This course aims to equip students with skills needed to appreciate and analyse public health problems in developing countries, and to design and evaluate actions to improve public health. The course considers issues of global health, development and the provision of health services from a multidisciplinary perspective.
All PHDC students have substantial experience of planning or implementation of public health programmes, of teaching or research, in developing countries.
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.
Course Prize
The Okeke Prize & William Simpson Prize is awarded to the best student on the course. This prize combines a gift from Dr E D Okeke, a former student from Nigeria in 1964, with money raised in 1937 to the memory of Sir William Ritchie Simpson, visiting lecturer in hygiene 1898-1923 and director of tropical hygiene at the Ross Institute from 1924 until his death in 1931.
" With its reputation as one of the best school of public health in the world, the decision to come to LSHTM was easy. That was probably one of the best decisions I had made in my professional life. Sunil George from India studied for the MSc Public Health in Developing Countries - Full profile
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.
Course Duration
Full-time for one year, or part-time or split study over two years. Part-time students are expected to attend the School at least two days each week and should discuss this with the Course Director if offered a place.
Alternatively, students taking the course by split study over two years attend full-time for part of Year 1, and then undertake the remainder of their course in Year 2. The split can occur anytime between the Christmas break and the end of the formal teaching in May, by prior arrangement with the Course Director. Paper 1 may be taken at the end of Year 1 or at the end of Year 2. Paper 2 must be taken at the end of Year 2. Interested applicants should indicate their choice on the application form.
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 EPH; 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 mainstream options are given below, followed by other 'peripheral' options. Not all modules may be available in any one year. 'Peripheral' option modules can be taken only after consultation with the personal tutor or course director.
C1 Mainstream options: Developing Disease Control Programmes in Developing Countries; Economic Analysis for Health Policy; Health Care Evaluation; Maternal and Child Nutrition; Study Design: Writing a Study Proposal. Peripheral options: Health Promotion Approaches and Methods; Research Design and Analysis; Vector Sampling, Identification and Incrimination.
C2 Mainstream options: Conflict and Health; Design and Analysis of Epidemiological Studies; Epidemiology and Control of Malaria; Family Planning Programmes; Health Systems; Statistical Methods in Epidemiology. Peripheral options: Analytical Models for Decision Making; Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco Use and Public Health; Quantitative Methodologies.
D1 Mainstream options: Current Issues in Safe Motherhood and Perinatal Health; Economic Evaluation; Medical Anthropology in Public Health; Tropical Environmental Health. Peripheral options: Communicable Disease Control in Developed and Middle Income Countries; Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases; History and Health; Modelling and the Dynamics of Infectious Diseases; Nutrition in Emergencies; Population, Poverty and Environment; Social Epidemiology; Sociological Approaches to Health; Spatial Epidemiology in Public Health.
D2 Mainstream options: Epidemiology and Control of Communicable Diseases; Ethics, Public Health and Human Rights; Global Mental Health; Globalisation and Health. Peripheral options: Environmental Epidemiology; Organisational Management; Population Dynamics and Projections; Reviewing the Literature; Sexual Health.
E Mainstream option: Applying Public Health Principles in Developing Countries. Peripheral options: 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.
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.
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.
Entrance Requirements
The minimum requirement is the equivalent of a second-class honours degree of a recognised university in health sciences, social sciences or natural sciences, or a related subject, or a degree in medicine. Applicants with an appropriate technical qualification and work experience, who can demonstrate equivalent academic ability, will be considered. 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, although candidates with less experience may be considered. Competition for entry is high and meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee a place on the course.
Application for London-based Study
Application for Masters degrees in London must be made using the School's MSc Application Forms.
Application for Research degrees (MPhil/PhD or DrPH) and for occasional research study in London must be made using the School's Research Application Forms.
Instructions on how to complete these forms and an outline of the application process are available with the relevant Application Forms.
The MSc and Research Application Packs are also available from: The Registry, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7299 4646 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7299 4656 E-mail: registry@lshtm.ac.uk).
Masters Courses
Applicants wishing to be considered for School scholarships are advised to apply by 1 March 2012. 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, 24 September 2012.
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 24 September 2012 and last one year for full-time study or two years for part-time study.
