Population-Based Medicine University of Tübingen

Field of Study

Population health sciences is the study of the conditions that shape distributions of health within and across populations, and of the mechanisms through which these conditions manifest in the health of individuals. Population health takes a broad, interdisciplinary approach and includes health outcomes as well as patterns of health determinants.

Population-based medicine can be defined as population health science with a focus on medical conditions and patient populations. It refers to all aspects of community medical care, from primary prevention to tertiary care. Population-based medicine often works with big datasets and epidemiological and statistical methods to identify patterns in the diseases and health of large populations. Population-based medicine can be considered as the basic science of public health, much as biomedical research is the basic science of clinical medicine.

Population-Based Medicine in Tübingen

The Master’s programme in Population-Based Medicine in Tübingen offers a challenging programme at a competitive international level for which high individual effort and performance are required. We strive to prepare students to respond to both challenges and opportunities to improve health within and across populations. Our goal is to train future population health experts with outstanding methodological knowledge and interdisciplinary expertise to address the full range of factors influencing health and disease. This includes the design, implementation and evaluation of intervention programmes for health problems (e.g. lifestyle modification strategies and stress management) and the development of prevention strategies at the population level (e.g. for diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and cancer). It also includes the development of policy recommendations, health education and outreach at community and population level (e.g. digital health technologies).

Four main features of our programme are crucial for the achievements of the aforementioned goals:

1. Interdisciplinary & interprofessional: We follow a comprehensive approach including behavioural, biological, social and mental factors of health and illness. You will study, learn and work in interprofessional groups.
2. Research-oriented: We strongly focus on empirical and synthesis methods in population health research.
3. Mentorship: You will receive support and advice from your individual mentor throughout the programme.
4. Practicum (practical experience): In the third semester, you will obtain practical experience and apply your professional competencies in population-based medicine.

The Population-Based Medicine Master’s programme lasts for two years (four semesters) and encompasses a total of 120 ECTS.

Full-time courses will be held during the first and second semester. In the third semester, you will be able to further specialise by completing a 14-week, full-time practicum (practical experience with the opportunity to apply professional competencies in population-based medicine) in a field of your choice. The work placement experience may influence the choice of topic for your Master’s thesis in the fourth and last semester.

First semester: Full-time courses (Modules PBM-1 to 4)
Second semester: Full-time courses (Modules PBM-5 to 8)
Third semester: Full-time practicum (in Germany or abroad, Module PBM-9)
Fourth semester: Master's thesis (Module PBM-10)

In the third semester, students have to complete a 14-week, full-time practicum at a private or public organisation (e.g. local planning and government offices, hospitals, NGOs) in Germany or abroad. Students will apply their theoretical knowledge from the classroom in a real-world setting of their choice. A mentor will help them develop a practicum project (e.g. quantitative or qualitative data analysis or another project) that they will work on during and report on after their practicum.

Twenty places are available in the programme, and they will be awarded based on each applicant's qualifications as well as the performance in a selection interview. The interview will focus on professional knowledge, aptitude, and motivation as well as communication and analytical skills. English language skills and competencies in the areas of methods and statistics will also be part of the interview.

Application requirements are:

1. A Bachelor's degree of at least six semesters in health sciences or an equivalent degree in a comparable subject with a grade of 2.5 or better (German grading system)

2. English language skills (see below)

Examples for comparable subjects might be: Public Health, Epidemiology, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Midwifery, Nutrition, Pharmacy, Health Economics, Health Policy, Biostatistics, Psychology, Sports, Sociology, Cognitive Sciences.

A final decision about the equivalency of the subject can only be made based on your complete application. Make sure to include a Transcript of Records or any other documentation concerning the content of your Bachelor's degree.

Enrolment fees at the University of Tübingen are currently about 200 EUR per semester. This includes use of local public transport free of charge from Monday to Friday (in the evenings), on weekends and on public holidays. In addition, students may purchase a semester ticket for unlimited use of public transport in the city of Tübingen and the surrounding area (currently about 160 EUR).

Estimated basic student expenses are around 1,000 EUR per month according to the Tübingen Student Services organisation (“Studierendenwerk”), including rent for student accommodation. Rent for private accommodation will be more expensive.

The University of Tübingen offers a Career Service with special offers for international students: https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/study/steps-towards-employment/offers-for-international-students/

Accommodation is available through the Student Services organisation (“Studierendenwerk“) or on the private market. Rooms in student accommodation cost approx. 250–480 EUR per month. As Tübingen is a very attractive place to live, private accommodation is more expensive and can take some effort to find. To make sure you find a suitable place to live, you should start looking as early as possible.

We recommend you apply for student accommodation through the “Studierendenwerk” at the same time that you apply for admission to the Master's programme (please see: https://www.my-stuwe.de/en/housing/halls-of-residence-tuebingen/ and https://www.my-stuwe.de/en/housing/faqs/) and send in a copy of your notification of admission as soon as you have received it (your application won’t be finally processed before the “Studierendenwerk” has received proof of your admission). For further information, check out the “Studierendenwerk” pages on housing in Tübingen (https://www.my-stuwe.de/en/housing/housing-infos/).

For private accommodation, it is best to check the local newspaper (https://immo.swp.de/mieten/wohnung/tuebingen) or websites like "WG gesucht": http://wg-gesucht.de.

Students can also find information and help here with the "onboarding" for degree-seeking students: https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/224925.