Global Health and Infectious Diseases

This programme focuses on global health through the lens of infectious diseases. By the end of the MSc in Global Health and Infectious Diseases, you will have gained a comprehensive understanding of how infectious diseases impact health systems, societies, and global development.

You will explore key topics, such as:

• epidemiology
• global health policy
• climate change
• emerging diseases
• zoonoses
• sustainable approaches to global health
• maternal and child health
• disease surveillance

Through compulsory and option modules, you will develop:

• critical thinking
• innovative approaches
• data analysis
• academic writing
• project management skills

The final dissertation allows you to apply your learning to a real-world issue aligned with your interests, local context or career. This programme equips you to contribute meaningfully to international global health, research, and policy.

Year 1 (Postgraduate Certificate)

Year 1 of the programme aims to develop your knowledge of key issues in global health. During this year, you will build skills to critically evaluate research and develop your understanding of global health as it relates to infectious diseases. 

You will be introduced to a wide range of resources that provide evidence and context for the influence of infectious diseases on every facet of our daily lives. We will work with you to develop your communication skills, critical analysis skills and build confidence in academic writing and discourse.

You will take courses, such as:

• Global Health: Fundamentals
• Understanding Infectious Diseases
• Applied Epidemiology and Public Health

Interaction between students, course organisers and tutors will build critical scientific analysis skills that provide a foundation for future work and study.

Year 2 (Postgraduate Diploma)

In Year 2, you can tailor your learning to specialise in your own areas of interest. We offer a range of 5-week option courses, providing you with the opportunity to specialise.

You will choose 60 credits from a range that may include:

• An introduction to vaccinology
• Climate change and infectious disease
• Emerging infectious diseases
• Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis
• Neglected tropical diseases
• Newborn and child health
• Project management of development aid
• Reproductive and maternal health
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Technological advances in diagnostics
• The nexus of food security and global health
• Travel medicine and infectious diseases
• Water and Sanitation
• Zoonotic disease
• Zoonotic diseases in a global setting

Option course availability is subject to annual academic review and demand.

Year 3 (Master of Science)

Year 3 gives you the opportunity to research original and creative responses to a challenge of your choosing in the form of a dissertation project. You will conduct a written reflective element of 10,000 to 15,000 words.

Many students choose projects that are directly linked to their current professional work, and may go on to publish their findings or utilise these in their own career development.