Health Communication
Postgraduate Coursework 2010 Overview
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Health Communication combines the media expertise of the Media and Communications Department and the public health resources of School of Public Health to provide the most comprehensive and specialised course in health communication in Australia.
Health communicators are one of the largest industry workforces in public relations and media. This one-year (full-time) postgraduate degree is designed to meet the needs of those working in, or wishing to work in this growing specialty. It provides both media skills for professional communicators in health and medicine working in public affairs, public relations, community relations and journalism as well as a solid, evidence-based education in public health issues.
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The degree will equip students with knowledge, understanding and expertise across media and health disciplines, using a cross disciplinary, collaborative approach to media production, media relations, organisational communication, public health, campaign development, advocacy, health promotion, bioethics and understanding of health systems.
The elective internship unit available to Masters students will ensure they have the opportunity to gain work experience prior to graduation.
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Pathways are a strategy for organising a program of study directed towards a specific area of interest or future employment. The pathway examples shown below are suggestions only. Students can design their own pathway in consultation with the Program Coordinator.
Many of the public health units have fewer than six credit points, so in some cases you will need to take more than the four electives suggested in each pathway. If you would like further advice on enrolment, please contact the Coursework Coordinator in the Department of Media and Communications.
NB: 2010 Units of Study will be finalised in late September 2009 and available to view on this site in October. Any links below to the online Handbook are to 2009 listings and should be treated as a guide only.
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| Electives |
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Government Health Departments
(State and Federal)
These are suggested elective units to prepare students for work in communications and media relations in public institutions such as the Department of Health and Aging or NSWHealth. |
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Public and Private Hospitals
These are suggested elective units to prepare students for work in communications and media relations in public and private hospitals and supporting the communication needs of other clinical settings. |
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Consumer and
Trade Media
These are suggested elective units to prepare students for work in journalism and media relations in commercial media institutions, or as freelancers. Please note that in addition to the range of public health electives, there are additional journalism electives which may be cross-listed from the Master of Media Practice Degree subject to permission from the relevant coursework coordinators. |
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Health Insurance Funds
These are suggested elective units to prepare students for work in the insurance industry, in communications and media relations and potentially in marketing and PR roles. Please note that in addition to the range of public health electives listed in the degree program, there are additional PR electives which may be cross-listed from the Master of Strategic Public Relations subject to permission from the relevant coursework coordinators. |
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Non-Government, Humanitarian and Community Organisations
These are suggested elective units to prepare students for work in the non-government sector, ranging from international humanitarian organizations to local non-profit community and advocacy groups. Please note the wide range of public health electives within the program on topics that may be of relevance to specific communities within which you envisage working, such as nutrition, disease control, women’s and children’s health, and the environment. |
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Higher Degree Research Pathway
If you are interested in the option of continuing your coursework studies into research, as an M.Phil or Ph.D candidate, and have not completed an honours degree, you may qualify by enrolling in the two dissertation units listed below (MECO 6904 and MECO 6905). These require a 12,000 word dissertation completed across two semesters and are subject to the availability of a supervisor. Students seeking entry into higher degree research also need to have achieved a distinction minimum in all subjects. You may also enrol in the dissertation units if you are interested in doing a longer research project, without any intention of continuing as a research candidate. |
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