• Our Health Communication Design MA degree is one of the new courses offered in association with the Health Design & Technology Institute (HDTI) at Coventry University
• You can study part-time alongside your existing employment
• This unique and innovative course is delivered online, together with optional days of activities on campus
• Coventry University is a national leader in e-learning and its online learning environment, CUOnline
• You will be given both telephone and online technical support, but all our learning tools are easy to use and require no specialist knowledge

This MA will be of interest for those seeking, or wishing to enhance careers in the field of health or lifestyle communication: health information managers, health promotion officers, hospital administrators, medical practitioners, voluntary sector workers based in health or lifestyle charities, healthcare communication professionals and anyone with a related interest in this growing field.

This vocationally oriented MA in Health Communication Design has been developed for the University’s Health Design & Technology Institute. It is a multidisciplinary course designed to give you experience of creating and managing health information that meets the needs of consumers within the fields of health and well-being.

Drawing on information design, sociology, psychology, usability and the health context, the course encompasses the design and evaluation of a wide range of health and lifestyle communication artefacts, and the communication context needed to support strategic decision making.

With the emphasis on live or simulated practical projects, this course addresses an important field which is currently not catered for by any other undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK.

Course content includes:

• Communication design for health information
• Understanding patient communication
• Communicating risk
• The impact of new technologies for communication
• Usability and accessibility of health information
• Health promotion 
• Preparing for research

MA project: For most students this will be a live project, which can be linked to your current or intended employment, or with one of the professional organisations who support our course. Alternatively, it may be a self initiated project or a theoretical dissertation.

The course places consistent emphasis on developing communication solutions to meet the needs of specific users and to achieve specific communication outcomes within the field of Health Communication Design. 

You will develop theoretical and contextual knowledge, practical skills, and strategic capability relating to health communication.

Theoretical work will draw from information design, usability research, and the psychology of patient communication.

Contextual knowledge will include an examination of issues such as health literacy, use of online health information, health choices, and recent government initiatives in the field.
Practical skills will include the planning, writing, design and creation of health communication artefacts.
Strategic capability will include the creation of a communication strategy and implementation plan, within budgetary constraints.

At the MA stage, Preparing for Research will allow you to develop a project plan, and receive feedback on this from peers and tutors. The MA project itself provides the opportunity for you to carry out a substantial project in the field, which can be a practical project accompanied by a written rationale, or a written dissertation.

 

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This course is delivered online by distance learning. It uses a range of teaching methods including online lectures, course notes, discussions, collaborative work and case study examples, and there will be particular emphasis on practical communication projects.

All 20 credit modules will include at least one day of activities on campus. This will provide a useful opportunity for students to meet each other and the staff, to attend guest lectures, engage in group work, etc. However, such days are useful opportunities rather than core requirements, and students who cannot attend will not miss any essential part of the course.

All taught 20 credit modules can be taken as stand-alone modules for Continuing Professional Development. This means that you can choose to study just one module. If you pass the module you will then have 20 credits at MA level. If you find that you enjoy your studies and wish to continue with the rest of the MA, you can continue your studies from this point.

All modules are assessed by coursework – there are no examinations. Assessment tasks will focus on developing your understanding and practical skills in Health Communication Design. In some modules you will be able to undertake a project relating to your current or intended employment where this meets the learning outcomes of the module and is agreed by the module tutor.

Please note, the order in which you study the modules may vary from that shown. (30 months part-time)

Term 1:

• Autumn - Health communication design (20 credits)
• Summer  - Communicating risk in the health context (20 credits)
• Spring  - Health promotion (20 credits) 

Term 2: 

• Autumn - Psychological and social factors in health communication (20 credits)
• Spring - Usability and accessibility (20 credits)        
• Summer -The impact of new technologies for health communication (20 credits)

Term 3:

• Autumn - Preparing for research (10 credits)
• Autumn to Spring -  MA Project (50 credits) 

To achieve a Postgraduate Certificate, you will need to pass any 3 of the 20 credit modules. To achieve a Postgraduate Diploma, you will need to pass all 6 of the 20 credit modules. To achieve an MA, you will need to pass all 8 of the above modules

A flexible approach to study:

We welcome students who are currently employed, and have designed the course with this in mind. We recognise the challenges of combining study with the demands of work and family.

We have built in intermediate awards so that if you choose to leave the course before you have completed the MA, you could complete the requirements for one of these intermediate awards, and leave with a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma.

Alternatively, you can choose from the outset to sign on for either the Postgraduate Certificate or the Postgraduate Diploma. The course team will be happy to discuss what you need to complete for these awards.

Or you can enrol for just one module, either for continuing professional development or as a taster to help you to decide whether you wish to undertake the full MA programme.

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Those wishing to study this course can apply online by completing this online application

To apply for a place on this course and apply via postal application, please complete and return this Postgraduate application form.  

Part-time students

For undergraduate part-time and all postgraduate queries, UK students should contact our Graduate Centre:

Undergraduate (part-time):
Telephone: 024 7688 7090
Fax: 024 7688 8609
askCoventry

Postgraduate (part-time or full-time):
Telephone: 024 7688 7091 or 024 7688 8645
Fax: 024 7688 8609
askCoventry