Health Sciences

Master of Science in Clinical and Public Health

The Master of Science in Clinical and Public Health is a postgraduate programme that trains graduates at the intersection of clinical practice and public health, focusing on integrating clinical care with population health approaches. The programme prepares graduates for advanced careers in clinical practice, public health, and health systems management.

Core areas include clinical epidemiology, public health practice, health systems management, disease surveillance, preventive medicine, health policy, biostatistics, research methods, community health, and health programme management. Students engage with theoretical foundations and practical applications bridging clinical and public health disciplines.

The programme is offered by Zetech University, Great Lakes University of Kisumu, and University of Kabianga, with JKUAT as a college. JKUAT offers related programmes through its School of Public Health and ITROMID in collaboration with KEMRI Graduate School, including MMLS with Clinical and Public Health specialisation options.

Students develop competencies in clinical epidemiology, disease surveillance, health programme management, health policy analysis, community health assessment, preventive medicine, research, and data analysis. The programme includes coursework, field attachments, examinations, supervised research, and thesis.

The programme is delivered over two years with full-time and part-time study modes. The programme accepts clinical medicine, nursing, public health, biomedical sciences, and health-related graduates. JKUAT's programmes require relevant health qualifications.

Graduates pursue careers as clinical-public health specialists, epidemiologists, health programme managers, public health practitioners, researchers, and lecturers in hospitals, public health agencies, NGOs, research institutions, and universities.

Skills Required

Clinical Epidemiology
Public Health Practice
Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation
Health Systems Management
Health Policy Analysis
Biostatistics and Data Analysis
Community Health Assessment
Preventive Medicine
Health Programme Management
Public Health Research Methods

Key Subjects

Clinical Epidemiology
Public Health Practice
Health Systems Management
Disease Surveillance
Preventive Medicine
Health Policy
Biostatistics
Community Health
Health Programme Management
Public Health Research Methods

Certifications

KFELTP Field Epidemiology Certification
Africa CDC Professional Membership

Specializations

Clinical Epidemiology

Focuses on clinical epidemiology, applying epidemiological methods to clinical practice, disease patterns in clinical settings, and integrating evidence-based medicine with population health.

Public Health Practice

Examines public health practice, disease prevention, health promotion, community health, and applying public health principles in clinical and community settings.

Health Systems Management

Covers health systems management, healthcare administration, health policy, and managing and improving health service delivery systems.

Disease Surveillance

Focuses on disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, epidemic preparedness, and monitoring and responding to disease threats in populations.

Preventive Medicine

Examines preventive medicine, disease prevention strategies, health screening, vaccination programmes, and preventing disease through clinical and public health interventions.

Health Programme Management

Covers health programme management, programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and managing public health programmes and interventions.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 277,002
Private, up to: Ksh 179,100
Job market: High

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time, Part-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 20 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Clinical Epidemiology
Public Health Practice
Health Systems Management
Disease Surveillance
Preventive Medicine
Health Policy
Biostatistics
Community Health
Health Programme Management
Public Health Research Methods

Modules

12 in the programme

Clinical Epidemiology
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines clinical epidemiology, applying epidemiological methods to clinical practice, disease patterns in clinical settings, and integrating evidence-based medicine with population health.
Public Health Practice
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers public health practice, disease prevention, health promotion, community health, and applying public health principles in clinical and community settings.
Health Systems Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines health systems management, healthcare administration, health policy, resource management, and improving health service delivery systems.
Biostatistics and Data Analysis
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers biostatistics, statistical methods for health data, data analysis, epidemiological statistics, and interpreting health data for decision-making.
Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, epidemic preparedness, disease monitoring, and responding to disease threats in populations.
Preventive Medicine
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers preventive medicine, disease prevention strategies, health screening, vaccination programmes, and preventing disease through clinical and public health interventions.
Health Policy and Planning
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines health policy, health planning, policy analysis, and developing and implementing health policies for population health.
Community Health Assessment
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers community health assessment, community engagement, health needs assessment, and addressing health challenges in communities.
Health Programme Management
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines health programme management, programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and managing public health programmes.
Public Health Research Methods
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers research methods for public health, experimental design, data analysis, and conducting public health research, preparing students for their thesis.
Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Practice
Year 2Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines field epidemiology, laboratory practice in public health, applying epidemiological methods in field settings, and integrating laboratory and field approaches.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 26 creditsCore
Original research thesis on a clinical and public health topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and clinical-public health knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Clinical Epidemiology
Focuses on clinical epidemiology, applying epidemiological methods to clinical practice, disease patterns in clinical settings, and integrating evidence-based medicine with population health.
Public Health Practice
Examines public health practice, disease prevention, health promotion, community health, and applying public health principles in clinical and community settings.
Health Systems Management
Covers health systems management, healthcare administration, health policy, and managing and improving health service delivery systems.
Disease Surveillance
Focuses on disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, epidemic preparedness, and monitoring and responding to disease threats in populations.
Preventive Medicine
Examines preventive medicine, disease prevention strategies, health screening, vaccination programmes, and preventing disease through clinical and public health interventions.
Health Programme Management
Covers health programme management, programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and managing public health programmes and interventions.

A day as a student

A typical day during the MSc Clinical and Public Health programme begins with morning lectures on epidemiology, health systems, or public health practice. Students engage in theoretical discussions on disease patterns, health systems, and population health approaches. Clinical epidemiology sessions cover applying epidemiological methods to clinical practice, disease patterns in clinical settings, and evidence-based medicine. Public health practice sessions examine disease prevention, health promotion, community health, and applying public health principles in clinical and community settings. Health systems management sessions cover healthcare administration, health policy, resource management, and improving health service delivery. Disease surveillance sessions involve outbreak investigation, epidemic preparedness, disease monitoring, and responding to disease threats. Preventive medicine sessions cover disease prevention strategies, health screening, vaccination programmes, and preventing disease through clinical and public health interventions. Biostatistics sessions examine statistical methods for health data, data analysis, epidemiological statistics, and interpreting health data. Community health sessions involve community health assessment, community engagement, and addressing health challenges in communities. Health programme management sessions cover programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and managing public health programmes. Research methodology sessions prepare students for their thesis, covering public health research methods, experimental design, and data analysis. JKUAT's programme through KEMRI provides access to field sites and research facilities. Guest lectures from public health practitioners, epidemiologists, MoH officials, and CDC/WHO consultants provide real-world insights. The two-year programme culminates in a research thesis.

The trade offs

In its favour

Programme uniquely bridges clinical practice and public health, providing integrated skills for addressing health challenges at individual and population levels.
Kenya's disease burden and health system challenges create strong demand for professionals who can integrate clinical and public health approaches.
JKUAT offers the programme through its School of Public Health and ITROMID in collaboration with KEMRI, providing access to research facilities and field sites.
Strong career opportunities with hospitals, public health agencies, MoH, KEMRI, CDC, WHO, NGOs, and international health organisations.

Against it

Programme is relatively new and may not have the same recognition as established MPH or clinical programmes.
Programme requires health-related degree, which may exclude graduates from other fields.
Limited number of institutions offering the programme may restrict geographic access for prospective students.
Combining clinical and public health in one programme may limit depth in either area compared to dedicated programmes.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 349 health sciences courses

Public120k to 277k

120k at Kisii University277k at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Private179k to 179k

179k at Mount Kenya University179k at Mount Kenya University

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

JKUAT MMLS 277K/yr (jkuat.ac.ke). Kisii 120K/yr. MKU MSc MLS 179.1K/yr. Src: kisiiuniversity.ac.ke

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. KEMRI supports public health research. CDC and WHO provide global health capacity building funding. The programme's public health focus attracts significant donor and international health organisation funding.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
KEMRI Research Grants
CDC Global Health Funding

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate clinical and public health studies at recognised universities.
KEMRI Research Grants
GrantKsh 400,000Kenyan
KEMRI provides research grants for public health research, supporting postgraduate research in disease surveillance and health systems.
CDC Global Health Funding
GrantKsh 500,000
CDC provides global health funding for capacity building in disease surveillance, field epidemiology, and public health practice in Kenya.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: The programme accepts clinical medicine, nursing, public health, biomedical sciences, and medical graduates. Two-year programme with full-time and part-time options. JKUAT offers related programmes through School of Public Health and ITROMID/KEMRI Graduate School. The programme integrates clinical practice with public health approaches.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Assignments
Coursework30% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, case studies, epidemiological exercises, health programme analysis, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination30% of the mark
Written examinations covering epidemiology, public health practice, health systems, biostatistics, and disease surveillance, conducted at end of each semester.
Field and Practical Assessment
Practical40% of the mark
Assessment of field work, practical exercises, community health assessment, outbreak investigation exercises, and field reports.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original research thesis on a clinical and public health topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and clinical-public health knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). JKUAT offers related programmes through its School of Public Health and ITROMID in collaboration with KEMRI Graduate School. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate clinical and public health training.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. JKUAT offers related programmes through its School of Public Health and ITROMID in collaboration with KEMRI Graduate School. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate clinical and public health training.
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC)
Professional accreditation
KMPDC regulates medical practice in Kenya. Graduates working in clinical settings may require KMPDC registration.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Clinical-Public Health Specialist
High demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 550,000
Integrates clinical practice with public health approaches, providing clinical care while addressing population health challenges in hospitals and health agencies.
Epidemiologist
High demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 550,000
Conducts disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, epidemiological research, and supports public health decision-making in health agencies.
Health Programme Manager
High demandKsh 140,000 to Ksh 600,000
Manages public health programmes, overseeing design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring effective health interventions.
Public Health Practitioner
High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 500,000
Implements public health programmes, conducting disease prevention, health promotion, and community health activities in public health agencies and NGOs.
Health Policy Analyst
Moderate demandKsh 140,000 to Ksh 550,000
Analyses health policy, evaluates health systems, and provides evidence-based recommendations for health policy development and reform.
University Lecturer
High demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 500,000
Teaches public health and clinical practice in universities, conducting research and training future health professionals.

Graduate outcomes

Graduates pursue careers as clinical-public health specialists, epidemiologists, and health programme managers in hospitals, public health agencies, NGOs, and universities.

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

SPSS
SoftwarePrimary
Statistical software for epidemiological data analysis, biostatistics, health surveys, and public health research data analysis.
EpiInfo
SoftwarePrimary
CDC's epidemiological software for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, data collection, and public health analysis.
R Statistical Computing
Software
Open-source statistical computing environment for epidemiological modelling, health data analysis, and public health research.
GIS Software
Software
Geographic information system software for disease mapping, spatial epidemiology, and analysing geographic patterns of disease.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Clinical and public health is just a combination of two separate fields.
The programme integrates clinical practice with population health, creating a unique skill set for addressing health challenges at both individual and population levels.
This programme is only for doctors.
The programme accepts graduates from clinical medicine, nursing, public health, biomedical sciences, and related health fields, not just medical doctors.
There is limited demand for clinical-public health specialists in Kenya.
Kenya's disease burden, health system challenges, and need for integrated clinical-public health approaches create strong demand for qualified professionals.
Public health is less important than clinical medicine.
Public health prevents disease at population level, complements clinical medicine's individual focus, and both are essential for comprehensive health systems.
This programme duplicates existing MPH or clinical programmes.
The programme uniquely bridges clinical practice and public health, providing integrated skills not available in standalone MPH or clinical programmes.
A master's in clinical and public health is redundant after a clinical degree.
The master's provides public health knowledge, research skills, epidemiological methods, and career progression to senior health system and public health positions.