M.Sc. Health Science - Prevention and Health Promotion

The students will engage with the bio-psycho-social concept of health in great depth. The design of the M.Sc. program follows the WHO definition of health: "A complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Therefore the focus lies on health promotion and prevention.

This specialization is a result of the development of the public health system. Demographic changes, in conjunction with an increase in life expectancy, diseases of civilization, and mental abnormalities, present new challenges for employees in the health care sector.

The importance of both personal health and the strategic interventions involved will increase. This means development of strategies for strengthening of individual resources, healthy nutrition, and age-appropriate physical activity. This multidisciplinary concept includes gender and diversity aspects, and focuses not only on the individual but also on special groups, e.g. in companies. This master's program not only provides theoretical knowledge of the sciences of nutrition, movement and psychology, but also enables the students to work in interdisciplinary research projects with risk factors and patient groups with different diseases.

The course of studies consists of 5 central units:

1. Health Science Research
2. Research Methods
3. Applied Research
4. Complementary Subjects
5. Master´s Thesis

The first unit runs over two semesters and fosters a concept of health promotion that exceeds disease prevention by strengthening personal resources, as well as behavioral and environmental factors. Additionally, students can customize their studies in order to focus on a specialist area: "Physical Activity", "Nutrition", "Psychology", "Health Economics". These electives provide the students with methodological knowledge in natural science and sociological prevention research, and leads to practical applications in a scientific context in the following semester.

The second unit focuses on research methods. "Study Design; Ethics" provides a closer look at research and ethical guidelines from different scientific experts. The students will also enroll in "Advanced Statistics", "Qualitative Research Methods" and "Scientific Data Processing". This will provide a basis for students to conduct high quality quantitative or qualitative research in the field of health sciences.  

The third unit offers different electives. Besides theoretical lectures and methodological testing, the students are given guidance in going through all the steps of their research projects in project teams. Two of the following fields of research may be chosen:

• Cardiovascular/Metabolic Disorders
• Mental Health and Well-Being
• Cancer
• Neurological Health
• Economic Evaluations of Health Care Programmes
• Evaluation Methods in Public Health and Health Care
• Diversity, Inequality and Health
• Behavioral Science, Behavioral Change and Health

The fourth unit offers customized studies in curricular and extracurricular "Complementary Subjects". These subjects prepare students for different professional settings. This unit allows specialization in one professional context or the option of interdisciplinary courses.

The fifth unit is the master's thesis. The master's thesis carries 30 credits, and should be started after all modules from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd semesters have been successfully passed. Maximum processing time is 6 months. The M.Sc degree will conclude once the thesis is complete.

More detailed information on the individual modules can be found in the module handbooks, these can be accessed using the manual (German and English).

Graduates will be able to apply scientific knowledge to specific target groups and therefore contribute to a healthy society. Their interdisciplinary knowledge enables them to combine health promotion and prevention strategies for individuals and groups. The holistic approach of this program allows graduate's knowledge in health, nutrition, and psychology to be applied to socially relevant issues. Graduates will be able to choose, develop and foster customized strategies to increase resilience of the chosen target groups with respect to concepts of participation and diversity. They have the knowledge to develop, organize and implement best-practice concepts for health promotion involving social, cultural, and behavior-based factors.

Additionally, graduate's advanced knowledge in field and laboratory research will allow them to develop, implement, and critically evaluate study designs independently. Graduates will be experts in assessing costs, values, and efficiency of international health programs and feasibility studies. They are able to judge health concepts and programs while considering international quality standards. Their knowledge and experience will allow graduates to develop evidence-based approaches for enhanced health strategies while considering guidelines of good (clinical) practice and ethics. This approach can be adapted to different settings (e.g. kindergarten, companies), populations, and age groups. 

All information about the application can be found here.

General study documents

• General Academic and Examination Regulations for Bachelor's and Master's Programs (APSO)
• Collective amendment statute amending the English language certificate 7.02.2018
• Collective amendment statute M.Sc. commission 29.06.2020
• Collective amendment statute M.Sc. Commission 25.04.2018
• Information on recognition of examinations
• Application for Recognition of Examinations

• Information about the first semester
• Overview of modules in the elective areas
• Student newsletter winter semester 2024/25

Documents and information on the Master's thesis

• Registration Form for the Master's Thesis
• Guidelines for the Master Thesis for Health Science M.Sc program
• Master's Thesis - Instructions Upload (digital submission)
• Handout from TUM on Theses and Dissertations

Start of the study WS 2024/25

• Specialist examinations and study regulations (FPSO) - Readable Version 17.09.2024
  • Portal with the officially released versions
• Module Overview as of WS 2024/25

Start of the study WS 2022/23 and WS 2023/24

• Specialist examinations and study regulations (FPSO) - Readable Version 02.03.2022
  • Portal with the officially released versions
• Module Overview M.Sc. Health Science Start WS 2022/23
• Modular Structure M.Sc. Health Science as of WS 2022/23

Start of the study WS 2021/22

• Specialist examinations and study regulations (FPSO) - Readable Version 15.02.2021
  • Portal with the officially released versions
• Module Overview M.Sc. Health Science Start WS 2021/22
• Modular Structure M.Sc. Health Science as of WS 2021/22

Start of the study WS 2020/21

• Specialist examinations and study regulations (FPSO) - Readable Version 09.10.2019
  • Portal with the officially released versions
• Module Overview M.Sc. Health Science Start WS 2020/21
• Modular Structure M.Sc. Health Science as of WS 2020/21

Start of the study WS 2019/20

• Specialist examinations and study regulations (FPSO) - Readable Version 09.10.2019
  • Portal with the officially released versions
• Module Overview M.Sc. Health Science Start WS 2019/20
• Modular Structure M.Sc. Health Science as of WS 2019/20

Start of the study WS 17/18 and WS 18/19

• Specialist Examination and Study Regulations for M.Sc. Health Science - Prevention and Health Promotion (FPSO)
• Amendment statute FPSO for the winter semester 2017/18 from 30.06.2017
• Module Overview M.Sc. Health Science
• Modular Structure M.Sc. Health Science

Start of the study WS 16/17

• Specialist Examination and Study Regulations for M.Sc. Health Science - Prevention and Health Promotion (FPSO)
• Modular Overview M.Sc. Health Science - Prevention and Health Promotion

Please note that all current modules of the closed elective areas can be found exclusively in the study plan in TUMonline under "Elective modules" (there in the subordinate areas Health Science Research, Health Science Research II, Applied Research, Curricular Complementary Subjects, Extracurricular Complementary Subjects) (in time before course registration). Only the modules listed in the closed election catalogues can be submitted for the curriculum. The offer in the closed elective areas changes continuously. Therefore, please note that a regular offer of certain modules is not guaranteed. The currently offered modules are also displayed on an overview page.

Places for modules are allocated by lottery: there is no guarantee of obtaining places on a particular module. On the course management website you will find detailed information on the procedure for course registration (registration procedure, ...).