Masters Public Health in Developing Countries MSc

All PHDC students have substantial experience of planning or implementing public health programmes, of teaching or research in developing countries. We build on this experience throughout the year and emphasise the importance of peer-to-peer learning through student-led seminars and study groups.

Graduates from this course work in global health, health service management, in health programmes in developing countries, in international and national NGOs, and in research. In addition to MSc Public Health in Developing Countries, other MSc courses at LSHTM may be relevant and applicants should review the relevant pages of this website: 1) MSc Public Health - for those with an interest in public health in mainly high and middle income countries; 2) MSc Control of Infectious Diseases - for those with a particular interest in infectious disease control; and 3) MSc Epidemiology - for those with a special interest in epidemiology.

Objectives

By the end of the course students should be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of theory and practice in the core public health disciplines - epidemiology, statistics, social sciences, health policy and health economics;
• demonstrate specialised knowledge and skills in other areas relevant to public health from a wide range of options (e.g., primary health care, medical anthropology, epidemiology and control of malaria, and population studies);
• apply these skills to identify and assess public health problems in developing countries and evaluate actions designed to improve public health;
• formulate public health strategies and approaches to public health problems appropriate to a given culture and environment;
• apply appropriate research skills for evaluation and use of research findings.

Programme specifications - This links to a document showing which elements of the Course support and achieve each objective.

Residential Field Trip

During the orientation period at the start of Term 1 students and staff go on a retreat outside London. Students develop a sense of group coherence, learn about each other's professional background and experience, and spend some social time together.

There is a second retreat after the June examinations. Students, course directors and personal tutors relax, look back over the year and complete a course evaluation.

There is an initial, compulsory, one-week orientation period that includes an introduction to studying at the School, sessions on key computing and study skills and also a two-day residential field trip. After the orientation period, students take a series of compulsory modules and can choose from additional recommended modules.

Compulsory: Extended Epidemiology; Health Policy, Process and Power; Introduction to Health Economics; Principles of Social Research; Statistics for Epidemiology and Population Health; Introductory lectures on Public Health in Developing Countries (PHDC) and PHDC Student Seminars.

Recommended: Public Health Lecture Series.

Terms 2 and 3

Students take five study modules, one from each timetable slot. The recommended options are given below, followed by further optional modules. 

C1 Recommended options: Designing Disease Control Programmes in Developing Countries; Economic Analysis for Health Policy; Epidemiology & Control of Malaria; Health Care Evaluation; Maternal & Child Nutrition; Study Design: Writing a Study Proposal. Further optional modules: Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco; Health Promotion Approaches and Methods; Research Design & Analysis.

C2 Recommended options: Conflict & Health; Design & Analysis of Epidemiological Studies; Family Planning Programmes; Health Systems; Statistical Methods in Epidemiology. Further optional modules: Analytical Models for Decision Making; History & Health; Population, Poverty & Environment; Qualitative Methodologies.

D1 Recommended options: Current Issues in Safe Motherhood and Perinatal Health; Economic Evaluation; Medical Anthropology in Public Health; Tropical Environmental Health. Further optional modules: Communicable Disease Control in Developed & Middle Income Countries; Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases; Modelling & the Dynamics of Infectious Diseases; Nutrition in Emergencies; Social Epidemiology; Sociological Approaches to Health; Spatial Epidemiology in Public Health; Vector Sampling, Identification & Incrimination.

D2 Recommended options: Epidemiology and Control of Communicable Diseases; Ethics, Public Health and Human Rights; Globalisation and Health; Reviewing the Literature. Further optional modules: Environmental Epidemiology; Organisational Management; Population Dynamics and Projections; Sexual Health.

E Recommended option: Applying Public Health Principles in Developing Countries. Further optional modules: Advanced Statistical Methods in Epidemiology; AIDS; Control of Reproductive Tract Infections/Sexually Transmitted Infections; Integrated Vector Management; Nutrition Programme Planning; Proposal Development.

Further details for the course modules can be found here.

Project Report

Students complete a research project and prepare a written report on an approved subject of their choice. This may entail analysis of work done by the participant before the course, writing a proposal for a study to be carried out on completion of the course, or a critical review of the literature on a relevant subject. Fieldwork may also be undertaken as the basis for this report. Students undertaking projects overseas may require additional funding to cover costs and this must be obtained by the student concerned. The project completion date is late August or early September.

There are three components of the assessment for the MSc: examinations, module assessments and a summer project.

1. Examinations (60 credits)

All students on MSc PHDC also sit Paper 2 which brings together material from all the taught modules and examines students' overall understanding of Public Health in Developing Countries.

2. Module Assessment (75 credits)

In terms 2 and 3 students take five modules. The assessment of each module is designed by the module organiser and varies between modules. It may be writing a research proposal, investigating a disease outbreak, an MCQ, designing an academic poster and analysing a dataset. 

 3. Summer Projects (45 credits)

Each student is required to complete a summer project of up to 10,000 words. The project can take the form of a literature review, analysis of a dataset, a policy report or a study protocol. The project is an independent piece of work, but students have contact with their supervisors who guide them in this work and can review each chapter of the project once only.

Entrance Requirements

Applicants must normally satisfy LSHTM’s general entrance requirements and additional programme specific entrance requirements to be considered for admission. Applications must be submitted in accordance with the procedures and deadlines given in the web-based or printed prospectus.  

The normal minimum entrance qualification for registration is at least a second-class Honours degree of a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, or a registerable qualification in medicine, dentistry or veterinary studies appropriate to the programme.

Applications with an appropriate technical qualification, or equivalent qualification and experience from overseas, are also welcomed.

Additionally for the MSc Public Health in Developing Countries successful candidates are expected to have lived in a developing country and worked in activities related to public health for a minimum of two years.

Any prospective student who does not meet the above minimum entry requirement, but who has relevant professional experience, may still be eligible for admission. The Registry can advise on eligibility to apply in such cases.

Application for London-based Study

Applications can be made online by using the following links:

• MSc Public Health in Developing Countries 2013/4 (Full time)
• MSc Public Health in Developing Countries 2013/4 (Part time)
• MSc Public Health in Developing Countries 2013/4 (Split study)

Alternatively, applications can be downloaded here:

Masters Courses

Applicants wishing to be considered for School scholarships are advised to apply by 1 March 2013. Please note that this is not a closing date. Although we accept applications all year round, other applicants are also advised to apply before this date as courses can become full rapidly. While early application is encouraged, late applications are always considered until all places on the course have been filled. All applicants should be able to start the course on the first day of the academic year, 30 September 2013.

All Masters courses are offered on a part-time basis over two years. Students interested in part-time study should contact the appropriate Course Organiser, via the Registry, to discuss course requirements and likely timetables, and should read the Masters degree information.

There are two ways of undertaking part-time study:

1) attending part-time throughout the two years: Students need to be available for up to four or five half days every week for 27 weeks per year. Evidence may be required to prove that applicants are able to commit this minimum period of time to their study

2) attending full-time for modules in the first two terms in Year 1 (September-March), and undertaking third term modules, exams and project in Year 2 (April - September). Such an option may be attractive to applicants who are unable to be released from employment for a continuous twelve-month period. This option is called split study.

All courses commence on 30 September 2013 and last one year for full-time study or two years for part-time study.