Global Health: Society, Culture and Behaviour MA

The Global Health masters curriculum addresses existing and emerging health challenges of the modern age and offers two pathways, a social-science focused MA as well as a data, natural and physical sciences focused MSc as an exit route. Both will equip you with sound knowledge and understanding to navigate to a career that will intersect with healthy environments and healthy people and shape our shared future.

Study Global Health: Society, Culture and Behaviour MA at Royal Holloway and you will examine how culture, behaviour and governance, as well as environmental economic factors impact human and environmental health, affecting us all. Global health is an area that has come into even sharper focus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has made more visible the need to understand the cultural and behavioural drivers of human and environmental health. Shaping the health of populations across our one world society has never been more important, calling for specialists with the knowledge and skills to build cooperation, innovate and influence change across boundaries.

The course will develop your ability to look beyond the immediate cause of ill-health to the underlying socioeconomic and environmental determinants. It connects knowledge to global health-related challenges and solutions. These solutions will be based around creative and flexible thinking and your interdisciplinary education will include experiential learning and placement-based trial and error experiences, alone and in teams, including interdisciplinary settings.

The Department of Health Studies is a hub for world-leading research, knowledge exchange and public engagement and you will be taught by international research leaders across a broad range of topics, with options to acquire real-world experience through projects and placements as part of an embedded approach to developing your employability and transferable skills.

You will benefit from individual attention, stimulating teaching to inspire and challenge you, and the flexibility to explore your own interests.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience, and this is particularly the case as we continue to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as we can.

We invite students from a wide range of social science and humanities backgrounds, from relevant careers or with related volunteering experience to be considered, whether they are coming from an undergraduate degree or returning to education following a career or other time out. Eligible backgrounds include Anthropology, Sociology, Economics, Geography, Health Science, Psychology, History, Political Science, Epidemiology, Genetics, Medicine and Healthcare, Development Studies, Urban Studies, Land Economy, Management and Conservation Studies and Environmental Science. Applicants coming back to education from a career should have at least 5 years work experience or volunteering experience in a related field. Students from other backgrounds should contact the course leader to discuss. Applicants coming straight from undergraduate studies will be expected to possess, or be expecting to attain, a UK 2:2 (Honours) degree or international equivalent in subjects listed above. Applicants coming back to education from a career, volunteering experience or other time out, should have at least 5 years’ work experience in a related field. Applicants with experience in other subjects, such as biology, agricultural science, biology, earth sciences or ecology, should contact the Course Lead to be considered, especially if they can demonstrate relevant training and/or professional vocational experience.