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Global Business for Health MPhil/PhD

London, Stratford (UCL East)

This is the programme information for 2024 entry

If you require details of this year's programme, Global Business for Health MPhil/PhD (2025), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

£6,035

£3,015

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)

£31,100

£15,550

Duration

3 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

October 2024

February 2025

May 2025

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Prospective students should apply at least four months before their intended start date. If you require a visa we recommend allowing for more time.

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor’s degree and a Master's degree (including integrated Masters) in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required. Applicants who do not hold a Master's degree but who have extensive relevant work experience should contact the department: admissionsgbsh@ucl.ac.uk

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Healthcare needs to be sustainable and affordable for all, but it is also under strain across the globe. To address this challenge, the UCL Global Business School for Health, the world's first business school for health, offers a unique interdisciplinary environment, covering relevant topics from management to AI, to train exceptional students to tackle the most pressing issues healthcare is facing.

As a postgraduate research student, you enrol for a three-year PhD with the presentation of a thesis at the end of the third year. Students are initially registered for an MPhil, upgrading to a PhD subject to satisfactory academic progress.

During the programme, you will meet weekly with your supervisory team and needs for further training and support will be closely monitored, identified, and provided.

All postgraduate research students are expected to undertake 10 pro-rata days of skills training each year. This will include courses on research design and statistics, presentation skills and career planning.

This programme is delivered from UCL’s state-of-the-art bespoke facilities on our UCL East campus, on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. The UCL Global Business School for Health is situated in the Marshgate building with access to hi-tech teaching areas and collaboration spaces, a library, and a refectory.

Who this course is for

The UCL Global Business School for Health is looking for exceptional, motivated students that want to work in a world-class environment at the bleeding edge of healthcare research. Enthusiasm for healthcare problematics, intellectual curiosity and being able to work efficiently in a team are mandatory.

Read about what it takes to become a UCL graduate research student

What this course will give you

The UCL Global Business School for Health offers a range of research routes from purely quantitative to qualitative. This will prepare you to successfully pursue careers in research, healthcare management, consultancy and policy influencing or creating organisations with a focus on improving health outcomes.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

The range of expertise at the Global Business School for Health means our PhD programme can prepare you for a range of careers, including academia, policy development, and industry.

Employability

You will gain experience and cutting-edge knowledge in at least one area relevant to the provision and improvement of healthcare delivery, depending on the direction of your research. You will develop evidence-based problem-solving capacities drawing upon the most innovative methods, be comfortable working with a range of professionals and be exposed to both quantitative and qualitative aspects of research. You will develop a clear view of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare.

Networking

As a PhD student you will be an integral part of the department research force and you will be invited to staff events and staff lead activities and socials, including regular research seminar series. The school is in the process of setting up a new DBA health programme that includes modules that PhD students can audit.

You will be encouraged to participate in faculty and UCL wide events as collaboration between departments is strongly encouraged and PGR events are regularly organised at the faculty level.

Financial support is offered for the organisation of academic related student lead initiatives.

Teaching and learning

During the course of your PhD, you will have ample opportunities to develop your research and transferable skills:

Research and transferable skills development programme through the UCL skill development that offers courses specifically aimed at PGR students.
Audit the Doctorate in Business Administration modules, our other PGR degree that includes a taught component. These cover material from management to statistics.
Audit modules across the whole of UCL to acquire new knowledge beneficial to your research.
Acquire and improve your own teaching skills by being a paid Post-Graduate Teaching Assistant.

At the end of the three years you will submit a PhD thesis that is examined by two experts, one internal to UCL and one external, during a viva voce examination. They then assess whether the submitted work and the defence you provide fulfil the criteria for a PhD.

The PhD is a personal project, and it is expected that it will lead by the student and completed independently or within a collaboration group.

The frequency and length of the one-to-one interactions with the supervisory team are to be decided between the student and the supervisors but can be expected to be at least 1 hour every week/two weeks.

It is important to note that the students will be part of the life of the department and are expected to interact and learn not only from their supervisors but from all academics.

Research areas and structure

Our evolving UCL GBSH research themes:

Financial, operational and systems improvements in healthcare
Consumerisation of health and healthcare through digitalisation
Future of health work and the healthcare workforce

Find out more on the UCL GBSH website.

Research environment

The UCL Global Business School for Health has a Deputy Director for Research who will run bi-weekly research seminar series for staff and students.

We envision our PGR projects to be interdisciplinary and run collaboratively with other departments. Supervision will be provided from GBSH academics and possibly various Institutes from the UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences and academics and departments in other UCL faculties.

Similarly to the School, the UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences strongly encourages collaboration between the departments and integrating GBSH students into the wider faculty. The faculty also organise events for all PGR students, including Induction.

Financial support is offered for academic-related student-led initiatives that promote PGR integration in the school and across UCL. Events linking the Bloomsbury and UCL East campuses are encouraged including multi-day retreats for staff and students.

PhD students are integral members of the School’s research force and as such you will be invited to staff events and staff-led activities and socials.

The School is in the process of setting up a new DBA Health programme, part of which we will create the below modules that will be open to all GBSH MPhil/PhD students to audit as part of their knowledge and skills development:

Understanding Applied Research in Healthcare Management
Research Methods and Design
Data Analysis
Digital Health Research Methods and Tools
Health Systems thinking
Research and Co-Production with Patients
Communication for Healthcare Management

The School will have a dedicated budget for conference support of staff and research students along with a Graduate Tutor for research students.

: You will initially register as a MPhil candidate and should have your first upgrade attempt within 18 months of your start date. Students will need to submit a literature review, first draft of your upgrade report and a final draft of your upgrade report before the upgrade viva.

You will be required to complete at least 20 training points, equivalent to approximately 10 days pro-rata worth of training per year.
: The normal duration of the studies for part-time students is 5 years, with the upgrade viva from MPhil to PhD normally taking place between months 15 and 30.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£6,035	£3,015
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£31,100	£15,550

Additional costs

Additional fees can be requested to cover for fieldwork, equipment or anything else that may be needed for the PhD work to be completed. Generally, these costs will not be in excess of £10000 and are agreed, as well as their mode of funding, with the student prior to their enrolment in the programme.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

Prospective students are encouraged to contact members of staff, who can provide help and guidance to apply for scholarships and fellowships.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

Why you want to study Global Business for Health MPhil/PhD at graduate level
Why you want to study Global Business for Health MPhil/PhD at UCL
What particularly attracts you to this programme
How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
Where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Research Degree: Global Business for Health, Full-time

Research Degree: Global Business for Health, Part-time

Year of entry: 2024-2025