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Global Health and Development MSc
This MSc takes a unique cross-disciplinary approach to global health and attracts students from a range of academic and professional backgrounds. Students can craft a programme of study that suits their interests and which will help them become better global health practitioners wherever they work in the world.
Key information
Programme starts
September 2018
Modes and duration
Tuition fees (2018/19)
- UK/EU:
- £10,140 (FT) £5,060 (PT)
- Overseas:
- £18,850 (FT) £9,290 (PT)
Application dates
Note on fees: The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Current Students website. Fees for flexible, modular study are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session.
Entry requirements
Normally a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Professional experience in the fields of health and development 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.
English language requirements
If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.
The English language level for this programme is: Good
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
International students
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.
Select your country:
About this degree
The programme challenges students to understand the complex forces that shape health worldwide, by developing their understanding of the principles underlying research, policy and practice in global health, fostering critical thinking, and building transferable skills.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of four core modules (60 credits), four optional modules (60 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits, nine months full-time, two to five years flexible study) is offered. Students take four core modules (60 credits) and four optional modules (60 credits).
A Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits, three months full-time, two years' flexible study) is offered. Students take four core modules (60 credits)
Core modules
- Concepts and Controversies in Global Health
- Research Methods and Evidence for Global Health
- Power and Politics in Global Health
- Health Systems in a Global Context
Optional modules
The Institute for Global Health reserves the right not to run modules with less than 10 students registered. It may not be possible to take your chosen optional module because of timetabling and capacity constraints. If in doubt, consult the programme administrator.
- Options may include the following:
- Anthropological Perspectives on Global Health
- Conflict, Humanitarianism and Health
- Climate Change and Health
- Disability and Development
- Economic Evaluation in Health Care
- Essentials of International Child Health
- Evaluating Interventions
- Global Health Promotion
- Health Management: Planning and Programme Design
- Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Global Health Policy
- Key Principles of Health Economics
- Law and Governance of Global Health
- Nutrition and Public Health
- Perinatal Epidemiology and Maternal Health
- Research in Action: the Qualitative Approach
- Collecting and Using Data: Essentials of Quantitative Survey Research
- Social Determinants of Health
- Urban Health
Dissertation/report
All MSc students undertake an individual research project on a topic relevant to future work in global health and development which includes a presentation and culminates in a dissertation of 7,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is taught with an emphasis on collaborative and co-operative learning to ensure that students enter the workforce capable of joining projects and programmes where working in teams is important. Assessment is through written assignments, unseen written examinations, projects, oral presentations, group work, and the written dissertation.
Funding
Home/EU applicants may apply for the IGH Postgraduate Bursaries
Applicants who are residents and nationals of an African nation may apply for an African Graduate Scholarship.
Applicants from the United States of America may apply for the UCLFAA scholarship
Applicants from developing Commonwealth countries may apply for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme.
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.
African Graduate Scholarship
- Value:
- Variable (1 year)
- Eligibility:
- Overseas
IGH Postgraduate Bursaries
- Value:
- £2,000 (1 year)
- Eligibility:
- UK, EU
- Criteria:
- Based on academic merit
Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS)
- Note:
- Now closed for 2018/19
- Value:
- Full fees, flights, stipend, and other allowances (1 year)
- Eligibility:
- Overseas
- Criteria:
- Based on both academic merit and financial need
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Careers
The programme equips students with the knowledge and transferable skills they will need in their future careers in global health. Career routes include research, programme management, policy advice and advocacy, at national and international levels, and in public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Recent career destinations for this degree
- Consultant, United Nations (UN)
- Health Care Change Manager, Bupa
- Project Manager, Medecins Sans Frontieres
- Quality Improvement Officer, Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN)
- Research Co-ordinator, IHI (Ifakara Health Institute)
Employability
This wide-ranging programme strives to create students who will be able to look at health problems from different angles and think analytically and critically – all key transferable skills in the job market. The diversity of approaches to global health taken by the programme helps expand students' employment horizons and options.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
Why study this degree at UCL?
UCL offers a multidisciplinary approach to studying global health. Students work alongside teachers, researchers and other students from a diverse range of disciplines and are taught by experts from several of UCL's faculties. These may include health policy specialists, economists, philosophers, lawyers, political scientists, geographers, clinicians, nutritionists, anthropologists, and epidemiologists.
We place particular emphasis on research-based teaching, and our academics use their current research as case studies.
The programme is taught with an emphasis on collaborative and co-operative learning to ensure that students enter the workforce capable of joining projects and programmes where working in teams is important. Assessment is through written assignments, unseen written examinations, projects, oral presentations, group work, and the written dissertation.
Department: Institute for Global Health
Student / staff numbers
› 46 staff
including 22 postdocs
› 96 taught students
› 9 research students
Staff/student numbers information correct as of 1 August 2017.
Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Institute for Global Health
81% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
What our students and staff say
"I am a researcher as well as a teacher and I am excited by the innovative role UCL is taking in placing our ground-breaking research at the heart of our teaching. As a senior clinical lecturer I split my time between working as a consultant in the NHS, teaching postgraduates, and conducting research in the sexual health and HIV field. I love teaching and my work, cross-disciplinary in nature, sits at the intersection between biology, politics, law, economics and health systems. "
Dr Maryam Shahmanesh
Global Health and Development MSc, Infection and Immunity MSc
UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care
"UCL Institute for Global Health is a unique multi-disciplinary environment. My research aims to improve women and children's health and nutrition in India. I collaborate with the Indian NGO Ekjut, and together we have examined the effects of participatory women's groups to improve maternal and newborn health in rural and tribal areas of eastern India. The intervention is now recommended by the World Health Organisation as an effective strategy to reduce neonatal mortality in rural settings where access to health services is low."
Audrey Prost
Global Health and Development MSc
UCL Institute for Global Health
Application and next steps
Applications
Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
Application fee: There is an application processing fee for this programme of £75 for online applications and £100 for paper applications. More details about the application fee can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.
Who can apply?
Graduates of this programme include students from more than 70 countries and from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds including development practitioners, medical doctors, nurses, researchers and non-governmental organisation workers. This increases opportunities to learn from other students' skills and experiences.
Application deadlines
- All applicants
- 11 July 2018
For more information see our Applications page.
Apply nowWhat are we looking for?
When we assess your application we would like to learn:
- why you want to study Global Health and Development at graduate level
- how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
- why you want to study Global Health and Development at UCL
- what particularly attracts you to this 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.
Contact information
- Mrs Paloma Garcia-Paredes
- igh.prospective@ucl.ac.uk
- +44 (0)20 7905 2646
Page last modified on 11 July 2018 by UCL Student Recruitment Marketing
