Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

The Bachelor of Health Sciences with Honours in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases aims to introduce the student to the field of clinical microbiology and molecular biology.

Overview

This course is an intense introduction to the field of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious diseases. It provides a background to clinical microbiology as practical experience in various microbiology techniques and molecular biology techniques. The course will provide the student with an introduction to research into microbiology. 

Career Opportunities

Completion of the Honours in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases programme will strengthen application to:

  • Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP)
  • Pursue a career in research
  • Qualify a student to pursue a career in Medical Science 

Curriculum

The course consists of two components, namely a course work and a research component.

The coursework component requires practical and theoretical knowledge in the following:

  • Basic microbiology
  • Basic clinical microbiology
  • Anti-biotic agents
  • Resistance to anti-biotic agents
  • Antimicrobial stewardship
  • Bacteriology
  • Parasitology
  • Quality assurance
  • Laboratory accreditation
  • Laboratory safety
  • Infectious disease outbreaks
  • Molecular biology
  • Molecular typing of microorganisms
  • Bioinformatics
  • Mycology
  • Oral microbiology
  • Disinfectant testing
  • Business practices
  • Virology
  • Public health
  • Female health

The research aspect encompasses the following:

  • Formulating a research question
  • Undertaking a literature review
  • Producing a research protocol
  • Undertaking an application to the Ethics Committee
  • Conducting research in the laboratory
  • Conducting data collection and analysis
  • Writing a mini-dissertation on the findings of the research project.

Entry Requirements

Graduates with a Bachelor of Health Science or Bachelor of Science. Majors in disciplines which are applicable to Microbiology including: Microbiology, Molecular medicine, Biochemistry, Fundamentals of health and disease. A minimum of 65% is required for the year and students with higher marks will be given preferential acceptance.

Note: Meeting the minimum entry requirements for the programme does not guarantee students a place in this programme.

University Application Process

  • Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of requested documentation, your application will be referred to the relevant School for assessment. Click here to see an overview of the Wits applications process.
  • Please apply online. Upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the Self Service Portal.
  • Applicants can monitor the progress of their applications via the Self Service Portal.
  • Selections for programmes that have a limited intake but attract a large number of applications may only finalise the application at the end of the application cycle.

Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.

International students, please check this section.

For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits.

University Fees and Funding

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.