Health and Society (MA) at University College Cork

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

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

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

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

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