Master of Health Science – Prevention and Health Promotion Technical University of Munich

The students will engage with the bio-psycho-social concept of health in greater depth. The study design follows the WHO definition of health: "A complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Therefore, the focus lies on health promotion and prevention.

This specialisation is a result of the development of the public health system. Demographic change, resulting from an increase in longevity, diseases of civilisation, and mental abnormalities, presents new challenges for employees in the health care sector.

The importance of personal health and strategic interventions will increase. This requires the development of strategies for strengthening individual resources, healthy nutrition, and age-appropriate physical activity. This multidisciplinary concept includes gender and diversity aspects and focuses not only on the individual but also on special groups, e.g. groups of employees in companies. This Master's programme not only provides theoretical knowledge of the sciences of nutrition, movement, and psychology, but also enables the students to work in interdisciplinary research projects with risk factors and patient groups with different diseases.

The course of study consists of five central units:

1. Health science research
2. Research methods
3. Applied research
4. Complementary subjects
5. Master's thesis

Every unit offers tuition in specialist and methodological skills from different health sectors in order to provide access to prevention and health promotion by the combination of different disciplines in a holistic approach. Every unit combines theoretical knowledge with practical applications for different target groups.
1. The first unit runs over the course of two semesters. It fosters a concept of health promotion that exceeds disease prevention by strengthening personal resources as well as behavioural and environmental factors. Additionally, students can customise their studies in order to focus on a specialist area. These areas currently include "Physical Activity", "Nutrition", "Psychology" and "Health Economics". These electives provide the students with methodological knowledge in natural science and sociological prevention research, and lead to practical applications in a scientific context in the following semester.
2. The second unit focuses on research methods. "Study Design; Ethics" provides a closer look at research and ethical guidelines from different scientific experts. The students may choose to enrol in "Advanced Statistics", "Qualitative Research Methods", or "Scientific Data Processing". This will provide a basis for students to conduct high quality quantitative or qualitative research in the field of health sciences.  
3. The third unit offers different electives. Besides transfer of knowledge and methodological testing, the students are given guidance in all the steps of their research projects in project teams. Two of the following fields of research may be chosen:

• Cardiovascular/Metabolic Disorders
• Mental Health and Well-Being
• Cancer
• Neurological Health
• Economic Evaluations of Health Care Programmes
• Evaluation Methods in Public Health and Health Care
• Diversity, Inequality and Health
• Behavioural Science, Behavioural Change and Health

4. The fourth unit offers customised studies in "Complementary Subjects". These subjects prepare students for different professional settings. This unit allows specialisation in one professional context or the option of interdisciplinary courses.
5. After the fourth semester, the course of studies concludes with the Master's thesis. The thesis carries 30 credits and should be started after all modules from the first, second, and third semesters have been successfully passed. Maximum processing time is six months.

No compulsory internship

1. Qualified Bachelor's degree of at least six semesters obtained at a national or foreign university or a degree of at least equivalent value. There is no requirement as to which subject this degree is in.
2. Advanced knowledge in English must be demonstrated (see below).
3. Evidence of a successfully passed vocational internship (min. eight weeks in the field of health science) before starting the Master's studies is required. Alternatively, a professional activity in the field of health science, for whose qualification the Master's degree course contributes, can also be recognised. Proof of this must be provided before the start of the course, but no later than five weeks after the start of lectures.
4. Applicants must successfully pass the selection procedure (also a written test) in order to be admitted to the programme.

Please refer to this page for more details: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/fees.

In order to cover personal expenses while studying in Munich, we recommend a budget of at least 1,000 EUR per month.

Part-time jobs and student jobs in industry and academia

Please refer to the following page for more details: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/during-your-studies/living-and-working/jobs-and-internships.

Many international students can have their fees waived or receive scholarships to finance them. You can find all information on waivers and scholarships here.

TUM has its own "Career Service", which offers application checks, career counselling and a mentoring programme.

https://www.community.tum.de/en/career-service/

It’s not easy to find a place to live in Munich – but it’s not impossible either! The Technical University of Munich (TUM) supports students and staff in their search for accommodation by providing personal advice, in-house listings and useful information to ensure that you can quickly find a place to call your own.

For more information, see: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/during-your-studies/living-and-working/accommodations.