About the course

Communicable diseases continue to be a major threat to public health, this course is aimed at healthcare professionals who are either planning to work in or who currently working in this field of practice, for example GPs, district nurses, health visitors. It provides the opportunity for you to develop a critical understanding of the principles of epidemiology, health surveillance and outbreak, as well as incident management of common infectious diseases.

• It will assist you to gain the competencies required to plan prevention and control policies for infectious diseases.
• You will gain the knowledge and skills required to develop incident management plans based on current best practice and international guidelines.
• The course explores the prevention of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the context of public/patient safety.
• It will provide you with up to date information on infectious diseases management.
• You will be taught by lectures who are experts in this field, including those currently working in the UK National Health Service.

In order to provide you with an understanding of the complexities of managing infectious diseases, you will receive a multidisciplinary experience through looking at the role of public health bodies and infection prevention and control teams in the prevention and management of communicable diseases.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching is delivered through a range of teaching methods including lectures, seminars and tutorials.Assessment will be through one piece of coursework.

Your module specification/module handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria for this module.

Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

Entry requirements

An honours degree (2:1 or above) or equivalent in a subject relevant to public health, such as health professional qualifications, social science subjects, applied sciences, business, leadership, management or administration.

• Career support

Career support

This short course will assist you to meet the specialist skills and post-registration development requirements stipulated by your employer/professional regulator.

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you will find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you will soon discover that you are never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

A wide range of resources are also offered within the School of Human and Health Sciences, which provides you with support in a variety of areas. These include:

Student Hub: a one stop shop for students, studying within the School. Their services include offering advice on extenuating circumstances, extension requests, course progression, suspension and welfare support, organising appointments with academic staff and signposting to other support networks.

Academic Skills Development Team: support students to develop their academic skills and build their confidence in order to improve their grades. The team provide support with academic skills including essay writing, being critical, reflective writing, numeracy, research skills, presentations and group work skills; as well as personal development for example time management.

Learning Technology Support Unit: helps students with any problems they experience with the University’s Brightspace Learning System, including logging on or difficulties experienced when accessing and using modules, and with the PebblePad platform, which is used by students when they go out on placements.