Degree Type: 

Master of Philosophy

Department: 

Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation

Programme Duration: 

2 years (Standard Entry)

Modes of Study: 

Sandwich

About Programme: 

The Government of Ghana through it policies have upgraded Colleges of Education (COEs) into University Colleges and Polytechnics to Technical Universities. Nursing and Midwifery Training Colleges are in a similar upgrading process. This means that tutors and lecturers in these institutions who hold M.Ed./M.A. and other non-research Masters degrees would have to be upgraded to, at least, Master of Philosophy degrees, which are research based. In most instances, it is difficult for such teachers to leave the classroom to pursue regular university residential Masters programmes such as the MPhil. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the commencement of this Top-Up to MPhil programme on a sandwich/regular basis to enable these Lecturers and Tutors who, due to lack of study leave, are unable to pursue regular residential M.Phil programmes the opportunity to upgrade themselves. The upgradement from M.Ed./M.A. to M.Phil will give these Tutors and Lecturers the minimum requirement needed to continue their work in these institutions.

This programme will help achieve the inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Number 4 (Quality Education) hopes for. Therefore, for the nation to benefit fully from its educational aspirations and achieve the SDG 4, there is the need for skilled professionals with content and pedagogical knowledge to handle the students in these upgraded institutions.

With the upgrade of the COEs, Polytechnics and pending upgrading of Nursing and Midwifery Training Colleges to tertiary status, most of the Tutors and Lecturers are likely to be laid off. Since majority of these Tutors and Lecturers do not possess the minimum MPhil degree required to work as academic staff in these institutions. Hence, the Top-Up programme will enable the affected personnel with M.Ed./M.A. background in Health Education and closely related areas to upgrade themselves with the requisite knowledge and skills within a short time period.

Also, from the commencement of the M.A. sandwich programmes at the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) in 2008, over 500 students have passed out and most of these graduates are workers who cannot come to pursue their MPhil on regular basis, hence an avenue for them to Top-Up on the sandwich/regular basis to acquire their MPhil.

In line with the mission of the University of Cape Coast to provide quality education through the provision of comprehensive liberal and professional programmes, this top-up programme is designed to challenge learners to be creative, innovative and responsible citizens. Those who are capable of pursuing their PhD programmes would also take advantage to do so after this Top-Up MPhil sandwich/regular programme.

University of Ghana School of Public Health has similar programmes such as Master of Public Health (MPH) in Public Health. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Public Health also offers Master of Science (MSc) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Health Promotion and Education. However, all these programmes are administered on a regular residential basis. The MPhil Top-Up programme will allow students to pursue their MPhil on both sandwich and regular basis.

Target Groups

The programme targets the following groups of persons:

  1. School Health Education Programme (SHEP) coordinators at the Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal, District and Circuit education levels;
  2. Tutors in public and private Nursing and Midwifery Training Colleges and other Health Institutions of Higher learning;
  3. Other Personnel from the Ministry of Health and graduates with health related certificates;   
  4. Environmental Health and Sanitation Officers/Workers at Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal and District levels;
  5. Teachers in public and private Basic, Senior High Schools, COEs, and Technical Universities;
  6. Personnel of NGOs in health related activities;
  7. Corporate and private fitness management personnel;
  8. Public and community health service providers;

Progression

After the Top-Up MPhil programme, a candidate may be allowed to upgrade to a Ph.D. programme if he/she obtains the following.

  1. CGPA of 3.5 in a course work.
  2. Not more than one grade C+.
  3. Score B+ or better MPhil Research Methods and Thesis.
  4. Take a course in Academic Writing and pass.
  5. Present a research proposal in an acceptable standard.
  6. Successfully defend a final research proposal before the Departmental Examination Board and pass with at least B+.

Entry Requirements: 

The programme is open to the people who possess any of the following qualifications:

  1. M.Ed. (Health Education).
  2. M.A. (Health Education).
  3. M.Sc. (without research) in Health Education, Public Health, Public Health Nursing, Environmental Health and Sanitation, etc. 

Goal / Aim / Objectives: 

Goals

The goals of the programme are to provide opportunities for candidates to upgrade their current academic status to higher ones, teach students at various levels of the educational system, and also occupy upper level managerial positions in various health and other related fields.

Objectives

The objectives of the programme are to:

  1. equip students with the requisite knowledge, techniques and skills that will enable them develop and upgrade themselves in specialised areas in Health for both teaching and non-teaching employment.
  2. enable students acquire an appreciable level of intellectual capacity necessary for doctoral progression in Health Promotion programmes.

Programme Structure

Level 800

First Semester

EPH 802S: Educational Statistics
3 Credit(s)

The course aims at equipping students with various intermediate techniques of analysing and reporting data. The course involves a practical component that interfaces students with extensive use of computer data analysis tools, such as SPSS. In EPH 802S, most illustrations are selected from Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

EPH 868S: Community and Environmental Health
3 Credit(s)

This course examines the health status of various communities. It also focuses on factors that affect the health of such communities. Various systems of health care and their strengths and weaknesses will be examined. The relationship between community and environment is examined to describe both positive and negative interactive effects of people and their environment. Specific environmental components include air, water, and land quality.

EPH 872S: Administration of Health Promotion Programmes
3 Credit(s)

Issues to be examined include needs assessment, health promotion facilities management, funding of health promotion, resource management, planning, budgeting, and accountability. The course will also equip students with in-depth knowledge in the administration of health promotion programmes. The course will adopt both analytical and practical methods to cover the principles of administration and management of health programmes with emphasis on a systems approach for assessing and evaluating operations of governmental and non-governmental organisations’ programmes taking into cognizance cultural and political influences. Issues of inequality and distributive principles of health resources and their implications for quality health care, sustainability of health programmes and ethics of social justice will also be explored. The writing of grant proposal will also be covered in this course.

EPH 897S: Thesis Seminar I
3 Credit(s)

Students are required to develop research proposals of acceptable standards with the assistance of their supervisors. This course is to prepare the students to complete their proposal before the end of the first semester.

SGS 801S: Academic Writing for Graduate Students
3 Credit(s)

The course offers an opportunity to the student to acquire and develop rhetorical knowledge and practices for studying and writing within discipline-specific contexts. Specifically, the student identifies general features of academic writing, using mainly the genre approach, some key linguistic/rhetorical theories, and concepts underpinning academic writing. The final part of the course will focus on other practical issues in research writing and publishing. The course offers an opportunity to the student to acquire and develop rhetorical knowledge and practices for studying and writing within discipline-specific contexts. Specifically, the student identifies general features of academic writing, using mainly the genre approach, some key linguistic/rhetorical theories, and concepts underpinning academic writing. The final part of the course will focus on other practical issues in research writing and publishing.

Level 850

First Semester

EPH 896S: Thesis Seminar II
3 Credit(s)

This course will enable students to make presentations on their thesis report to their supervisors before the submission of final thesis.

EPH 899S: Thesis Writing
12 Credit(s)

This is a guided research conducted and reported by advanced graduate students. Guidelines for thesis writing are found in the Graduate Studies Handbook.