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Global Health Policy (Msc, Postgraduate Diploma & Postgraduate Certificate)

LSHTM

Is this course for me?

This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of health determinants and outcomes that transcend national boundaries, and the policy responses required to protect and promote population health in a globalising world. It is the world’s first Masters level course on global health policy by distance learning.

The course is aimed at students and professionals from both health and non-health backgrounds who seek to understand more about the policy environment associated with issues of global health. It will be of value especially to those who may be seeking to assume positions related to issues of global health policy in national, regional or global health organisations, health-related research institutions, non-governmental organisations and private consultancies.

Course summary

  You study Study period Cost (2012-2013)
MSc 9 modules plus a project OR 12 modules 2-5 years

£11,400
Postgraduate Diploma 8 modules 2-5 years £9,010
Postgraduate Certificate 4 modules 1-5 years £6,610
 Individual modules Studying individual modules is an ideal option if you wish to update your professional knowledge or sample the programme. The fee is £1,575 per module.

Course aims

By the end of this course, students will be expected to:

  • have established a solid foundation in various theories and practices concerned with global health policy
  • understand the emerging institutional structures and governance mechanisms to address global health issues
  • gain a good appreciation of relevant health policy research methods, such as comparative analysis and cross country learning
  • be able to apply these analytical and methodological skills to address the multifaceted challenges posed by global health issues.

Prestige

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is Britain's national school of public health and a leading postgraduate institution in Europe for public health, global health and tropical medicine. LSHTM won the Gates Award for Global Health in 2009, and received $1 million in prize money. The winners are chosen by a jury of international health leaders from more than 100 nominations from around the world, and the award is administered by the Global Health Council. LSHTM is both the first academic institution to win the award and the first British winner.

Excellent support

The course will be predominantly web-based and multi-media. There will be comprehensive study materials available through the internet, on CD-ROM and paper-based readings and exercises. There will also be email and web-based tutorial support, group discussions and conferencing facilities.

Other health-related distance learning programmes

We also offer the following LSHTM-led distance learning programmes in:

Summary of key dates

Application deadline 31 July
Registration deadline 31 August
Course starts October
Examinations take place June
LSHTM

MSc: Either 9 modules (4 compulsory core and 5 electives) plus a project report OR 12 modules (4 compulsory core plus 8 electives)
Postgraduate Diploma: 8 modules (4 compulsory core plus 4 electives)
Postgraduate Certificate: 4 compulsory core modules

Four compulsory core modules

The economics of global health policy
The politics of global health policy
Environmental change and global health policy
Issues in global health policy
Selection groups

Elective modules from group EPM1

Fundamentals of epidemiology

Elective modules from group EPM3

Epidemiology of non-communicable diseases

Elective modules from group IDM2

Immunology of infection and vaccines

Elective modules from group IDM3

Epidemiology and control of infectious diseases in developing countries

Elective modules from group IDM5

AIDS
Tuberculosis
Malaria

Elective modules from group PHM2

Analytical models for decision making
Communicable disease control
Environmental epidemiology
Environmental health policy
Health care evaluation
Medical anthropology in public health
Conflict and Health
History and health
  • All GHP modules successfully completed will be assigned 15 credits each; the project report will be assigned 45 credits.
  • For Postgraduate Diploma/MSc students, credit for one or two modules studied at LSHTM (blended learning study) may be allowed in place of one or two of the above elective modules, subject to module restrictions. An additional fee will be payable.
  • A t the discretion of the Examiners, students who have been examined in and have passed three GH1 modules may be permitted to proceed to elective module studies.
  • Note that restrictions and prerequisites may apply to some of the modules. 
LSHTM

How you study

You study independently, at a time and pace that suits you (subject to some course-specific deadlines), using the comprehensive study materials provided, with learning support from our academic staff.

We know that if you have a full-time job, family or other commitments, and wish to study at a distance, you will have many calls on your time. We therefore allow you between 1-5 years in which to complete the Postgraduate Certificate, and between 2-5 years in which to complete the Postgraduate Diploma or the MSc.

The study year runs from the beginning of October through to the June exams, during which time tutorial support is available. Students carrying out projects are assigned personal supervisors to support their project work throughout the summer.

The support you receive

  • a web-based conferencing system allows you to pose questions and engage in academic discussions with tutors and fellow students
  • teaching staff provide written, personalised feedback and advice on assignments
  • you can communicate with other distance learning students, either individually or by setting up your own learning support groups.

Study materials

You receive your study materials after you register. Study materials may include Subject guides, Readers, Textbooks, CD-ROMs/additional computer software (e.g. Stata), Past examination papers and Examiners’ reports, and Handbooks. You also have access to the school’s online library resources.

LSHTM

Fees

The fees given below refer to the 2011-2012 academic year and are subject to annual review. Fees may be paid in one of two ways:

EITHER, on registration, a single payment covering the registration fee and all module fees.
OR pay the registration fee, plus the fee for each module you are taking in your first year. Then, in subsequent years, you pay the fee for each new module you take.

2021-2013
Registration fee£ 1,050
Fee per core module£ 1,390
Fee per elective module£ 600
Fee for final project£ 1,790
Fee per individual module£ 1,655
Total Postgraduate Certificate£ 6,610
Total Postgraduate Diploma£ 9,010
Total MSc£ 11,400
ConvertGBP x 1

Note: the University reserves the right to amend previously announced fees, if necessary.

How you pay your fees

All fees must be paid in pounds sterling, which may be paid either by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Electron or JCB) OR by banker's draft, cheque or UK postal order, made payable to 'The University of London' and crossed 'a/c payee'.

Other costs

Besides the fees payable to the University, you should also budget for the fee levied by your local examination centre to cover their costs (if you do not sit your exams in London).

LSHTM

Assessment

Assessment varies from module to module but will include a combination of unseen written papers and written assignments. Details are given in the module specifications.

Examinations take place once a year in June (please note: it is not possible to hold examinations at other times of year). These are normally held in a student’s country of residence. We have examination centres in over 190 countries worldwide (for details please visit our Assessment and examinations Section.

They are arranged mainly through Ministries of Education or the British Council. Students taking examinations outside London will need to pay a fee to their local examination centre. Please note that if you fail an examination at the first entry you will be allowed one further attempt.

LSHTM

Academic Requirements

A second class honours degree or the equivalent, in a subject appropriate to the course, from a university or other institution acceptable to the University of London; and a minimum of one year’s relevant work experience.

Students who do not satisfy the above requirements may still be admitted at the discretion of the School on the basis of their academic qualifications, work experience and references.

Language Requirements

For awards at FHEQ level 7, students must provide satisfactory evidence showing that they have passed within the previous three years a test of proficiency in English at the following minimum level:

  • IELTS with an overall grade of at least 6.5 with a minimum of 6 in each sub test; or
  • TOEFL with a score of 600 of 250 on the computerised test plus a Test of Written English (TWE of at least 4.5); or
  • a test of proficiency in English language from the prescribed list published by the University.

Where an applicant does not meet the prescribed English language proficiency requirements but believes that they can demonstrate the requisite proficiency for admission the University may, at its discretion, consider the application.

Note: Some programmes will require greater proficiency in English language; these requirements will be reflected in the relevant programme regulations.

Computer Requirements

Online access and general computer requirements
As one of our students you need to have regular access to a computer and the internet; this may be for accessing the Student Portal, downloading course materials from the Virtual Learning Environment, and accessing resources from the Online Library. You will also need to have access to appropriate software, for example, a PDF reader and suitable hardware capacity on your computer, e.g. for document storage. Additional requirements include that you have JavaScript and cookies enabled to access particular online systems, for example, the Student Portal.

Supported Browsers include:
Internet Explorer 7+
Firefox 5+
Chrome 13+

Screen resolution (recommended)
1024 x 768 or greater

Certain programmes may have their own specific requirements, please refer to the relevant Regulations.

LSHTM

LSHTM - Health

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is the University of London's major resource for postgraduate teaching and research in public health and tropical medicine, as well as the leading postgraduate medical institution in these subjects in Europe. It has an international standing with a staff that has unique multidisciplinary and international experience.

This course has been designed by staff within the Department of Public Health and Policy.  This Department, which has a staff of about 150, carries out research in environmental factors and health, health policy, health promotion, and health services. The disciplines represented include medicine, epidemiology, nursing, pharmacy, statistics, operational research, history, economics, sociology, psychology and anthropology. In addition to the main activities in research and teaching, staff in the Department provide advice, consultancy and information on a wide range of public health and health care policy issues.

Academic leaders

Justin Parkhurst - BS, MPhil, DPhil.

Course Director, Health Policy in the Department for Global Health and Development

Justin is a Lecturer in Health Policy in the Department for Global Health and Development at LSHTM. He is a multi-discipilnary social scientist with a Bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters and Doctorate from the University of Oxford. His MPhil was in Development Studies, and his DPhil in Sociology and Social Policy, undertaking an analysis of HIV prevention policy in Uganda for his doctoral work. Justin joined the School in 2001.

At LSHTM Justin has worked on a number of international collaborative research programmes focussing on health systems development, HIV treatment and care, and most recently on the structural drivers of HIV/AIDS. His research has taken both sociological and political science approaches to study critical issues where public health engages with social and political forces – such as health seeking behaviour for childbirth, policy making for sexual behaviour change, or the use of evidence in policy.

Justin has been a long time seminar leader and lecturer on the in-house module Health Policy Process and Power, which he has organised since 2005. He provides other in-house lectures as well, and has tutored both in house and distance-learning MSc students.

Dr Andrew Harmer

Research Fellow in the Department of Global Heath and Development

A political scientists by training, Dr Harmer is interested in exploring synergies between the fields of Public Health and International Relations. His research interests include global health partnerships and initiatives, global health governance, globalisation and health. Dr Harmer is a Research Fellow in the Health Policy Unit (now the Department of Global Heath and Development) where he helps to coordinate the Global Health Initiatives Network (GHIN) - a network of academics researching the effects of global health initiatives on country health systems at national and sub-national levels.

Dr Adam Kamradt-Scott

Research Fellow at the School's Department of Global Health and Development

Dr Kamradt-Scott completed a Bachelor in Nursing degree in 1994 and worked as a Registered Nurse in Brisbane, Australia, between 1995 and 2002 specialising in emergency care. In July 2002 he completed a Masters degree in Asian and International Studies at Griffith University (Australia) before commencing work at the Mater Health Services as their Clinical Risk Management Coordinator. In September 2003 he commenced doctoral studies in international politics at Aberystwyth University that examined the World Health Organization's successful management of the 2003 SARS outbreak. In May 2007 he returned to Australia and commenced work as an adviser to an Australian Senator, before moving to the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to work on the Council of Australian Governments' Pandemic Exercise Programme 2008 (otherwise known as 'Exercise Sustain 08') that examined Australia's impact and recovery strategies to manage a widespread influenza pandemic. He commenced as Research Fellow at the School in February 2009.

Dr Kelley Lee

Academic staff, Centre on Global Change and Health

Dr Lee works in LSHTM's Centre on Global Change and Health. Her research career in public health over the past 18 years follows on from postgraduate training in international relations and public administration, and experience as a policy analyst on trade issues.

A doctorate on the global political economy of telecommunications provided the ideal background for researching the role of the United Nations in health development, as well as understanding the broader determinants of health. Her research over the past 15 years has shifted from international to global health. The latter concerns the increasing importance of health determinants and outcomes that cannot be confined to familiar spatial boundaries (notably national borders), thus challenging traditional approaches to how we protect and promote public health.

Dr Anne Roemer-Mahler

Research Fellow with the Politics and Policy Group

Anne Roemer-Mahler has a background in Political Science/International Relations and Development Studies. She holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Hamburg and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford. Her PhD at the Oxford Department of International Development investigates how conflicts of interest within the global pharmaceutical industry shaped policymaking on international standards for the protection of intellectual property (IP). As a Research Fellow with the Politics and Policy Group, she continues her work on how conflicts within the business community shape global governance, the political economy of the global generics industry, pharmaceutical IP regulation and access to medicines.

Professor Richard Smith

Academic staff, Department for Global Health and Development

Professor Smith has been a Health Economist for nearly 20 years, following undergraduate and postgraduate studies in economics at the University of York. Upon leaving York in 1991, he worked in Sydney, Cambridge, Bristol, Melbourne and Norwich, before joining the Health Policy Unit at the LSHTM in May 2007.

He is also an Honorary Professor of Health Economics at the Universities of Hong Kong and East Anglia. He has worked in a number of areas of health economics, such as the monetary and non-monetary valuation of health, health care reform and genomics. More recently his work has focused especially upon developing the application of macro-economics to health, the economics of globalization and health, and aspects of trade in health goods, services, people and ideas.

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MSc Global Health Policy - Course Overview

LSHTM academic Professor Richard Smith provides an overview for the distance learning MSc in Global Health Policy.