Public Health & Population Science BMedSc - Intercalated Degree

Summary

As a medical student, you may choose to take a year out from your medical course and study on one of our intercalated Bachelor in Medical Science degree programmes. During this year you will acquire skills in analysing and interpreting research papers and you will also gain substantial, direct experience of novel medical or clinical research (either in a research laboratory or in community or clinical settings).

Other BMedSc programmes are also available - see:

Key facts

Duration: 1 Year Full Time

Start date: September / October annually depending on published term dates (Check to see if this course is receiving applications for September 2012)

Places available: 12 (approximately 12 students per year)

Entry requirements

Birmingham applicants students must have completed the first 2 years of the MBChB programme at the point they commence their intercalated year. Applications will be accepted from individuals wishing to intercalate after year 2, 3 or 4 of their medical studies.

Applications From Students Not Currently Registered at Birmingham

 We are happy to consider applications for any of the programmes within the Population Sciences and Humanities subjects from students from other institutions. We have a strong track record over recent years in supporting these students and facilitating integration into their new institution.

Applications from students from other universities should be made on our standard application form| and must be accompanied by a transcript of marks from your current institution. Should an offer of a place be made to you further admission forms will be sent from the University via our Course Administrator.

We are always happy to discuss our programmes with students from other universities. If you have any queries or wish to discuss the opportunities available to you in Birmingham please contact us.

Contact details

For further information regarding the Public Health & Population Science Programme please contact the Programme Lead , Dr Lesley Roberts at L.M.Roberts@bham.ac.uk or 0121 4143356 or the Course Administrator, Julie Shore at J.L.Shore@bham.ac.uk or 0121 4143616

How to apply

To apply, please down load and complete the application form.

Fees and funding

Standard Fees Apply

All students are entitled to reclaim up to £500 project expenses for conduction of their research. Claims must be accompanied by original receipts. Further to this students who incur travel costs are eligible to apply for an Arthur Thompson Travel Award (up to £500). Applications for these awards will be considered at the end of the programme of study and are not guaranteed. These sources of funding are available to all students irrespective of their primary University of study.

Internal bursaries:

 All students who are registered on the MBChB or Dental Programmes at the University of Birmingham are eligible to apply for a bursary to support them during their period of study. The intention to apply should be indicated on the application form and students expressing an intention will receive further information. Bursaries are currently set at £3,000 and are limited. Students with an overall mean mark of <65% in year 2 of their programme of study are unlikely to be awarded a bursary.

Our funding sources mean that we are unable to offer bursaries to students from outside of Birmingham.

External bursaries:

The College usually receives an invitation each year from the Royal College of Physicians to submit a limited number of applications for their Wolfson intercalated programme. The deadline for this is usually the end of March which means the programme needs to shortlist by mid-March. Bursaries are up to £5000 and are nationally competitive. Our students have a very good record in securing such awards. Any student interested in applying needs to contact the Admissions Tutor (Dr Lesley Roberts, l.m.roberts@bham.ac.uk) by the 31st of January in the year in which they plan to apply.

Eligible students should:

Demonstrate a consistent and outstanding academic track record (an overall mean mark >70% in year 2 and consistently high marks in other years). N.B. Because of the need to show consistent academic achievement it is expected that students will be in year 3 or 4 at the time of application. A second year applicant who can demonstrate excellence may be considered but should contact the admissions tutor at the earliest opportunity to discuss this).

Be applying for an intercalation in one of our science programmes (International Health, Psychological Medicine or Public Health and Population Sciences). As this bursary relates to science projects students on humanities programmes (Health care ethics and law and History of Medicine) should not apply (but should make contact with the relevant programme lead to enquire whether there are any discipline specific bursaries currently available nationally).

Have a research focus or area of interest (Support will be given during February to develop this into an application).

Be prepared to work on their application (including designing a research project) during February and early March.

All eligible students who express an interest will have the opportunity to meet with the Admissions Tutor to discuss the application and receive guidance in drafting an application. Further to this there will be the opportunity to submit one draft application by the 28th February for comment. All students will then be required to submit their application by the specified deadline (varies annually but likely to be mid-March). Students will be informed if their application has been selected for submission to the Royal College within 2 weeks. Any student submitted will receive an early and unconditional place on the programme. Unsuccessful applicants will be able to use their work in their application for an internal bursary.

Programme overview

This programme provides the opportunity for you to acquire specialist training and undertake a significant piece of public health research. Like our other intercalated programmes the key feature of this programme is the opportunity to spend over 4 months of the year completing research in an area which interests you. We have an excellent track record in identifying appropriate supervision to support students undertaking research in a wide range of clinical subjects, in a range of locations (both within the UK and abroad) and with a diverse range of individuals.

On completion of the programme you should have knowledge and understanding of:

  • Commonly used research methods and data analysis techniques within health and medicine
  • How research methods are applied to inform on the health of the population (epidemiology) and the management of public health issues
  • An understanding of the practicalities of conducting research in a range of settings
  • The legal and ethical frameworks of medical research
  • Key concepts, theory and practice in the subject areas chosen as optional modules

In addition to enhancing knowledge and understanding we believe our teaching methods with emphasis on feedback and easy access to support strongly support development of the following skills and attributes:

  • The ability to critically read and appraise research evidence
  • The ability to produce scientifically valid research
  • The ability to manage a research project from conception to completion with enhanced project management skills which will be transferable to other aspects of your career
  • The ability to effectively communicate ideas or scientific findings through a range of commonly used presentation mechanisms including oral presentation, poster presentation, production of a journal article and essay writing.
  • Enhanced independent learning skills
  • Greater awareness of team working and skills to support this in clinical and academic settings
  • Improved ability to think logically and broadly about a range of problems, drawing on a variety of disciplines to support arguments

You will receive specialist training and training in research methods (both theoretical and applied) in semester one. The project will be devised in semester one and data collection, analysis and write-up completed in semester two. All students will have a nominated academic supervisor to support their research activity and will have access to research and statistics support through our research clinics system.

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Semester one:

  • Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods
  • All Public Health and Population Science students will select 3 x 10 credit modules from a list as determined by the course each year and will normally include International Health and Psychological Medicine modules plus Contemporary Statistics .  Please follow the course links above to view current modules available.
  • Research Design Module

Semester Two:
 Semester Two is dedicated to the conduction of the research project.

Support and supervision

Each student will have an academic supervisor to oversee their research activity, and may also have a clinical research supervisor. The Programme Lead, Dr. Lesley Roberts, will offer support and guidance for all aspects of the course. You will also have access to research and statistics clinics which operate on a booking system, and give you the opportunity to discuss specific issues with a relevant academic.

Past Projects

Below are some example projects from recent Public Health students:

  • Factors affecting early and exclusive breastfeeding in a rural population in Zambia
  • A study of the prevalence, health beliefs and health effects of ‘shisha’ smoking amongst university students in the UK
  • Mortality and nutritional status of children admitted to the Keneba Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre, The Gambia from Jan 2003 to June 2005
  • Assessing the extent of drug dependence in young drug users accessing criminal justice services
  • Spinal versus epidural anaesthesia for severe preeclamptic deliveries: a systematic review 
  • Prevalence of otitis media with effusuion in primary school children in Pokhara, Nepal 
  • How do the information needs of cancer patients change as they progress through their cancer journey? A cross-sectional study
  • Impact of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: a qualitative study
  • A scoring system for monitoring first-line antiretroviral therapy in settings where viral load testing facilities are not widely available: retrospective cohort study
  • NICE guidelines for the antimicrobial prophylaxis of infective endocarditis: the response of general dental practitioners 
  • Medical students experience of the curriculum relating to family planning and abortion in Kazan, Russia: A qualitative study

  • Stigma and attitudes of medical students towards Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Student Testimonials

'I enjoyed the option of picking my own modules'
'Everybody was friendly and passionate about their lectures'
'Good opportunity to do research in an area of your choice'
'Research progress meetings for Public Health students were good'
'Excellent mixture of lectures, especially for Public Health students'