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Creative Health PG Dip

Gain the skills you need to become a sought after practitioner working at the interface of culture, nature, arts and health. The Creative Health course is the first of its kind in the world, and will enable you to be a changemaker in the rapidly changing health, social care and voluntary third sector. Taught at UCL, you’ll learn from renowned academics who are helping to shape the future of healthcare through the creative health field.

UK students International students
Study mode
Full-time
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£11,200
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£23,600
Duration
1 academic year
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in psychology, medicine/biomedicine, nursing and other allied health professions, sciences, arts, liberal arts, design-related humanities and social sciences. Professional experience in the fields of arts, culture and health, or social prescribing, is desirable. An applicant whose qualifications vary from UCL standards may be admitted if evidence of an adequate academic background and work experience in an appropriate field can be shown. Intercalating MBBS/BMBS applicants are welcomed provided applicants have an undergraduate degree (2:1 minimum or equivalent) in a relevant subject.

It may be possible to apply based on having completed three or four years of a medical degree programme; candidates wishing to be considered for admission in such circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis.

The English language level for this course is: Level 4

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

Following the introduction of the Creative Health MASc in September 2021, the Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) in Creative Health is the first of its kind and continues the postgraduate expansion of the Arts and Sciences department.   

The PG Dip seeks to address growing interest in the emerging field of Creative Health, with a focus on health equity, lived experience, community assets, research-led practice, non-clinical interventions (including social prescribing) and experiential learning. 

The PG Dip contributes to creating a new generation of socially engaged scholars and practitioners to meet the needs of a changing health, social care and voluntary third sector, where personalised care and the patient experience are mainstreamed into primary, secondary and community health. 

Who this course is for

This course will appeal to candidates who are passionate about creating a more socially inclusive society where arts, culture and the natural environment are central to supporting personalised care, tackling health inequity and improving the patient experience.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

There is a clearly identified need for more education and training opportunities for those interested in working at the interface of culture, nature, arts and health - see 'Creative Health Inquiry' by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW). This need is particularly acute given the very limited opportunities available for healthcare/arts/creative professionals, researchers or people from wider backgrounds interested in creative health to receive specific training.

To meet this need, the PG Dip in Creative Health offers a range of taught and research-led modules providing students with a detailed understanding of the depth and breadth of the field, including professional practice such as social prescribing, policy shift and research innovation, related to all aspects of socially engaged work across arts, culture, heritage, creativity, nature and the outdoors. 

Rt Hon. Lord Howarth of Newport CBE, Co-Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing:

"I am delighted to support the development of UCL's exciting new MASc in Creative Health which directly addresses Recommendation 8 in the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing's Inquiry Report `Creative Health': 'We recommend that the education of clinicians, public health specialists and other health and care professionals includes accredited modules on the evidence base and practical use of the arts for health and wellbeing outcomes. We also recommend that arts education institutions initiate… courses and professional development modules dedicated to the contribution of the arts to health and wellbeing' (2017, p.155)." 

The Creative Health PG Dip will primarily operate from the brand new UCL East Campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Apart from the fact that this means that students will have access to the most state-of-the-art facilities, spaces and equipment that the new campus brings with it, there are also a number of course specific benefits to working there. In particular, being a community engaged course, that relies to a large extent on collaboration with community partners – not least for the dissertation research – East London is an extremely exciting place to work. We have close knit relationships with leading creative health and wider voluntary and community sector organisations across the East London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. Moreover, the UCL East campus forms part of the East Bank development, a new cultural quarter for East London. This provides ample opportunity to collaborate and engage with the other cultural institutions that form part of the East Bank, including the BBC, Sadler’s Wells, UAL’s London College of Fashion and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). Having said that, the course will also retain a relationship with the Bloomsbury campus in central London, so students will be able to benefit from access to both of these locations.   

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

With our first cohort of students from the Creative Health MASc graduating in late 2022, we are slowly beginning to see their impact in the creative health sector. In particular we can see that graduates from across the suite of Creative Health courses are well placed to take up a position within health or social care, the arts, cultural and creative sectors, and community, local government, NGO, voluntary and third sectors. You can discover how our Alumni are shaping the future of Creative Health in the Cultural Health and Wellbeing Alliance Guest blog.

Employability

Graduates are likely to progress into a career in the wider area of creative health research or practice including, arts health/public health professionals (such as link workers/community navigators).

The attributes graduates can expect to develop through the course include: detailed knowledge of the depth and breadth of arts and health research and practice; communication and engagement skills focused on a personalised care model of community public health; critical skills in interdisciplinary thinking; confidence in developing and evaluating a range of creative health activities and interventions using a range of quantitative, qualitative and creative methods; skills in developing and sustaining community partnerships; confidence in navigating the UK health, social care and voluntary third sector in relation to social prescribing and other non-referral based arts and health programming. 

Networking

The course grants unique access to experts, practitioners and people with lived experience throughout. In particular two of the core modules Arts, Nature and Wellbeing and Lived Experience in Policy, Practice and Research contain a significant input from leading Creative Health practitioners. Through these connections, students to date have already been able to develop new opportunities for employment and directions of future work (including research). 

Teaching and learning

The course offers a range of blended, research and practice-led teaching including compulsory lectures seminars and practical workshops in conjunction with community partners, including Object-Based Learning, creative sessions, yoga therapy and green gym sessions, as well as Problem-Based Learning, mental wellbeing support and voluntary self-care sessions, such as stress busting object handling/drawing activities in the Object-Based Learning Lab/other UCL Museums. 

The course is taught with an emphasis on collaborative and co-operative learning to ensure that you enter the workforce capable of joining projects and programmes where working in teams is important. Assessment will include:

  • Written coursework and essays
  • Reflexive diary keeping in the style of a journal
  • Oral presentations
  • Digital outputs in the form of blogs
  • Conference organisation

Typical contact hours are around 12-15 hours per week in the First and Second Terms and around 2-5 hours per week in the Third Term. The remainder of the time is spent in self-directed independent study (around 35 hours per week in the First and Second Terms and 20 hours per week in the Third Term).

Core modules are taught across the First, Second and Third Term. Optional modules vary according to the host department and also run across the First, Second and Third Terms. The independent research project runs across the Second and Third Terms.

Modules

Students are required to take 120 credits in the following compulsory Level 7 modules (all worth 15 credits each unless otherwise stated):

  • BASC0030 Arts, Nature and Wellbeing: Non-Clinical Interventions in Health
  • BASC0051 Lived Experience in Policy, Practice and Research
  • BASC0052 Research Methods in Arts and Sciences
  • BASC0053 Approaches to Interdisciplinarity
  • BASC0054 Creative Health Independent Research Project (30 credits)
  • BASC0083 The Creative Health Lab  
  • 1 x 15-credit optional module

Compulsory modules








Optional modules







Philosophy, Politics and Economics of Health

Community Wellbeing, Health Inequalities and the role of Social Prescribing










Exploring Power, Inclusion and Exclusion with Local Communities


Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Creative Health.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Creative Health

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Join our Graduate Open Event for anyone who is interested in applying for the MASc in Creative Health at UCL. Come along to find out more and hear from the team and current students about this exciting course. Hear about the course content, about how students on the course learn and are assessed, and how students work with external community partners. There will also be an opportunity to ask your questions about the course and get some guidance on completing your application.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £11,200
Tuition fees (2026/27) £23,600

Additional costs

This course is based at the UCL East campus in Stratford. Students will need to fund their own travel between the Bloomsbury and UCL East campuses if any teaching for the compulsory or optional modules takes place at Bloomsbury. 

Additionally, there will be a small number of field trips, for which students will have to cover the standard Transport for London (TFL) travel fares (usually within zones 1-3). 

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

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 Creative Health at graduate level 

• why you want to study Creative Health at UCL 

• what particularly attracts you to the chosen course

• how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging course

• where you would like to go professionally with your PG Diploma 

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this course match what the course will deliver. Candidates with previous experience in the fields of arts/culture/nature and health, social prescribing or other aspects of health and social care are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Candidates whose qualifications vary from UCL standards may be admitted if evidence of an adequate academic background and work experience in an appropriate field can be shown.

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

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Arts and Sciences BASc
Arts and Sciences BASc

uasc-pg-admissions@ucl.ac.uk

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