Intro

The specialty of Public Health is built on a strong academic foundation and registrars are encouraged to develop their academic skills throughout the whole period of training. Specific aspects of academic training are highlighted below and there is also more detailed information on the FPH Membership exams (MFPH) on other pages.

Masters Courses

The curriculum for Public Health requires a sound knowledge foundation which is delivered in phase one of training and assessed through the Diploma written examination (DFPH). A Master’s degree is not a prerequisite for CCT but is currently the method by which many registrars acquire the knowledge foundation.

The programme currently supports registrars in gaining the knowledge foundation through attendance at the MPhil in Public Health at the University of Cambridge. Increasingly, new recruits may already possess an appropriate Masters level qualification and, in discussion with the Training Programme Director, they may attend modules on the MPhil course if they have specific identified learning needs prior to sitting DFPH.

Academic Supervision

All registrars are allocated an academic supervisor for their MPhil. Academic supervisors can also provide support and guidance on a range of topics including, MPhil theses, DFPH preparation, methodological and statistical issues related to service work and publication of work in peer reviewed journals.

Specialist Academic Training

The programme also offers specialist training in academic public health through:

• Locally funded Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF) and Academic Fellow (AF) schemes for candidates both with and without a medical degree allow the successful candidates to spend 25% of their time in research and 75% of their time in service training. The geographical delivery of the specialty training programme is organised into a North and a South zone. The North zone covers the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge and Bedfordshire. The South zone covers the counties of Essex and Hertfordshire.
• ACF/AFs undergoing their 25% academic training at the University of East Anglia will be allocated a service training base in the North zone for their 75% service training,  and ACF/AFs undergoing their 25% academic training at the University of Cambridge will be allocated a service training base in the South zone for their 75% service training. The recruitment is currently an annual process through the online recruitment system, Oriel.
• Please see here for information on the NIHR Integrated Academic Training Programme for doctors and dentists.
• Please see here for information on the ICA HEE/NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic Programme for non-medical public health specialty trainees.