WELCOME

 

The Department of Public Health was established in 2025 within Nelson Mandela University’s Medical School. The department is physically based at the university’s Missionvale Campus. The department’s mandate comprises undergraduate and postgraduate training in public health, research focussed on health systems strengthening, and the provision of technical support to the Eastern Cape Department of Health.

 

The department’s role in undergraduate medical training commences in the first year of the MBChB programme and ends in the sixth year. Training at undergraduate level focuses on epidemiology and research methodology. Students currently complete a research proposal in the fifth year of the MBChB programme supported by the Department of Public Health. In the final year of the programme, students undertake a quality improvement project under the guidance of the Department of Family Medicine and Department of Public Health.

 

The department’s postgraduate programmes are currently under development. The department will offer a Master of Medicine degree for medical doctors wishing to specialise in the discipline of public health medicine. In addition, research MSc and PhD degrees will shortly be offered in epidemiology, public health, and international public health.