledge of how to identify the appropriate study design to answer a public
health research question Understand the concepts of epidemiological study design and analysis Have the skills to critically appraise epidemiological studies.
Introduction to Systematic Reviews (PUHR11038) 10 credits
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Semester 2 (3), Fri 14:00 - 15:50Course organiser: Dr Christine Campbell
This course will introduce students to the principles and basic concepts of systematic reviews. Areas to be considered will include the rationale for undertaking a systematic review, an overview of the methods used to conduct systematic reviews, and discussion of their use in healthcare decision making. Delivery of the course will be through lectures, computer labs and discussion groups.
Sociology of Health and Illness (PUHR11026) 20 creditsSemester 2 (3-4), Wed 14.00-15.50Course organiser: Dr Jeni Harden
This course introduces sociological perspectives on health, illness and the practice of public health. Key themes include the social patterning health and illness, risk, surveillance and health, lay and expert knowledge, constructions of health and illness, the media and health, and new technologies and health.
Students will: Develop and understanding of sociological perspectives and be able to evaluate the
strengths and weakness of different theories. Learn to examine key concepts and approaches in public health from a critical
sociological perspective, developing their awareness of issues regarding the production and distribution of power and knowledge.
Learn to link individual experiences of health and illness with social forces, group dynamics, and the social construction of normality.
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8. Dissertation
More detailed guidance regarding the dissertation will be issued at the beginning of semester 2. The following broad information is included to indicate the type of projects that will be available to you, the nature of the relationship with the dissertation supervisor, and the timeline for submission.
What is a dissertation?
A dissertation is an extended piece of scholarship of your choosing. It is based on study that you structure yourself. It gives you the chance to pursue a topic in depth and to develop research and independent study skills. It comprises one third of credits on the MSc. The dissertation gives you an opportunity to carry out a library-based or empirical research project. You are not required to conduct primary empirical research.
The subject of the dissertation can be chosen in one of two ways:(i) Selected from an indicative list of topics compiled within GPHU (to be made available early in semester 2).(ii) Students may propose their own topic, subject to the availability of appropriate supervision and the approval of the programme director.
There are two types of dissertation available within the programme: 1. A standard (usually, but not always desk-based) dissertation.2. A work-based dissertation
Standard dissertation is an extended piece of writing of up to 15,000 words, based on independent and self-directed study. You are expected to demonstrate your ability to engage critically and analytically with literature in the field, building upon relevant concepts and theory covered in the taught element of the degree. Students usually undertake a balance of empirical and theoretical work, but are not specifically required to conduct primary empirical research. The subject will be determined on the basis of your own interests, the expertise of staff, and what is feasible in terms of the literature and time available. Therefore, choose a topic that interests you, and which has a clear focus and definable boundaries. Typically, a standard MSc dissertation can take one of the following three forms:
1) Health policy report – a review of a policy issue using information from published or unpublished documentation and data from original sources to draw conclusions and make recommendations for policy.
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2) Literature review – a comprehensive and original review of the literature to address a relevant research question. In a literature review you should identify, appraise and synthesise research evidence from individual studies. Reviews require a rationale, conceptual framework and a protocol. 3) Research project – collection and analysis of original data for a small-scale empirical project. The data can be collected before or during the MSc. Opportunities for descriptive/participant observation studies or small action research projects could be considered in certain circumstances.
Work-Based Placements (WBPs) – WPBs are run by the School of Social and Political Sciences. WBPs will be advertised in Dec-Jan each year and students can apply for these on a competitive basis. Places will be allocated by mid-February. During the placement you will collect and analyse original data for a small-scale empirical project outlined by your host organization. Placements are usually two months long and organizations are based both within the UK and internationally.
Work-based projects will be allocated on the basis of academic performance in Semester 1 and evidence of relevant skills and interests. Some projects will require an interview prior to confirmation of the successful candidate. It is assumed that students taking up work-based projects will have at least an average mark in semester one of 60% or higher, and no mark less than 60%. This higher entry mark is not an indication that work-based dissertations are a higher-quality ‘premium’ version of a standard dissertation. However, since such dissertations involve the support of and close collaboration with external partners, it reassures our external partners that they are working with students who are capable of meeting their demands. Students will also be able to set up their own projects, but will need the approval of the Practice Programme Manager, the first point of contact if you have any issues or questions regarding your placement.
All placements will involve an identified programme of work which the student will be undertaking and that will form the basis of the dissertation. This must be formally agreed between the School of Social and Political Science and the host organisation. . The agreed programme of work will usually be a piece of research requested by the host organisation, but can be a specific contribution to an identified project. Students will not expect to be paid during their work-based dissertations and should be prepared to cover their own costs and manage their time and topic very carefully. Ensure from the outset that: a) you and the organisation are clear about your responsibilities to the organisation and to the university; and b) that the organisation understands the deadlines and provides you with ample time in the final stages to complete your work.
Students will be supervised throughout the placement by an academic supervisor. You will also have a supervisor based in your host organisation.
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The normal expectation is that host organisations will request a specific topic/question on which they would like to commission a substantive piece of research (12000 words). The 12000-word analytical section (plus the 3000-word diary) comprise the dissertation submitted to the University of Edinburgh. Students will also submit to their host a 2 page executive summary of actionable points. The 2 page summary is non-assessed and not formally part of the dissertation. It's for the host organisation not the University, so there is no requirement for the student to submit it with the dissertation (for further details see below).
Whatever type of dissertation you decide to prepare, you will have to demonstrate your ability to apply the concepts and theories covered in the taught part of the course and to be critical and analytical. The marking scheme for the dissertation is laid down by the Postgraduate common marking scheme (see above).
Full details, including the application process and the format of the work-based dissertation, will be available in the 2015-16 work-based dissertation project booklet, which will be sent out to all MSc students on eligible Programmes. Students will also receive an information pack prior to this at the beginning of Semester 1.
Timeline for 2015-16 (exact dates TBC)
January Release of projectsJanuary WBP information sessionFebruary Deadline for applicationsFebruary Selection panelFebruary Students preliminary allocation to projects – confirmation of
placement usually subject to interview with host organisationMarch Finalise project details and sign off. Begin literature review. Early April
Pre-departure workshop
May-June
On placement
July First draft of dissertationAugust Hand in dissertation
Students are free to get in touch with the WBP office via email with any questions: [email protected]
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9. Global Public Health Unit Staff – Biographical Details
Dr. Sudeepa Abeysinghe, LecturerSudeepa is a lecturer in Global Health Policy, and convenor of Infectious Disease and Global Governance. Sudeepa’s current research focuses upon the relationship between knowledge and policy, particularly in terms of the global management of infectious diseases. She is especially interested in the social construction of risk, the political sociology of institutions, and the social classification of disease. Her work examines the way in which institutions and publics categorise, represent and manage disease events, in particular where diseases are ‘new’ or underpinned by conditions of high risk or uncertainty.
Sudeepa’s background is in medical sociology and policy studies. She previously worked at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Australian National University, before joining GPHU in 2014.
Rosie Anderson, Teaching Fellow Rosie Anderson's research interests focus on the cultures and practices of emotion in governance. Her doctoral thesis was an ethnographic study of emotion and reason in anti-poverty policy in the two years leading up to the Independence Referendum. She has particular interest in conceptions of knowledge, expertise and morality in making policy, psychosocial research methods and the role of the voluntary sector in politics. Prior to joining GPHU as a Teaching Fellow she was a Fellow at What Works Scotland looking at emotional labour in the civil service.
Rosie worked in policy and public affairs for several years before returning to academia to pursue her PhD as a research and policy manager in think tanks and charities. She trained as a journalist and worked in BBC News in London, Glasgow and Cardiff.
Prof Jeff Collin, Professor Jeff Collin is Professor of Global Health Policy and, following a period as Director of GPHU and Head of Social Policy, is currently focusing on research while on sabbatical. A political scientist by background, he was previously based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and his research focuses on globalisation and tobacco control. Using corporate documents disclosed following litigation, this work addresses attempts by transnational tobacco companies to influence public policy, particularly in developing countries. This has principally been funded by the US National Cancer Institute, currently via a three-year project titled ‘Tobacco companies, global governance and public health’.
Jeff’s recent publications include analyses of corporate complicity in cigarette smuggling in China and Africa; of conflict of interest in international health philanthropy; policy coherence in global health; tobacco industry influence in a WHO Collaborating Centre; and of the politics of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. He is a member of the WHO expert group monitoring tobacco industry
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influence. Wider research interests include developments in global health governance, politics of the commercial sector and non-communicable diseases, and the health impacts of population mobility and of trade liberalisation.
Dr Andrew Harmer, Honorary FellowAndrew is an International Relations scholar with a specialist interest in global health policy and governance. Since completing his PhD in International Relations in 2006, Andrew’s research has focused on the effects of global health partnerships on health systems. In 2012, he was Principal Investigator on a project exploring the influence of emerging economies (particularly the so-called 'BRICS' countries - Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa) in global health governance. Prior to that, he was a Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he helped to coordinate the Global Health Initiatives Network (GHIN), contributed to a study of civil society advocacy for HIV/AIDS in countries of the former Soviet Union, and supported a multi-country analysis of 'Good Health at Low Cost'.
In 2008, Andrew was coordinator of a short-term evaluation of the International Health Partnership (IHP+) with the social enterprise Responsible Action. Before pursuing an academic career, Andrew was a gardener for Lambeth Council in London.
Dr Mark Hellowell, Senior LecturerMark is Programme Director for MSc Health System and MSc Health Inequalities and Public Policy. His research programme focuses on the efficiency of private finance and private provision in public services, with a focus on health care. He has a specific interest in Public Private Partnerships, an increasingly important component of public sector reform in the UK and around the world. His current research focuses on the competition, concentration and efficiency of the market for private finance in healthcare and other public services.
Mark’s approach is empirical and he has been successful in ensuring a wide dissemination of findings through a variety of media - most recently in The Guardian and Public Finance (see 'Selected Recent Media Work', below). He is a member of the ESRC panel on Collaborative Futures, and a member of the University of Edinburgh's Public Policy Network. He regularly gives interviews to both print and broadcast media on public policy issues, has contributed to the Prime Minister's Top Management Programme, and has provided oral and written evidence to both UK and Scottish parliamentary select committees.
Dr Sarah Hill, Senior Lecturer and Director of GPHUSarah is Director of the Global Public Health Unit. She is also the organiser for the BMedSci intercalated programme, co-convenor for Introduction to Epidemiology for Public Policy and convenor of Social Determinants of Health and Public Policy.
Sarah's research interests include health inequalities and the social determinants of health; tobacco and health; and global health. She is particularly interested in the structural drivers of health inequities including historical and institutional discrimination and the role of commercial actors in non-communicable disease epidemics. Sarah joined the University of Edinburgh in 2009 having previously worked in public health, medicine and research in New Zealand, the USA, New Zealand, West Africa and Glasgow.
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Dr. Anuj Kapilashrami, LecturerAnuj is a lecturer and Programme Director for the MSc in Global Health and Public Policy and course convenor for Globalisation and Public Health and Global Politics for Public Health. She has an interdisciplinary background in sociology and public health with a specialisation in policy and systems research, and sexual and reproductive health.
Anuj works at the intersections of health politics and development praxis, with particular interest in their interface with gender, human rights and social justice. Over last fifteen years she has worked with various development actors and social movements in India, the UK and Europe in varying capacity. Her research examines global and local interface in health policy and systems, with particular focus on translation of global policy ideas and discourse and its implications for governance and commercialisation of health systems. She also works on gender and health inequalities and issues related to gender based women.
She currently chairs Gender Rights and Development (GRAND), an international network of academics and practitioners working on Gender, Rights and Development issues, which has membership in Africa, Europe and India. She is also a member of Steering groups of the UK People’s Health Movement (and convenor for the Scotland group), Development Studies Association (Scotland) and the Centre for South Asian Studies at Edinburgh University. She is also an Associate with the Institute for International Health & Development, QMU
Dr Evgeniya Plotnikova, Research FellowEvgeniya joined the Global Public Health Unit as a research fellow in 2012 after she was awarded her PhD from the University of Edinburgh. Her doctorate thesis explored policy instruments in the regulation of international labour mobility in the health sector. Her research focused on the use of government-to-government agreements in the cross-border movement of nurses.
Prior to her doctoral research Evgeniya worked as a researcher at the Centre for Social Partnership (Perm State University, Russia) and the Institute for Comparative Labour Relations Research (Moscow, Russia) studying post-Soviet industrial relations. Currently Evgeniya is working on the project funded by the US National Cancer Institute which aims to analyse strategies of transnational tobacco companies (particularly their use of bilateral trade agreements) to influence policy-making process on tobacco control.
Evgeniya’s research interests include regulation and policy tools in global health governance, cross-border mobility of health workers, bilateral agreements, social dialogue and industrial relations.
Dr Katherine (Kat) Smith, ReaderKat Smith is a Reader in the Global Public Health Unit and is the Programme Director for the MSc by Research students in Public Health Policy and Social Policy, the PG Adviser the Global Public Health Unit and, in Semester 1, the PG Adviser for Social Policy. Kat’s main research interests are: knowledge transfer within public health contexts (particularly between research and policy); understanding and
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evaluating policy responses to key public health problems (especially health inequalities); and exploring how external actors influence policy decisions (notably corporate interests, think tanks, third sector organisations, academics and other ‘experts’ through advocacy and lobbying).
Kat joined the Global Public Health Unit as a lecturer in January 2011. She recently completed a two-year research project examining the role of third sector and private sector organisations in the translation of ideas between public health research and policy. In November 2014 she will commence a new research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust which will use deliberative democracy techniques to explore public engagement with health inequalities evidence and policy proposals. She is also working with Mark Hellowell on a Cancer Research UK funded assessment of an innovative tax on large retailers selling tobacco and alcohol that was recently tried in Scotland. Kat will also be continuing to examine corporate policy influence and the consequences for public health.
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10. GPHU Timetable 2015-2016Semester 1 Blocks 1 & 2 (21 September – 4 December 2015) (Block 1: 21 Sept – 23 Oct; Block 2: 26 Oct – 4 Dec) NB: This timetable is indicative only, and room details are subject to change. Please see https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/on_course/timetable for the official SSPS timetable and http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/semester-dates/201516 for official semester dates
9:00-9:50 10:00-10:50 11:10-12:00 12:10-13:00 13:00-14:00 14:10-15:00 15:10-16:00 16:10-17:00 17:10-18:00Mon Health systems
analysis lectureLecture theatre G.03, 50 George Square
Health systems analysisSeminar 1Seminar room 6, CMB
Health systems analysisSeminar 2Seminar room 6, CMB
Tues Health systems analysisSeminar 3Seminar room 6, CMB
Intro to epidemiology for public policy
Wed
Thurs Population health & health policy lectureLecture Theatre 183 Old College
Population health & health policySeminar 1Seminar room 5, CMB
Globalisation & PH Lecture Seminar room 1, CMB
Globalisation and public healthSeminar 1Seminar room 1, CMB
Fri Population health & health policy
Seminar 2Seminar room 6, CMB
Population health & health policySeminar 3Seminar room 6, CMB
Globalisation and public healthSeminar 4 Seminar room 4, CMB
Globalisation and public healthSeminar 3Seminar room 3, CMB
End of Semester 1 (including examinations): 21 December 2015
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GPHU timetable 2015-16Semester 2 Blocks 3 & 4 (11 January – 1 April 2016) (Block 3: 11 Jan – 12 Feb; Block 4: 22 Feb – 1 April)NB: This timetable is indicative only, and room details are subject to change. Please see https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/on_course/timetable for official SSPS timetable and http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/semester-dates/201516 for official semester dates
9:00-9:50 10:00-10:50 11:10-12:00 12:10-13:00 13:00-14:00 14:10-15:00 15:10-16:00 16:10-17:00 17:10-18:00Mon Inf disease &
global healthLT3, 7 Bristo Sq
Infectious disease & GHSeminar 1LG08, DHT
Health systems S&RSeminar 1Seminar room 6, CMB
Health systems S&RSeminar 2Seminar room 6, CMB
Tues Infectious disease & GH Seminar 2Elliot Room, Minto House
Infectious disease & GH Seminar 3BLT, Doorway 6, Medical School
Health systems S&R lectureSR 5, CMB
Health systems S&RSeminar 3Seminar room 6, CMB
Wed
Thurs Global politics of PH lectureG8 Gaddum LT, 1 George Sq
Global politics of public healthSeminar 1Seminar room 6, CMB
Social determinants of health LectureLG11, DHT
Social determinants of healthSeminar 14.09 Darwin, Geography
Fri Global politics of public health
Seminar 2Seminar room 6, CMB
Global politics of public healthSeminar 3Seminar room 6, CMB
Social determinants of health Seminar 2Seminar room 4, Minto House
Social determinants of health Seminar 34.09 Darwin, Geography
Innovative Learning Week: 15 - 19 February
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Map of the University Central Campus Area
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