Course summary
The MSc in Global Health Policy will enable you to understand current and future global health policy challenges, to critically question the interplay between knowledge, evidence, policy-making and power, and to design sustainable and equitable policy solutions. This interdisciplinary social sciences programme is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills you need for real-world global health influence. It combines theory and practical applications through a range of taught units and a policy evidence toolkit, and through independent work which may be either a dissertation or a work-based unit with a host organisation. You will learn about some of our most pressing transnational health and care challenges, such as pandemic response and preparedness, the health impacts of climate change and poverty, ageing, mental illness, food security, migration and health, and global increases in long-term health conditions. Research-rich units will encourage you to apply critical analyses of policymaking to global health case studies within and between Global North and Global South geographies. Teaching is led by staff who specialise in social and public policy, sociology, global governance, social inequality and poverty, political economy, and epidemiology. You may also be taught by guest lecturers who influence and make global health policy, and will have opportunities to develop campaigns, interventions and research projects that directly address key priorities in the field. You will gain insight into social science research design using qualitative/quantitative or mixed methods and learn how to evaluate data quality and relevance in different contexts. This learning is extended by your exposure to a toolkit of applied evidence approaches such as health impact assessments, realist evaluation and systems thinking – all of which are in increasing demand in the sector. If you choose to apply for the Work-Based Applied Research Project unit, you may have the opportunity to further embed these skills by working on a co-produced research-based project with a host organisation. The MSc Global Health Policy will also support you to develop communication, engagement, evidence interrogation, knowledge translation and co-production skills. This programme will provide you with the opportunity to examine the power dynamics of a fluid global sector of critical importance and to become the change-makers of the future.
Assessment method
The programme comprises six units plus a dissertation or work-based research project with a host organisation. Four of these units are core units and the other two units are chosen from a number of options. For the dissertation, you will carry out an extended piece of research on an approved topic which is assessed in the style of a draft journal article (up to 10,000 words). Alternatively, you can apply to take the Work-Based Applied Research Project unit.
Entry requirements
You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in a Social Science, Humanities, Clinical, Medical or Allied Health discipline. Other academic backgrounds may be considered on a case-by-case basis if you can demonstrate 12 months relevant experience as a policy maker, advocate, practitioner or researcher. If you are currently completing a degree, we understand that your final grade may be higher than the interim grades or module/unit grades you have achieved during your studies to date. We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree. We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing details of your relevant qualifications: evidence of 18 months relevant work experience in the Health arena as a policy maker, advocate, practitioner or researcher. a postgraduate qualification.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £18700 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £18700 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £18700 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £18700 | Year 1 |
| EU | £31800 | Year 1 |
| International | £31800 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Alumni discount
University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study.
Provider information
University of Bristol
Beacon House
Queen’s Road
Bristol
BS8 1QU