The details
Location: Online Mode of study: Part-time Qualification: Online professional course (20 credits) Study duration: 13 weeks
Start date: Awarding body: University of Essex Delivered by: Kaplan Open Learning For queries: Call +44 (0) 1206 489 358

Demonstrate your understanding of global infection prevention in this thought-provoking online professional course.  

You’ll analyse deliberate, man-made, and natural infection outbreaks in community and hospital environments, assess the impact on society, and learn how to mitigate the risk of recurrence. 

You’ll cover a range of interesting topics, including: 

  • disease epidemiology 
  • migration and communicable disease 
  • measuring the global disease burden 

At the end of the course, you have the opportunity to study one of our popular postgraduate courses.  

  

Why we’re great 

  • Develop a strong understanding of communicable diseases policy.  
  • Strengthen your analytical and critical thinking skills.   
  • Study 100% online, part-time around your commitments.   
  • Gain certification from the University of Essex, a top 30 UK university (Complete University Guide 2025).   
  • All modules are taught by experienced subject experts and industry leaders. 

You’ll study the following topics as part of the online professional course: 

  • the impact of communicable diseases on public health  
  • global communicable disease burden  
  • the impact of global communicable diseases on society  
  • measuring global disease burden  
  • communicable disease in the global perspective  
  • migration and communicable disease  
  • communicable disease epidemiology  
  • surveillance methods  
  • outbreak management  
  • communicable diseases policy  
  • communicable disease control in the community 
  • contemporary communicable disease challenges 

Teaching methods 

Studying online gives you the freedom to complete your qualification when and where it suits you – at home, during your lunch hour or in a café. 

Our online professional courses are delivered through a virtual learning environment (VLE) instead of a traditional campus. This means you’ll have access to your study materials 24/7, including: 

  • multimedia lecturecasts made up of written content, short videos, animation, audio recordings, infographics, short tests and mini-assignments 
  • discussion forums for you to chat about the module content with fellow students 
  • live Q&A sessions with your tutors 
  • a comprehensive eLibrary of textbooks and academic journals 
  • support from academic staff and your dedicated Student Support team 

To ensure you receive high-quality tutor support, each class is capped at 20 students. 

 

Assessment methods 

You’ll be assessed exclusively through assignments. These include assessed discussion forums, written assignments and journal entries. 

We’re committed to providing frequent and transparent feedback in the following ways: 

  • our assessment criteria are designed to be simple and transparent 
  • you’ll always be aware of your current provisional grade, right from the start 
  • you’ll be able to clearly view your marks in your gradebook whenever you log on to the learning platform 
  • there’s a seven-day turnaround for marking and feedback of assessed work 
  • you’ll have regular contact with your Student Support team, with whom you can discuss any concerns as soon as they arise 

  

Study duration 

Our Communicable Disease Control online professional course has a study duration of 13 weeks, including a one-week induction to help you settle into online study. 

The Communicable Disease Control online professional course offers a whole host of opportunities. This will be beneficial whether you’re looking to climb the career ladder or take the first step into healthcare – helping you stand out amongst the competition. 

If you wish to continue your studies and boost your prospects, you could choose additional health online professional courses. Alternatively, you could progress onto one of the following postgraduate certificates (60 credits), postgraduate diplomas (120 credits) or full Masters degrees (180 credits): 

Please note, acceptance on to a postgraduate qualification is subject to meeting the entry requirements of your chosen programme. 

No formal qualifications or experience is necessary.  

As our courses are delivered in English, a high proficiency of English is required. If English isn’t your first language, your ability should be equivalent to an IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5. Don’t worry if you don’t hold an IELTS or equivalent qualification – we offer a free online English test to assess your proficiency.  

You don’t need to prove your English ability if you’re a national of, or have completed a qualification equivalent to a UK degree in, any of these countries. 

Full tuition fee:
£1,386 UK / £1,455 International (2024-25) Δ
 

  • Our online professional courses are fully inclusive – all teaching materials and required reading are included. 
  • Alumni discount of 10% of the tuition fee available if you’re a previous graduate with the University of Essex or University of Essex Online.   
  • We offer a 14-day moneyback guarantee, so if you decide your course isn’t for you during the first 14 days, we’ll give you a full refund. Terms and conditions apply. 

Δ All tuition fees shown are net of any applicable sales tax payable by you in your country of residence. Where we are required to add sales tax at the local statutory rate, this will be added to the tuition fees shown and confirmed during the payment process. 

Subject specialists, industry authorities and experienced academics: the tutors who teach on our Digital Communicable Disease Control online professional course are experts in the business field.

What our students say

testimonials

Josephine Arthur Amoah -MSc Infection Control

I'm studying to push myself further. I’ve been a qualified registered general nurse since 2010, working across various healthcare settings, and became an Infection Prevention and Control Nurse (IPCN) in 2018. While in this role, I wished to become a specialist in my field and started looking into studying a Masters. The decision to study at Masters level didn’t come lightly, since I’d be juggling my course with working full-time, being a mum and running my own part-time business. However, I realised the course would be hugely beneficial to both my personal and professional development. In fact, when I began a new role in 2021 I was asked to pursue a Masters degree! While doing my research, I found that only a handful of universities offered MSc Infection Control for online study. I decided to study<img class="size-medium wp-image-23352 alignright"...

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