Programme approval 2008/09
PROGRAMME APPROVAL FORM
SECTION 1 – THE PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
1. Programme title and designation
Environmental Health
2. Final award
Award
Title
Credit value
ECTS
equivalent
90
Any special criteria
MSc
Environmental Health
180
Award
Title
Credit value
ECTS
equivalent
N/A
Any special criteria
N/A
N/A
N/A
Award
Title
Credit value
Any special criteria
60
ECTS
equivalent
30
PgCertificate
Environmental Health
PgDiploma
Environmental Health
135
67
Students take 3 x 15 credits
core modules (7SSG5134,
7SSG5139, 7SSG5143), 3 x
30 credits core modules
(7SSG5169, 7SSG5170,
7SSG5171), and 1 x 45
credit core dissertation
(7SSG5144).
3. Nested award
N/A
4. Exit award
5. Level in the qualifications framework
Taught modules, expressly
excluding the
Environmental Health
Dissertation (7SSG5144).
Taught modules expressly
excluding the
Environmental Health
Dissertation (7SSG5144).
M
6. Attendance
Full-time
Part-time
Distance
learning
Mode of attendance
N/A

N/A
Minimum length of programme
N/A
2 years
N/A
Maximum length of programme
N/A
6 years
N/A
7. Awarding institution/body
King’s College London
8. Teaching institution
9. Proposing department
10. Programme organiser and contact
details
King’s College London
Geography
Dr Christopher Day. Department of Geography
Room N215, Norfolk Building, Strand Campus.
Tel: 0207-848 1692.
E-mail chris.day@kcl.ac.uk
N/A
11. UCAS code (if appropriate)
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
12. Relevant QAA subject benchmark/
professional and statutory body guidelines
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s Core
Curriculum - 2003
13. Date of production of specification
December 2005; updated July 2008
14. Date of programme review
2015/16
16. Educational aims of the programme
To produce a Masters-level graduate who, upon completion of their practical training, may if they wish
proceed to professional qualification in environmental health with the academic and theoretical capabilities
to advocate appropriate interventions in response to various risks in a range of settings.
Graduates from the programme will have developed their core knowledge of the physical, biological,
chemical, social and psycho-social stressors encountered in Environmental Health practice, and, by
applying their analytical and discriminative skills to problems unfamiliar to them, offer reasoned
arguments for (and against) various interventions.
Graduates will be able to conceptualise problems in the context of risk, and suggest how they might be
further explored through the application of appropriate research methods, and by other means of rational
enquiry.
Graduates will be well-practised in considering problems drawn from Environmental Health practice, and
for each provide a technically feasible and legally rational solution, having regard to current codes of
practice and guidelines on good practice.
Graduates will have developed the skills of effective written and oral communication and will be able to
work effectively alone or as part of a group. They will have become accomplished in using information
technology for various purposes. They will also be able to recognise the importance of criticism and
evaluation.
17. Educational objectives of the programme/programme outcomes
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and
understanding and skills in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
The programme provides a knowledge and
understanding of the following:
1. the potential and realised impacts of a range
of hazards (‘stressors’) encountered in different
settings, particularly those for which the
Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) is
called upon to act.
2. the techniques and approaches to ‘risk’
assessment, and their application to the stressors
encountered in Environmental Health practice.
3. the intervention strategies available to protect
health in the areas of:
Housing
Occupational Health
Environmental Protection
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
These are achieved through the following
teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The teaching of the programme will employ
lectures seminars and tutorials delivered by
the lecturing staff, augmented by talks and
presentations given by visiting practitioners.
Students will be encouraged to contribute to
the learning experience of the group by
preparing material for delivery in seminars
and presentations, not all of which will be
assessed.
A number of lectures will be supplemented
with laboratory sessions, and the ‘food
inspection and judgement’ element of the
Food Safety & Inspection module
(7SSG5170) will be largely conducted in
Programme approval 2008/09
Food Safety
4. the relevance of ‘sustainable development’
and the ‘new public health agenda’ in the
development of health policy and strategy,
particularly those which influence
Environmental Health practice.
5. the importance of ethical and professional
issues and how dilemmas may be managed.
Also, the capacity to work with others to
formulate solutions.
demonstration rooms both in College and in
facilities operated by wholesale food markets
and / or those responsible for inspection
services.
Students undertaking their dissertations will,
in addition to receiving advice through
tutorials on protocol design, data collection
and analysis, be expected to develop their
understanding of their subject upon the
direction of their supervisor
Assessment:
Although there are circumstances where
knowledge and understanding can be
assessed discretely, it is desirable in a
practically- and professionally-orientated
programme to see them assessed alongside
skills. An integrated process is achieved by
using a mix of assessment methods from
formal examination to peer-assessed seminar
presentations. The summative elements of
coursework will include essays, short
literature reviews, laboratory reports and
individual and group oral presentations from
which detailed feedback will be given.
The Dissertation will be assessed on the basis
of academic scholarship and skill-based
competencies.
Point 5. Is assessed in all of the professional
modules of the degree but is assessed
specifically in Integrative Studies in
Environmental Health Practice module
(7SSG5139).
Skills and other attributes
Intellectual skills:
1. Ability to conceptualise problems in a
manner that will lead to the assessment of
the risk posed to health and the selection of
a suitable management intervention.
2. Ability to identify the hazards and
characterise the risks arising from complex
and multi-faceted environmental health
problems in advance of suggesting
managerial solutions, and, where these are
not forthcoming, enforcement options.
3. Demonstrate, through the completion of a
Dissertation, the capability of developing
research topic from the writing of a
protocol, through the investigative process
to the synthesis and interpretation of data
and culminating in a summary of findings
based on the data acquired
These are achieved through the following
teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The intellectual skills identified here are
largely developed through the
teaching/learning process outlined above,
though the role of directed reading must be
acknowledged as the fundamental source of
intellectual development throughout the
programme. The higher level skills implicit
in (1) and (2) opposite are practised through
the completion of ‘case studies’, particularly
in the Integrative Studies in Environmental
Health Practice module (7SSG 5139).
The Environmental Health Dissertation
(7SSG5144) is supported by an embedded
series of lectures and tutorials which will
seek to ensure that the intellectual skills so
derived exceed merely the writing of a report
based on the discovery and analysis of data.
Assessment:
The assessment of knowledge, understanding
and intellectual skills are, as far as possible
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
integrated and achieved by using formal unseen examinations and summative
coursework comprising essays, reports and
oral presentations. The special capacity of
assessing risks and selecting appropriate
intervention strategies will be assessed in
7SSG5139 exclusively through the
completion
of case studies drawn from naturalistic
settings, some permitting a degree of research
before the writing of a report (to be set as
coursework) and others which will be
examined under examination conditions
where the emphasis will be on recommending
the most appropriate course of action
As mentioned previously, the Dissertation is
assessed in accordance with the special
‘rules’ that apply to this module, with the
marks reflecting the demonstration of
academic scholarship and skill-based
competence.
Practical skills:
Ability to perform basic laboratory
microbiological techniques using growth media
to culture organisms, and to employ various
detection methods to identify and enumerate
organisms, including microscopy.
Ability to represent several key constructional
details of houses by producing sketches and
drawings in support of reports and schedules of
work.
Capacity to inspect various foods as they would
be presented at different points along the ‘food
chain’ in order to confirm their identity and to
pass judgement on their fitness and
wholesomeness.
These are achieved through the following
teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The Fundamentals in Environmental Health
Practice (7SSG5134) module, which includes
a laboratory session and a laboratory writeup (submitted formally but assessed
formatively)
The module The Living Environment (7SSG
5169) will require students to practise these
skills
This programme is required by the
professional accrediting body (the CIEH) to
include extensive instruction and
demonstration on food as a commodity.
This is covered in the module Food Safety &
Inspection (7SSG5170)
Be conversant with different methods of risk
assessment used in industry, and be capable of
criticising the efforts of others.
Management control and compliance in
occupational health (in Occupational Health
& Safety - 7SSG5171) and in food safety (in
Food Safety & Inspection - 7SSG5170),
provide opportunities to practice these skills
Fulfil the practical tasks required of a ‘field
researcher’, including the collection, collation
and analysis of data.
The Environmental Health Dissertation
module (7SSG5144) provides for these skills,
though these skills are also practised
elsewhere in the programme
The ability to design and execute an effective
presentation on various topics, both familiar and
not.
Emphasis is placed throughout the
programme on the need for EHPs to express
themselves clearly and effectively.
Accordingly, several modules provide an
opportunity to practise oral presentation
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
skills.
Assessment:
The assessment of knowledge and skills are,
as far as possible, integrated in this
programme, and so practical skills will be
assessed in the course of several modules
where reports and oral presentations must be
completed as part of the coursework
component. The one major exception is the
practical inspection of food where the CIEH
require a ‘stand-alone’ examination of onehour duration, which must be passed in its
own right
Generic/transferable skills:
These are achieved through the following
teaching/learning methods and strategies:
To communicate effectively in writing, through
the use of visual images and orally, both in oneto-one exchanges and in group presentation.
The programme was founded at King’s for
the purpose of developing the person, both
academically and in terms of their skills, to
seek qualification as an environmental health
practitioner (EHP). It is recognised that for
some, this means developing skills that will
have already been acquired in the students’
first degrees. These generic/transferable
skills are central to almost all of the modules
taught on this programme where they find
expression in essay writing, seminar
preparation, group oral presentations,
laboratory reporting, poster presentations, and
case study exercises
To become accustomed to working alone or as a
member of a team.
To become accomplished in using information
technology as a learning medium and a means of
manipulating data.
To be able to conceptualise problems in a way
that focuses on the risk posed to human health.
To recognise the value of criticism – both giving
and receiving.
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Assessment:
The assessment of knowledge, understanding
and intellectual skills are, as far as possible
integrated and achieved by using formal unseen examinations and summative
coursework comprising essays, reports and
oral presentations. The special capacity of
assessing risks and selecting appropriate
intervention strategies will be practised in the
modules – Occupational Health & Safety
(7SSG5171) and Food Safety & Inspection
(7SSG5170) and specifically assessed in the
Integrative Studies in Environmental Health
Practice module (7SSG5139) through the
completion of case studies drawn from
naturalistic settings, some permitting a degree
of research before the writing of a report (to
be set as coursework). Others will be
examined under examination conditions
where the emphasis will be on recommending
the most appropriate course of action, though
not always representing the role of the local
authority enforcement officer. Working
alone or as a member of a team is also
assessed in this module.
Programme approval 2008/09
As mentioned previously, the Environmental
Health Dissertation (7SSG5144) is assessed
on the basis of the demonstration of both
academic scholarship and skill-based
competences.
18. Statement of how the programme has been informed by the relevant subject benchmark
statement(s)/professional and statutory body guidelines
Although there is no specific benchmark statement and/or professional or statutory body guidelines
informing this programme, it is subject to accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
acting for and in conjunction with the Environmental Health Registration Board (EHRB). On 20th
December 2005 the programme was considered by a Panel appointed by the CIEH and it duly received
conditional accreditation for a period of 4 years. In so doing it satisfied the CIEH’s Core Curriculum
(revised 3rd April 2003).
Since the ‘Overall Objectives’ detailed in the Curriculum document explicitly point out that they are based
on the completion of an appropriate course of education and work-based learning, it is difficult to express
the discrete contribution of one with the other. However, the programme has been developed with the
‘learning objectives’ contained in the Curriculum document firmly in mind. The granting of accreditation
provides an endorsement to the programme’s general compliance with these, and points to it meeting the
‘essence’ of the Curriculum taken from Paragraph 2.3:
‘[The Curriculum]…encompasses: the study of the physical, social and human worlds with their interface
with the environment; the study of the ‘stressors’, their public health impacts and the identification and
implementation of appropriate ‘interventions for the purpose of eliminating, controlling or mitigating the
various public health impacts, and for identifying opportunities to promote health and ‘well-being’…[it]
requires the study of policy, strategy and management (in respect of a series of prescribed minimum
environmental health interventions), together with the in-depth study of significant interventions.’
The Environmental Health programme is considered to fit with the Geography Benchmark Statement
which recognises the value of finding different ways of knowing and understanding the world through an
inter-disciplinary approach, where problems are considered ‘holistically’. The purpose of the CIEH Core
Curriculum’s ‘Study in Depth’ is expressly to ‘facilitate the development of the holistic viewpoint’ (Para.
2.4(i)). The need for Environmental Health Practitioners to overcome ‘compartmentalism’ through intersectoral collaboration with their public health partners demands such an approach.
It is felt that the programme also meets the University of London’s guidelines on Masters-level
programmes in that students, inter alia, will have shown themselves ‘…able to deal with complex issues
both systematically and creatively…[showing] originality in tackling and solving problems.’
In looking ahead to the future, and in the knowledge that the CIEH is in the process of undertaking a
fundamental review of its ‘core curriculum’ (mid-2008), change is inevitable. However, by keeping the
programme under continuous review, and seeking authority to modify modules so that they meet the
demands of the profession and employers, we aim to keep King’s at the forefront of Environmental Health
teaching in the UK, without compromising academic standards.
19. Programme structure and award requirements (where relevant the information should also
differentiate the particular requirements of pathways within a programme or linked/exit awards)
The programme provides for a single route to graduation through part-time study over two to four
academic years. All course modules are core, though the student is free to choose the topic for their
Dissertation.
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
(a) numbers of introductory, core, compulsory and optional units to be taken in each year of the
programme
Year 1*
90 credits in total: 2 x 15 credit core modules, 2 x 30 credit core module
7SSG5134 Fundamentals of Environmental Health Practice (15 credits)
7SSG5169 The Living Environment (30 credits)
7SSG5170 Food Safety & Inspection (30 credits)
7SG5143 Research Methods and the evidence base for practice in environmental health (15 Credits)
Year 2*
90 credits in total: 1 x 15 credit core module, 1 x 30 credit core modules, 1 x 45 credit core module.
7SSG5171 Occupational Health & Safety (30 credits)
7SSG5139 Integrative Studies in Environmental Health Practice (15 credits)
7SSG5144 Environmental Health Dissertation (45 credits)
*Depending on efficiency needs for teaching, both year 1 and year 2 may be taught for the same module
during the same year. Therefore, this pattern may vary slightly, with students told at the beginning of the
academic year the path they will take during their two years. However, the balance will always be 90
credits year 1 and 90 credits year 2, with the dissertation always taken during the 2nd year.
(b) range of credit levels permitted within the programme
7
(c) maximum number of credits permitted at the lowest level
180
(d) minimum number of credits required at the highest level
180
(e) progression and award requirements (if different from the standard)
N/A
(f) maximum number of credits permitted with a condoned fail (core modules excluded)
N/A
(g) are students permitted to take a substitute module, as per regulation A3, 20.7?
No
(h) other relevant information to explain the programme structure
To be eligible for the awarded a Post-graduate Diploma (PG Dip) or Post-graduate Certificate (PG Cert),
students must pass sufficient credits from the taught modules in the programme, and so this expressly
excludes the Environmental Health Dissertation (7SSG5144).
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
Programme structure
Title
7SSG5134 Fundamentals of Environmental Health Practice
7SSG5169 The Living Environment
7SSG5143 Research methods and evidenced base practice in
environmental health
7SSG5170 Food Safety & Inspection
7SSG5171 Occupational Health & Safety
7SSG5139 Integrative Studies in Environmental Health
Practice
7SSG5144 Environmental Health Dissertation
Credit
level
Credit
value
Status (I, C, O) for each
type of programme
Progression
Single
honours
Yes
Yes
Yes
Joint
honours
Major /
minor
Joint
honours
Assessment
7
7
7
15
30
15
Single
honours
Cr
Cr
Cr
Major /
minor
7
7
7
30
30
15
Cr
Cr
Cr
Yes
Yes
Yes
Examination, essay
Examination, essay
Examination, case study reports
7
45
Cr
Yes
Research Protocol, report, paper
Examination, essay
Examination, essay
essays
20. Marking criteria
The College’s Generic Marking Criteria for Masters-level programmes will be used.
21. Particular features of the programme which help to reduce the barriers experienced by disabled students and ensure that the programme is
accessible to all students who meet the entry requirements
The programme is delivered in those parts of the Strand Campus that have disability access, but as the staff offices are in inaccessible locations office hours
are made available in other, accessible parts of the building as the need arises. As much of the content as possible is backed up by materials made available in
electronic form, to enable the application of reading aids.
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
PROGRAMME APPROVAL FORM
SECTION 2 – SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Not all of the information in this section will be relevant for all programmes and for some programmes this
section will not be relevant at all
1. Programme name
Environmental Health
2. If the programme is a joint award with an institution outwith the University of London has the
necessary approval been sought from Academic Board?
Yes
No
Not applicable
X
Please attach a copy of the request to Academic Board
3. In cases of joint honours programmes please provide a rationale for the particular subject
combination, either educational or academic
N/A
Which is the lead department and/or School?
4. If the programme involves time outside the College longer than a term, please indicate how the
time will be spent, the length of time out and whether it is a compulsory or optional part of the
programme N/A
Year abroad
Year in employment
Time spent …………………………..
Placement
Other (please
specify)
Compulsory/optional ……………………….
5. Please provide a rationale for any such time outside the College, other than that which is a
requirement of a professional or statutory body
N/A
6. Please give details if the programme requires validation or accreditation by a professional or
statutory body
Name and address of PSB:
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
Chadwick House,
15, Hatfields,
London
SE1 8DJ
Date validation/accreditation commenced: TBC
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012
Programme approval 2008/09
Date of last validation/accreditation: December 2009
Frequency of validation/ accreditation
At discretion of CIEH
Date of next validation/ accreditation TBC
7. In cases where parts or all of the programme (other than those in box 4 above) are delivered
either away from one of the College campuses and/or by a body or bodies external to the College
please provide the following details
N/A
Name and address of the off-campus location and/or external body
Percentage/amount of the programme delivered off-campus or by external body
Nature of the involvement of external body
Description of the learning resources available at the off-campus location
What mechanisms will be put in place to ensure the ongoing monitoring of the delivery of the programme,
to include monitoring of learning resources off-site or by the external body?
Please attach the report of the visit to the off-campus location
PAF Approved by QA&AA: 17th March 2009
PAF modified by ASQ re: exit awards: 25 May 2010
PAF finalised for 2010/11: 23 September 2010
PAF finalised for 2011/12: 28 October 2011
PAF finalised for 2012/13: 17 August 2012