SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Public Health 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
79139  Master of Public Health 
ORIGINATOR
University of Limpopo 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Master's Degree  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Promotive Health and Developmental Services 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  180  Level 8 and above  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
1). To provide South Africa with an adequate supply of public health practitioners

2). To provide future teaching staff for the public health programs at health sciences schools in South Africa 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Applicants who want to register for the MPH degree must be in possession of a degree in the health sciences. The individuals come from a wide variety of backgrounds and would include doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, radiographers and audiologists. 

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
N 

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
Critical Cross-field outcomes:
The newly qualified public health practitioner should be able to:
  • Understand quantitative methods generally and more specifically as they apply to the health care system.
  • Understand the relationships between systems and outcomes with specific reference to the health care system.
  • Understand the nature of systems management.

    Critical Specific Outcomes:
    The newly qualified public health practioner should be able to:
  • Design, develop and implement public health-specific programmes using the sciences of Epidemiology, Biostatics, Environmental Health, Occupational Health, Social and behavioural Sciences e.g. Health Education, and Health Systems Management and Policy
  • Collaborate with other health professionals on public health issues
  • Evaluate the health sciences literature with a view to implementing novel approaches to the prevention of disease
  • Provide consultation services to other health professionals
  • Develop and conduct research using public health methodologies that will have a positive impact on the health of South Africans
  • Design, develop and implement community empowerment projects with a specific capacity to mobilize community participation with regard to health problems 
    		•

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    In order to assess whether exit-level outcomes have been achieved, a range of formative and summative assessments are done throughout the period of study. These include individual and group projects associated with each learning objective, practical work in public health, written tests and examinations, research project development, implementation, report writing and the presentation of a research project. Furthermore, there are pre-requisites to specific areas of study to ensure integrated assessment. The qualifier's knowledge is tested for depth and breadth and the qualifier must prove through the above assessment procedures that s/he has achieved the NQF level 8A standards. 

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The MPH degree is directly comparable with the programs offered at 29 accredited schools of public health, offering MPH degrees in the USA. It is also comparable with MPH degrees offered at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    Articulation with qualifications offered at other Universities: None
    The qualifications towards which the MPH graduate may proceed are: PhD and DrPH
    Exit level outcomes articulating with other qualifications are: None 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    External assessors are selected from both national and international experts in the various areas of public health 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    All the academic staff with the necessary skills and experience are used as internal assessors 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Limpopo 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.