Postgraduate

MSc and Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health

Study Materials

As a registered student for the Postgraduate Diplomas and Masters in Epidemiology: Principles and Practice (EPP), Health Systems Management (HSM) or Infectious Diseases (ID), you will receive fully comprehensive study materials, the cost of which is included in your fee. These may include:

Regulations – containing full details of the course structure and classification criteria of the diplomas and degrees, rules of progression, unit outlines, details of payment of fees, methods of assessment, examination entry procedures and examination centres.

Handbooks – giving practical advice on planning your studies, the course materials, networking and support, tutor-marked assignments, preparing for examinations, solving problems that might arise, and where to go for certain types of advice and help etc.

A copy of either The Manager's Good Study Guide (Giles, K and N. Hedge) (HSM students only) or The Sciences Good Study Guide (Northedge et al.) (ID and EPP students only) – guides designed by Open University staff for students studying on distance learning courses, which provide valuable pointers to studying on your own and getting the most from your course.

Subject guides – for each unit you are studying that year. Units are divided into modules and sessions, and students are directed to work through the text, participating in self-learning activities, which are followed by feedback sections and self-assessment questions.

Textbooks (usually between one and four books per unit) – chosen very carefully and assessed both for their technical content and their 'user-friendliness'.

Audiocassettes – included with some units.

Readers – containing copies of recent journal articles, reports etc. to supplement and enhance concepts covered by the units.

Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) – in various forms including essays, short-answer tests or case-studies, to help students review their progress and receive tutorial feedback, and sample examination questions from which students can practise exam technique.

Past examination papers and Examiners' reports – later in the academic year, students are sent a booklet of the examination papers from the previous June. They also receive copies of the previous June's Examiners' reports, giving information on how previous candidates have dealt with individual questions.

For Epidemiology: Principles and Practice students only – CD-ROM – certain units within the course are presented via CD-ROMs and supplemented with relevant statistical software and workbooks/readers.