Public Health

The Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health is offered in the fields of Exposure and Health, Health Systems and Policy, and Social and Behaviour Change Communication.

Overview

The Wits School of Public Health is a multi-disciplinary school producing skilled public health practitioners appropriately trained to address the range of public health needs and challenges within South African and African settings. 

The School promotes health through teaching, research and service. Its undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes embrace a range of public health disciplines including community medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics, health policy and advocacy, health economics, occupational health, rural health and social and behavioural change communication, the only Public Health school in Africa to offer this course.

Curriculum

Field of Exposure and Health

Year of Study I

  • COMH5061A Orientation to Public Health 
  • COMH5024A Health Measurement 
  • COMH5152A Health and Society 
  • COMH5153A Approaches to Population Health 15 
  • COMH5154A Designing Effective Public Health Programmes 
  • COMH5034A - Introduction to Occupational and Environmental Health

Year of Study II

  • COMH5166A Exposure Induced Health Outcome 
  • COMH5164A Exposure Science I 
  • COMH5162A Fundamentals of Risk Assessment 
  • COMH5165A Risk & Safety Management: Systems and Programmes
  • COMH5163A Exposure Control I

Field of Health Systems and Policy

Year of Study I

  • COMH5061A Orientation to Public Health 
  • COMH5024A Health Measurement
  • COMH5152A Health and Society
  • COMH5153A Approaches to Population Health
  • COMH5154A Designing Effective Public Health Programmes 
  • COMH5070A Introduction to Health Systems

Year of Study II

Five of the following elective courses:

  • COMH5017A Health Care Financing
  • COMH5021A Health Policy and Policy Analysis 
  • COMH5071A Health Systems Evaluation and Research
  • COMH5160A Health Systems Organisation and Human Resources 15 8
  • COMH5032A Management in Health and Health Services

Field of Maternal and Child Health

Year of Study I

  • COMH5061A Orientation to Public Health
  • COMH5024A Health Measurement 
  • COMH5152A Health and Society 
  • COMH5153A Approaches to Population Health
  • COMH5154A Designing Effective Public Health Programmes
  • PAED5015A Child Health I 

Year of Study II

  • COMH5032A Management in Health and Health Services
  • PAED5020A Maternal and Child Nutrition 
  • PAED5010A A Public Health Approach to Perinatal and Paediatric HIV
  • PAED5017A Maternal Health 
  • PAED5016A Child Health

Field of Rural Health

Year of Study I

  • COMH5061A Orientation to Public Health
  • COMH5024A Health Measurement
  • COMH5152A Health and Society 
  • COMH5153A Approaches to Population Health
  • COMH5154A Designing Effective Public Health Programmes 
  • FAMH5002A The Rural Health Care Context

Year of Study II

  • COMH5032A Management in Health and Health Services
  • FAMH5006A Community Oriented Primary Care
  • FAMH5005A Development of Rural Health Services – Strategies and Approaches
  • FAMH5001A Quality Improvement in Rural Health Care 
  • FAMH5003A The Health of Rural People – Epidemiology and Burden of Disease

Field of Social and Behaviour Change Communication

Year of Study I

  • COMH5061A Orientation to Public Health
  • COMH5152A Health and Society
  • COMH5153A Approaches to Population Health
  • COMH5154A Designing Effective Public Health Programmes 
  • COMH5024A Health Measurement 
  • COMH5156A Planning and Implementing Social and Behaviour Change Communication
  • COMH5158A Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Year of Study II

  • COMH5150A Applying Social and Behaviour Change Theory to Practice
  • COMH5157A Social and Behaviour Change Communication Approaches
  • COMH5151A Communication, Media and Society
  • COMH5159A Research, Monitoring and Evaluation
  • COMH5032A Management in Health and Health Services 1

Entry Requirements

  • A bachelor’s degree of at least four years duration in dental science, medicine, surgery, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, Bachelor of Science Honours with a minimum of a 65% average.
  • A Bachelor of Arts or Sciences with honours in psychology or sociology, social work or other field of relevance to public health with a minimum of a 65% average.
  • By special arrangement with the University.

Your application must be accompanied by the following documents:

  • Written motivation by the applicant detailing reason for applying for the degree and how the program fits with their overall career goals - Motivation 2025
  • Comprehensive Curriculum Vitae including a description of relevant research and work experience
  • Two referee reports - Referee report 2025
  • Certified copies of prior qualification(s).
  • Original transcripts of qualifications
  • Foreign Qualifications:
    • Evaluation from SAQA for applicants who graduated from non- South African universities.
    • English competency certificate or evidence of prior undergraduate training in English.

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. Refer to Wits Postgraduate Online Applications Guide for detailed guidelines. 
  • 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. The University's Postgraduate Funding portal is a database of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities available to Wits postgraduate students. 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.