Stockholm university

Public Health Sciences

Are you curious to know what makes some people healthier, have a higher level of well-being, and live longer lives than others? Our education in public health sciences will provide you with the knowledge and tools needed to do research or work practically with issues related to health at the population level, both within and outside Sweden.

Subject description

Public health sciences concern the study of public health and its determinants. In our courses and programmes, you will learn more about the distribution of health over historical time, how structures in society interplay with individual characteristics to shape people’s health-related behaviours and living conditions, as well as how health and disease develop through the different stages of life.

We go deeper into the development of public health policy and practice, both nationally and internationally, with a specific focus on health inequalities.

You will learn how measures can be formed to prevent disease and promote health, not only for the population as a whole but for particularly vulnerable groups. You will also obtain knowledge on how to follow up and assess such measures.

Career opportunities

Public health sciences constitute a good choice for anyone who wants to have a social science education to work with, for example, analysis, investigation, and measures at the municipal and county levels, strategic work within governmental agencies and in the private sector, health care, or international aid work.

As a public health scientist, you can work in municipalities and counties, governmental agencies and organisations, both in Sweden and internationally. Our education also offers a solid preparation for a career within research.

Courses and programmes

  • PhD studies

    Third-cycle education emphasises perspectives that shed light on how inequalities in health arise; how different life conditions and opportunities influence the health of individuals throughout their lives; and how structural factors, individual actions and biopsychological mechanisms jointly affect these processes. Public health policy and practice is also studied.

Degree

A bachelor’s degree in Public health sciences can be obtained through enrolment in our Bachelor's programme.

A master’s degree in Public health sciences can be obtained through enrolment in our Master's programme.

Both programmes are listed under Courses and programmes.

More information about degrees at Stockholm University

Research

The Department of Public Health Sciences conducts research within a range of areas, primarily in the field of health inequality, which revolves around systematic differences in health and survival between individuals and between socially defined groups, as well as issues related to alcohol, drugs, and gambling. 

The department hosts two research centers, CHESS (Centre for Health Equity Studies) and SoRAD (Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs).