APPLY FOR MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN GLOBAL HEALTH MPH-GH IN THAILAND

MPH-GH Program Overview

Philosophy
To effectively address critical problems in population health, the 20th century public health paradigm must be transformed into a 21st century global health model of partnership created on principles of equality, transparency, mutual interest, and respect. The Thammasat Faculty of Public Health is leading the way to develop international collaborations in education and research reflecting this new model. Our priorities include developing a graduate program that defines global health from a socio-political perspective with an emphasis on interregional capacity building applying a South-to-South focus (Africa, Asia-Pacific and Middle East).

While enormous progress has taken place in aspects of biomedical science, the tools of public health and management, and social and political engagement, it is only when these elements come together that we have seen real and lasting strides in improving the health and wellbeing of the world’s disadvantaged citizens. By using our collective multidisciplinary and multi-sector experiences, resources, and expertise we can help change the fundamentals of global health. Not alone in narrow disciplines, but through partnerships that draw on differing perspectives, differing knowledge and experience, and differing priorities. Understanding how to mobilize such partnerships, how to make them most effective, and where to turn for experience empowers us at the global stage. The program aims to produce the intellectual foundation supporting a 21st century model of global health.

Program Objectives
The program’s objectives are expressed as core and functional competencies. Competencies students are expected to achieve are:

Core competencies

• Analyze the major underlying determinants of ill population health in countries and identify how human rights and social justice concepts and instruments provide a framework to promote global health.
• Analyze the political dimension of global health, including the processes by which health diplomacy influences the adoption and enforcement international laws, conventions, agreements, norms and standards through global actors and transnational networks. This should include the domains of trade, labor, food supply, the environment, pharmaceuticals, international aid, human rights, and conflict.
• Analyze the principles and practices that foster collaborative and multi-stakeholder design, management, and evaluation of programs in middle and low income countries to assure equitable access to quality health services.

Functional competencies
Information for decision-making

• Conduct effectively literature review and analyses.
• Use effectively appropriate research methods including quantitative and qualitative approaches (epidemiologic, bio-statistical, and content analysis techniques for data analysis).
• Analyze global and regional burdens of the most important health problems contributing to excess morbidity and mortality in middle and low income countries, including their magnitude and distribution.
• Analyze disparities in health status by gender, race, ethnicity, rural/urban status, and economic class, and other relevant determinants in the context of existing epidemiological, bio-statistical, and qualitative data.
• Effectively apply communication concepts, skills and techniques for awareness raising and advocacy in decision-making.

Design, management and evaluation

• Use information effectively for program design in order to develop evidence-based, realistic and innovative program responses to the underlying determinants of health inequities and disease.
• Understand and use management techniques that promote sustainability and cost-effectiveness of programs.
• Assess the appropriateness of population-based intervention strategies to address major health problems in middle and low income settings, including locally determined priorities and their efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility in reaching all segments of the population.
• Identify and apply effective strategies for community development, systems advocacy; public awareness; policy advocacy; global diplomacy.
• Apply collaborative and culturally relevant leadership skills to implement evidence-based policies and plans to solve public health problems in national and global settings.
• Evaluate and establish priorities to improve the health status of populations in middle and low income settings, with focus on applying integrated strategies. 

Capacity development for global health

• Analyze and explain the economic, social, political, and academic conditions that impact capacity development.
• Apply systems thinking to enhance capacity development in countries.

Student Demographics
Sex :  Male: 47%        Female: 53%

Background :
–  40% : Public Health (public health, health promotion, environmental health etc.)
–  43% : Biomedical Sciences (medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmaceutical science etc.)
–  17% : Other disciplines (law, political science, public administration, social sciences, etc.)

Regions :
–  Asia: 50%
–  Africa: 40%
–  EU & North America: 10%

CURRICULUM

MPH-GH Study Plan  >> click

MPH-Global Health Courses  >> click

Master Project 

• Students can choose from two study tracks namely: (a) a thesis research equivalent to 15 study credits; or (b) a capstone project equivalent to 6 study credits. Whatever the study track selected the total required study credits for the Master degree is equal (i.e. 45 credits). The difference between thesis research and capstone project study credits is compensated with extra coursework for the capstone study track. 
• The thesis research study track takes 16 to 24 months to complete and prepares you for a career in research settings such as research centers, consultancy firms, and academic institutes, or eventually for advanced studies.
• The capstone project study track takes 12 months to complete and prepares you for a career in a variety of professional settings where skills in planning and evaluating interventions or assessment of policy is more relevant to the need for practice compared to research.
• Although the thesis research study track would be a logical choice if you have future plans for advanced studies (i.e. doctoral degree), opting for a capstone project does not necessarily exclude you from advanced studies. Your advisor will guide you in making informed choices on capstone project options that are relevant to future advanced studies.

Special Activities

Integrated Field ActivitiesVarious program courses offer integrated real world exposures such as: GH601 Physical Environments and Health; GH610 Human Security and Global Health; GH612 Mobility and Global Health; GH615 Research Methods in Global Health; and GH666 Qualitative Approaches to Inquiry.

Exchange ProgramThe program offers a student exchange program which comprises of: 

• (a)  Online interactive exchange courses such as: GH605 Global Health Policy Analysis and GH616 Global Health Innovative Interventions, conducted in collaboration with Maastricht University, the Netherlands; and McMaster University, Canada.
• (b) An elective track at Maastricht University in the Netherlands during the 2^nd trimester comprising of two modules:
  a.   Implementing Innovations on a Global Scale, which consists of three courses namely: MGH4010 Globalization and Transferability; MGH4011 Health in Times of Crisis; and MGH4012 Medical Mobility.
  b.   Global Health Leadership and Organization, which consists of the following three courses: MPH0005 Global Health Policy Analysis; MPH0006 Global Health Economics; and MPH0007 Global Health Management.

Global Health PracticumStudents have the option to enroll in an elective Global Health Practicum at Manipal University in India, which consists of team-based field orientations supported by: literature reviews, field visits, and interviews with stakeholders and experts. The field orientation is then concluded with a week-end symposium where students’ work is presented and discussed with peers, professors, and professional executives.

ADMISSION

Academic Year

The academic year in Thailand for international programs commences in September and terminates in August the following year. However, students enrolled in the MPH Global Health Program must enroll mid-August to attend our pre-program seminars.

The academic year for the MPH Global Health Program is divided into 3 equal terms of study (trimesters) namely: September-December; January-April; and May-August. Brief term breaks are planned at the end of trimester-1 (December) and the end of trimester-2 (April).

Admission Requirements

• Copies of each university degree obtained and related transcripts.
• A copy of your curriculum vitae.
• Official TOEFL (PBT ≥ 550 or iBT ≥ 79-80) IELTS (≥ 6.5) or TU-GET (≥ 550) test score sheet (if English is not your first language).

How to Apply

Application instructions
You can initiate your application online by clicking the “Apply Now” button.

• Applications are admissible from September onwards of the year preceding enrollment to the program until July 31^th of the year of enrollment.
• If the degree was granted by an institution outside of Thailand, the institution must be accredited by the governing educational body of the country (i.e. the Ministry of Education).
• Review the application requirements carefully before starting your application.
• Complete your online application admission form.
• The data you enter in the online application, including the contents of all attachments, is subject to verification. It is your responsibility to ensure that all the information provided in the application is accurate.
• Thammasat University reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission or to terminate enrollment if there is any discrepancy between the submitted application data and the subsequently verified data.

Important Reminders

• If required, take the English proficiency test early to ensure that official scores arrive before the application deadline.
• Be sure that your full name, as given on your application, appears on all documents submitted on your behalf (e.g. diplomas, transcripts etc.).
• Submit all application materials electronically. Do not send materials by e-mail or postal services unless we ask that you do so.
• Do not submit extra or unnecessary documents, such as secondary-school records, training certificates, awards that are not strictly academic credentials as stated in our requirements.
• The graduate admissions office does not alter submitted applications. We will accept transcript updates or updated CVs listing (e.g. new appointments, or publications). Please send the updated documentation as PDF attachments (no Microsoft Word documents or JPEG files) to oip-admissions@fph.tu.ac.th.

Application Deadlines

• The annual application deadline for the MPH Global Health Program is July 31^th 11:59:59 p.m., GMT+07:00 time zone.

TUITION FEES & SCHOLARSHIPS

Tuition Fees

MPH-Global Health estimated cost for tuition and administrative fees: $17,000 (USD)

Scholarship Support

• Global Health Scholarship:
  The Global Health Curriculum Committee offers merit-based partial scholarships for qualifying candidates from the top 50 countries listed in the fragile states index of the Fund for Peace. Visit following webpage to check for eligibility http://fundforpeace.org/fsi/ 
• SEAOHUN Scholarship:
  The Southeast Asian One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) offers partial scholarships for qualifying candidates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam or one of the SEAOHUN expansion countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. Visit the agency webpage at: http://seaohun.org/ 
• TICA Scholarship
  The Thai International Cooperation Agency (TICA) offers scholarships for qualifying government employees of selected countries. Visit the agency webpage at: http://www.tica.thaigov.net 
• Prospect Burma Scholarships
  Prospect Burma offers partial scholarships for qualifying candidates from Myanmar. Check out the agency’s webpage at https://prospectburma.org as the application deadline is usually in December.
• Prison Health Research Scholarship Program
  

Fellowship Support

• World Health Organization Fellowship
  The World Health Organization offers fellowship for qualifying candidates who are employees of Ministry of Health or other government agencies. For fellowship support, candidates are advised to approach the Fellowship Officer in their local WHO Office to check their eligibility and / or visit their webpage.

GLOBAL HEALTH CAREERS

What organizations work in the global health space?
Global health professionals find jobs at global, national, and local levels. A more useful classification is to look at organizational functions such as: funding agencies, advocacy organizations, global or national governance, product development, public health services, community work, and consultancy services. In addition to the function, organizations work on prevention and control of diseases, while others focus on issues such as sexual and reproductive health, humanitarian assistance, migration, or marginalized groups, etc.

What are the job options with a MPH Global Health degree?
Broadly speaking there are three job-types: (a) experts in a specialty area e.g. tobacco control, (b) mastering a specific skill set applicable across areas e.g. program evaluation, and (c) a combination of a specific skill set applied to a specialty area e.g. health economics and HIV-AIDS.

The MPH degree in combination with your prior background equips you very well for a professional career. For those aspiring academic careers doctoral studies are required.

Scholarship Application FAQ’s   >> click

CONTACT US

E-mail : oip-admissions@fph.tu.ac.th
Facebook : www.facebook.com/TUglobalhealth

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