MSc Occupational Hygiene

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2026, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (full-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £15,200
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500
• MSc (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £6,080 for year 1 and 2, and £3,040 for year 3
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £12,200 for year 1 and 2, and £6,100 for year 3
• PGDip (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £6,100
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £12,200
• PGCert (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £3,000
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £6,100

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

UK students opting for MSc 1 year full-time or 2 year part-time course of study may qualify for a PGT loan from the UK government. Please see our university pages or contact admissions.

Students studying our MSc course over 3 years part-time may also be eligible for a postgraduate loan if there is no other suitable full time equivalent course available in the UK at the time of application. Please contact admissions for more information.

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition and administration costs during your studies.

Please note: The fees do not cover any costs for travel, accommodation, professional exams, etc.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for international students for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

A number of our students are sponsored by their employers or the governments of their home countries.

The University permits applicants with comparable previous experience to submit an application for consideration of Accreditation Prior (Experiential) Learning (AP(E)L). The maximum AP(E)L is 15 credits to a PG Cert, 45 credits to a PG Dip and 60 credits to an MSc.

If your AP(E)L application is successful, the University charges a minimum administration fee for every 15 credits of AP(E)L. The overall tuition fee is adjusted and then the administrative charge is applied.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page.

Equity and Merit Scholarships are for academically excellent students who have the potential to make a significant contribution to sustainable development in their home countries.

The awards are intended for those who cannot afford to study in Manchester without a scholarship. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and all applications are considered on their merit. We particularly encourage women to apply. To apply for a scholarship for this programme under this scheme you must be looking to study a part-time, distance learning master's (three to five years duration).

The MSc Occupational Hygiene can be studied part time with a 3 year study option. There are 30 scholarships (20 for full-time study and ten for online study) available each year for a range of courses in engineering, environment, health sciences, development, education, textiles and law.

The scheme is open to applicants from Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

This unit focuses on a range of morbidities (including respiratory, skin, musculoskeletal, mental health and infectious diseases) associated with work and occupation. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the causal associations and the current and emerging methods of monitoring, managing and evaluating occupational ill health interventions. The unit also introduces the concept of epidemiology and the principles of health surveillance, assessment and screening.

This unit provides an understanding of the concept of work-related and occupational diseases with specific focus on the mechanisms, recognition and causes of commonly reported diseases. Students will apply this knowledge to understanding the complex factors involved in the manifestation of workplace ill health and develop their understanding of health assessment, surveillance, and health screening.

The learning outcomes intend to:

• provide students with an understanding of the concept of work-related and occupational disease, including types of commonly reported diseases, their recognition, mechanisms and causes; and
• enable students to describe the concept of epidemiology and its application to health surveillance, health assessment and health screening.

• Recognising Occupational Disease
• Introduction to Occupational Dermatology
• Introduction to Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Introduction to the Respiratory System
• Introduction to Occupational Infections
• Introduction to Mental Ill Health and Stress at Work
• Introduction to Epidemiology
• Health Assessment, Surveillance and Screening
• Sickness Absence
• Disability Assessment

Learning and teaching will take the form of online lectures, webinars, group discussions, tutorials and optional on campus workshops  where applicable. 

Canvas will be used for course materials, group discussions, announcements, reading lists and  online assessments. 

On completion, students should be able to:

• display an awareness of system-related occupational disease;
• understand the nature of evidence required to establish a causal link between occupation and disease or injury; and
• understand the principles of the interaction between health and work (i.e. effects of work on health and health on work) and understand how to manage such problems.

On completion, students should be able to:

• analyse and evaluate the relevant medical and scientific literature relating to occupational health practice;
• demonstrate the ability to solve problems and make decisions about occupational health issues; 
• critically examine knowledge limitations within occupational health, and identify the need to seek further (specialist) advice; and
• develop powers of critical appraisal, analytical thinking and logical argument to allow evaluation of concepts and/or approaches to occupational health issues. 

On completion, students should be able to:

• design, carry out, write up, and present studies that demonstrate knowledge in the investigation of work-related incidents, accidents, or disease.

On completion, students should be able to consider patients’ health in respect to their employment and work tasks.

Approved by the Faculties of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of London (FOM) and Ireland (FOM-I).

Formative assessments with automatic feedback are available throughout the unit as an aid to understanding the course materials. Feedback for the summative assessment is provided by tutors via Canvas. Students may also receive direct feedback from interaction with session leaders throughout the course of study. 

• Agius R, Seaton A. Practical occupational medicine 2nd ed. London: Hodder Arnold 2005. ISBN 034075947X.    
• Baxter P, Aw T, Cockroft A, Durrington P, Harrington J. Hunter’s diseases of occupations 10th ed. London: Hodder- Edward Arnold 2010. ISBN 9780340941669.
• Gardiner K, Rees D, Adisesh A, Zalk D, Harrington, JM. Occupational health (Pocket Consultants) 6th ed. Wiley-Blackwell 2006. ISBN- 10 1119718619; ISBN-13 978-1119718611.
• Ford J, Parker G, Ford F, Kloss D, Pickvance S, Sawney P. Rehabilitation for Work Matters. Radcliffe Medical Press 2008. ISBN 101857757866.
• Hobson J, and Smedley J (Eds). Fitness for work: the medical aspects 6th ed. OUP 2019. ISBN 9780198808657.
• Sadhra, Steven, Alan Bray, and Steve Boorman (eds), Oxford Handbook of Occupational Health 3e, 3 edn, Oxford Medical Handbooks (Oxford, 2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 May 2022). 

Students enrolled on the course can access recommended resources through their University of Manchester library account.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this unit, please contact the Course Unit Lead, Melanie Carder via melanie.carder@manchester.ac.uk.

If you have any other queries, please contact the Programme Admin team via shs.programmes@manchester.ac.uk.