The MPH Nutrition programme in UCD has been developed to offer multi-disciplinary training and development in Public Health Nutrition, emphasizing the application of food and nutrition knowledge, policy, and research to the improvement of population health.

• Knowledge of the factors influencing health status.
• The epidemiological skills of study design and analysis.
• A proper understanding of the Public Health function.

Careers & Employability

As UCD has a globally acclaimed reputation in the area of Public Health, you will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in a wide range of careers in the Public Health sector.
Many of our former students hold significant posts in Public Health in various parts of the world. MPH Graduates include, for example, Consultants in Public Health Medicine, University Professors and Ministry of Health Medical Officers.

Vision and Values Statement

The Master of Public Health (Nutrition) is suited to health and nutrition professionals interested in furthering their knowledge of the relationship between diet and disease with additional knowledge in areas ranging from obesity to malnutrition. The Master of Public Health (Nutrition) provides broad-based education and training in the basic disciplines which underlie the practice of Public Health Nutrition including disease epidemiology, nutrition epidemiology, diet and disease, behavioural change, research methods and statistics, health promotion, environmental health, health economics, sociology and health policy. The course provides the academic foundation for the practice of Public Health. We value and therefore encourage students to be active, motivated autonomous learners. The learning environment is multi-disciplinary in nature. Tutorials, seminars and group work are important features of the teaching approach. Assessment is by continuous assessment and end of semester examinations and a research thesis. Assessment approaches include written assignments, oral presentations (both group and individual), data analysis and written examinations.

Programme Outcomes

• Graduates will be able to identify and apply appropriate epidemiological methods for study design.
• Graduates will be able to identify and apply appropriate statistical analysis to analyse a public health problem.
• Graduates will be able to identify the occurrence and distribution of health and illness in populations analyse and to interpret health data to assess community needs and resources.
• Graduates will demonstrate critical appraisal skills.
• Graduates will demonstrate understanding of the breadth of the role of public health in the health services.
• Graduates will demonstrate understanding of health promotion and disease prevention and the importance of advocacy as a public health professional.
• Graduates will have a good understanding of nutrition related health problems including obesity and associated chronic diseases, micro and macro nutritional deficiencies and life stage nutrition.