This programme provides animal health specialists, epidemiologists and public health specialists with an understanding of the conceptual basis of veterinary epidemiology and public health. Students learn economic concepts in animal health and production and develop statistical skills for epidemiological investigations and disease modelling.
Graduates of this programme will be able to:
- develop their skills in basic and advanced statistical methods in order to undertake epidemiological investigations and disease modelling
- understand the use of economic concepts in animal health and production
- challenge the perceptions of what constitutes safe food production and make an objective judgement of contemporary issues such as antibiotic resistance
- develop their own strategies for combating chronic farm animal diseases, control zoonotic diseases through surveillance and apply herd health programmes to maximise economic returns from animal production.
The programme has been developed by academics at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), the oldest and largest veterinary school in the UK and one of the leading veterinary research centres in Europe. In 1999, the RVC became the first UK veterinary school to be granted approval by the American Veterinary Medical Association. The RVC also provides support for the veterinary profession through its three referral hospitals, diagnostic services and continuing professional development courses.
Graduates of the programme are employed in a variety of organizations, including the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), University Veterinary faculties and international organisations including the FAO and World Health Organisation (WHO).
The support you receive includes:
- academic feedback on written assignments
- tutorial support concerning academic matters from RVC staff
- opportunities for local networking and mutual support from other students on the programme
- as all of the study materials you require are mailed to you, there is no requirement to purchase expensive textbooks or spend time trying to locate journals, which may not be available to you locally.
A student perspective
Our graduates find that the international recognition and prestige of their degree opens doors and creates opportunities in their careers.
Stuart Jaques chose to study for the MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health. When he was appointed to the role of Chief Veterinary Officer to the Isle of Man Government, he became interested in the detail of disease transmission and control, and felt he required a deeper understanding of certain concepts.
"I’ve found my studies have fully reintegrated my knowledge; filling in certain gaps and enhancing my skill set substantially. Would I recommend distance learning? Absolutely." - Stuart Jaques, MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, Isle of Man
If you have any questions, please contact our Student Advice Centre.
One Health is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the complex interactions between human health, animal health and ecosystem health. Its original emergence was largely driven by the threat of global pandemics of disease, in particular highly pathogenic avian influenza and SARS. There was a recognition that the complex health challenges faced in the 21st century required a new interdisciplinary approach that included both the natural and social sciences.
Launched in 2014, this programme utilises the many strengths of the University of Edinburgh across multiple disciplines to provide the key training and skills required for a successful career in this emerging field.
The One Health programme is part of the Global Health Academy and we share many elective courses with other programmes in the Academy. This provides a great deal of flexibility allowing you to personalise your studies to reflect your professional interests and career aspirations. As well as learning from our expert tutors you will join with students from around the world on a number of different master’s programmes to share experiences and knowledge.
This programme is affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.
Our online learning technology is fully interactive, award-winning and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from the comfort of your own home or workplace.
Our online students not only have access to Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.
Year 1: Courses for the Certificate
The Certificate comprises four compulsory courses. These four courses are:
Year 2: Courses for the Diploma
For the diploma a selection of courses totalling 60 credits must be made from the following courses. Each 20-credit course is taught over a period of ten weeks, whilst the 10-credit courses are taught over a five-week period.
Please note that although all courses are offered, we cannot guarantee that places will be available on all elective courses to all students, each year (it will be at the discretion of the Programme Director to assign places on courses and this will depend on demand).
Year 3: Completion of the MSc programme in One Health
The written reflective element is an assignment of 10-15,000 words (60 credits). This may take the form of one of the following:
Students will be required to submit a proposal that demonstrates an appropriate level of critical analysis, academic knowledge and reflection, or one health practice depending on the choice made, prior to being admitted to the masters year. The University of Edinburgh’s common marking scheme will be applied.
Postgraduate Professional Development
Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) is aimed at working professionals who want to advance their knowledge through a postgraduate-level course(s), without the time or financial commitment of a full Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate.
You may take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses over two years through our PPD scheme. These lead to a University of Edinburgh postgraduate award of academic credit. Alternatively, after one year of taking courses you can choose to transfer your credits and continue on to studying towards a higher award on a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme. Although PPD courses have various start dates throughout a year you may only start a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme in the month of September. Any time spent studying PPD will be deducted from the amount of time you will have left to complete a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme.
A qualification from our programme will enhance your career prospects in academia, research, government departments, non-governmental organisations, international development and the private sector.
Despite being a relatively new field, One Health is rapidly gaining global recognition and current students have already reported improvements in career development through studying on the programme.
Our research aims to enhance understanding of disease processes in animals and to translate that understanding into improved therapies for both animal and human disease.
Research focuses on:
Most of our research is carried out within The Roslin Institute, which is incorporated with the School and is the major centre of research.
Studentships are of 3 or 4 years duration and students will be expected to complete a novel piece of research which will advance our understanding of the field. To help them in this goal, students will be assigned a principal and assistant supervisor, both of whom will be active scientists at the Institute.
Student progress is monitored in accordance with School Postgraduate (PG) regulations by a PhD thesis committee (which includes an independent external assessor and chair). There is also dedicated secretarial support to assist these committees and the students with regard to University and Institute matters.
All student matters are overseen by the Schools PG studies committee. An active staff:student liaison committee and a social committee, which is headed by our postgraduate liaison officer, provide additional support.
Students are expected to attend a number of generic training courses offered by the Transkills Programme of the University and to participate in regular seminars and laboratory progress meetings. All students will also be expected to present their data at national and international meetings throughout their period of study.
The Veterinary Campus at Easter Bush includes the new “state-of- the-art” Roslin Institute Building, the Small Animal and Large Animal Hospitals, the Riddell-Swan Cancer Imaging Centre as well as the New Vet School. Our facilities include: rodent, bird and livestock animal units and associated lab areas; comprehensive bioinformatic and genomic capability; a range of bioimaging facilities; extensive molecular biology and cell biology labs; café and auditorium where we regularly host workshops and invited speakers.
