“……a nation's wealth prosperity and achievement and advancement, whether in the economic or the intellectual sphere, are conditioned by the state of its physical well being "

The Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences is one of the postgraduate departments of the University of Pune. It offers exciting career opportunities for students who are interested in working in the field of public health. We offer two courses :

• Master of Public Health (MPH)

• M. Sc. Health Sciences

• (Our M. Sc. Health Sciences (Dietetics) degree is now being developed into a public health nutrition course).

What is health sciences and public health ?

Health sciences and public health deal with the study of health, disease and the factors affecting them. The study programmes have a population approach with a focus on training students in disease prevention. The courses are highly applied and interdisciplinary. Students opting for health sciences or public health courses must be willing to work in communities, learn to use large datasets and various software's and learn to use a wide range of human health and disease markers such as laboratory methods, anthropometric measurements and various other tools.

There are some key subjects that form core courses that are common to students undergoing the health sciences and the public health study programmes. These are principles of public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, health systems, health programmes and policies. Health Sciences has a bio-medical approach, that is students have a strong base in microbiology, immunology, biochemistry, genetics, physiology and nutrition and appropriate laboratory skills. MPH students are taught management and administration so that they can manage health programmes. Both study programmes have a very strong grounding in research.

The School also offers Ph.D. in Health Sciences. A PhD programme in Public Health is to be initiated shortly.

Careers :

The study programmes offer exciting careers in the field of health. The range of career opportunities range from Government sector, national and international NGOs working in the field of health. With twenty two public health schools around the country, faculty positions are becoming available. Research based careers in bio-medical research organizations are also possible.