Global Health

Develop the expertise and research skills you need to create change, address inequality and improve health globally.

Climate change. Non-communicable diseases. Conflicts. Unfair healthcare provision. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), solving these urgent health challenges requires a coordinated effort from the global health sector, policymakers, international agencies, and communities. Could you be part of that solution?

Join us for a thought-provoking course that draws on the research and experience of our experts. Build the knowledge you need to reduce health inequality, inequity and injustice. Explore the measures needed to protect communities of the majority and of the marginalised from global threats such as conflict, economic crises and preventable diseases.

Is this course right for you? If you’re looking to make a real difference in the pursuit of health equity and global justice, we’ll help you better understand global health issues, policy and practices in the 21st century.

Some of our students have recently finished their undergraduate studies, while others already have a career in development, policy, education, research or humanitarian relief. You might be a policymaker, doctor, or other health professional, but you’ll also fit in if you have an interest in areas like economics, anthropology or philosophy and ethics.

Why St George's? Pick your level of study - We offer this course as an MRes, MSc, PgDip or PgCert. If you join us for the PgDip or PgCert, you can continue to the full master’s course if you change your mind.

Extensive research project - Spend up to four months (MSc) or eight months (MRes) on a project working alongside leading researchers, respected within their fields. Some students have also had their work published, contributing to intervention research, evidence syntheses and policy reviews.

International opportunities - Our students have completed global health projects around the world in countries including Cambodia and Sierra Leone.

Course content Global health is a highly interdisciplinary field. That’s why we’ve designed this course to help you analyse key global health challenges from a wide range of different academic and practical perspectives. To understand the problems we face today, you’ll also explore historical events and processes.

You’ll examine the socioeconomic and environmental changes and barriers that have created a fresh set of global health challenges. We’ll also discuss how strong international commitment, coupled with new scientific and technological advances, presents the opportunity to reduce the impact of global health disparities.

From migration to mental health humanities Our core and elective modules give you the expertise you need to understand, interpret and help solve critical global health challenges. Pick from modules exploring vital areas like migration and health, gender and sexuality, transcultural mental health humanities, and more.

If you take the MSc or MRes, we’ll also help you prepare to carry out a high-calibre research project. This includes providing support in areas such as risk assessment, research methodologies and data analysis.

Past research projects have covered the full spectrum of the discipline – from the assessment of mental health care provision in rural South Africa to an analysis of the narratives of women imprisoned in Afghanistan and Iraq.