The MPhil/PhD programme we offer at the Institute for Global Health is relevant to a variety of disciplines across the field of global health.
The postgraduate research degree programme we offer at the Institute for Global Health is relevant to a variety of disciplines across the field of global health. Our programmes aim to provide interesting, challenging and excellent training for exceptional students so that they may successfully pursue careers in research, medicine, health services, laboratory science, policy, or public health. MPhil/PhD research in IGH is varied and may have an international dimension, including field work carried out abroad, setting up a study within the UK, or using data from existing studies working with the respective IGH-based Principal Investigator.
The MPhil/PhD programme lasts three years, if taken full-time, or five years if part-time. With the support of their supervisory team, students finalise their research proposal during the first year, informed by the current literature and practice. It may also require collection of preliminary data or pilot questionnaires. Students are initially registered for an MPhil, upgrading to a PhD, subject to satisfactory academic progress. For a successful upgrade to PhD, the student must prepare a written report, give an oral presentation and pass an oral examination.
Postgraduate research degrees students investigate a relatively narrow topic but may be examined on a broad field of study. Where students need to spend periods of time collecting data from overseas, that will contribute directly to their thesis, they may do so provided their study leave plans are approved in advance.
All postgraduate research students are expected to undertake 10 days of skills training each year over their 2-5 year programme, which is logged and audited electronically. This will include, for example, courses on research design and statistics, ethical and legal issues, presentation skills, thesis production and career planning.
For the MPhil/PhD degree, applicants must have a minimum of an upper second-class (2:1 or better) Bachelor’s degree and a Master's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applications from individuals who do not hold a Master's degree, but who have extensive relevant work experience, may also be considered.
- How to apply
If you would like to apply to undertake a postgraduate research degree at IGH, you first need to identify a suitable supervisor. Information on our research areas and supervisors can be found here. Contact academics whose subject areas align with your project and interests, and include a 3-4 page research proposal. You may also find it helpful to examine the Degree topics section, where you will find examples of the PhD and MD(Res) topics of current and past students. Before making an enquiry or applying, please read this document carefully. Once an academic has agreed to supervise you, please submit a formal online application to UCL for consideration. This must include your research proposal. The Departmental Graduate Tutor will arrange for the proposal to be reviewed by 2-3 independent academics, and an offer of a place will be made subject to these reviews, as well as the suitability of your academic background and writing skills.
In your application (and any enquiry) please provide clear details about your funding status. If funding is not in place, be clear about your plans for funding applications and any timelines involved in knowing the outcome of these. Please also state if your proposed study plan includes periods of time spent overseas collecting study data (you should consult UCL's study leave regulations prior to setting out your study plan).
For your information, please see the UCL website for information on tuition fees and living expenses whilst in London.
You should also check the general entry requirements for Graduate Research Programmes, Information by Country, where applicable.
For English language requirements, please also see the English Language Requirements page. Please note that the IELTS requirement for enrolling on a postgraduate research degree programme at IGH is “Good”, i.e. an overall grade of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the subtests.
Once we have received your application and your project proposal has been reviewed, we will be in contact as soon as possible to let you know the outcome. In the meantime, if you have any queries not addressed here please contact our Teaching Administrator.
- Degree topics of our current students
Below are the research degree topics from current students:
- Examining the influence of Colombia’s public health response to Zika on constructions of gender and disability
- An exploration of common mental disorder among adolescents living with HIV who have experienced pregnancy
- Designing a Health Care Quality Management Framework and Hospital Performance Assessment Framework to Improve the Quality of Health Care Services in Enugu State, Nigeria.
- The neonatal gut microbiota and its association with respiratory disease in the first 5 years of life.
- Time Use and Inequalities in Health Investment.
- Understanding the impact of alternative sentencing and community mental health interventions on the incarceration and outcomes of women.
- Understanding perceptions of migration transit and identity (trans)formation of unaccompanied migrant minors in Mexico.
- Use and outcomes of modern combination antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive persons.
- An individual-based mathematical model simulating maternal and perinatal health and healthcare provision in Malawi to estimate the impact of improved healthcare provision on morbidity, mortality and Disability Adjusted Life Years.
- How can financial risk protection be modelled within the context of defining health benefits packages?
- Public health externalities of conditional cash transfers: a case study of Colombia's Familias en Acción.
Several of our PhD students are based within the Health Protection Research Unit in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
- Degree topics of recently completed students
- Alsabah, Abdullah Meshal Mubarak Abdullah A (2021) How will current health spending in Kuwait meet the demands of a changing epidemiological and demographic landscape? A study exploring ways to improve the efficiency of health spending in Kuwait. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Amele, Sarah (2021) HIV/HCV co-infection in EuroSIDA. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Asad, Hibo (2020) Health outcomes following transition from paediatric to adult care among young people with HIV in the UK. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Bagkeris, Emmanouil (2021) A study of frailty, falls, bone mineral density and fractures among HIV-positive and HIV-negative controls in England and Ireland, the POPPY study. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Bentley, Abigail Bose; (2020) “Beyond Black and Blue” Intimate Partner Violence as a form of Family Violence Against Women and Common Mental Disorders in Mumbai informal settlements. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Bhatia, Komal; (2019) Infant and young child growth and nutrition in urban informal settlements in Mumbai, India. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Blanchard, Andrea Katryn; (2019) A mixed-methods study to understand the influence of community health workers’ home visits on equity in perinatal health in Uttar Pradesh, India. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Croxford, Sara Evelyn (2020) Linkage to care following HIV diagnosis in Europe. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Curtis, Tyrone (2022) An investigation of the sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behaviour, sexual and wider health, and health needs of men who have sex with men (MSM) who identify as heterosexual using data from probability and convenience sample surveys from around the world. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- De Francesco, Davide; (2020) Assessing comorbidity burden, ageing and cognitive impairment of people living with HIV. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Ekram, Rakan; (2022) A policy analysis of Saudi Arabian healthcare system' diabetes prevention programs. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Fakoya, Ibidun Omolola; (2018) Treatment as prevention for migrants in Europe: an examination of HIV testing and access to treatment and care. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Francis-Graham, Seth; (2020) Testing behind bars: A mixed-methods realist evaluation of opt-out blood-borne virus testing and associated pathways of care within London prisons. Doctoral thesis (ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Greenberg, Lauren; (2022) Use and outcomes of modern combination antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive persons. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Hatherell, Hollie-Ann; (2020) How can we use whole genome sequencing and mathematical modelling to understand tuberculosis transmission and inform our public health practices? Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Johal, Gurnam; Exploring determinants of overweight and obesity in South Asians in England - A Mixed-Methods Approach. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Li, Xiaoyun; (2022) Obesity in School-Aged Children in China: Exploring Parents' and Grandparents' Perceptions to Inform Policy. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Mitchell, Holly Diana; (2020) Identifying and characterising sexual transmission of enteric pathogens in men who have sex with men using classical and molecular epidemiological methods. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Ni, Yanyan; (2018) Child discipline and maltreatment in Zhejiang Province of China: perceptions, risk factors, experiences and impacts. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Parrish, Rebecca; (2022) An investigation into the impacts of climate change on population migration patterns and associated health and social indicators. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Rein, Sophia; (2022) Predictors of clinical events and hospitalisations in people living with HIV in the modern ART era: Impact of gender, sexual orientation and other factors. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Sewell, Janey; Attitudes to and Understanding Risk of acquisition of HIV over Time (AURAH2). Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Shand, Tim John Cairns (2021) Opportunities, challenges and countervailing narratives: Exploring men’s gendered involvement in contraception and family planning in Southern Malawi. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Strachan, Daniel Llywelyn; (2019) Ugandan community health worker motivation: using the Social Identity Approach to explore an accepted constraint to scaled up health strategies. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Town, Katherine Jane; (2019) Exploring the application of whole genome sequencing to inform the control of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Winter, Joanne Rebecca (2018) HIV and tuberculosis co-infection in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Prevalence, risk factors and transmission. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Yargawa, Judith; (2019) Maternal Morbidity in Northern Nigeria: Perceptions, Care-seeking and Measurement within Community Settings. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
- Zamawe, Collins Owen Francisco (2020) A Multimethod Examination of the Motives and Effects of Herbal Medicine Use During Pregnancy. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
- Useful links and downloads
Guidance on writing a project proposal
Guidance on how to contact potential supervisors
Find a supervisor
IGH staff
Why study at UCL?
Global Health MPhil/PhD
Information on PhD fees, costs and funding
Information about scholarships and bursaries
Details on qualification and English language requirements
UCL Graduate Prospectus
IGH PhD student blog