We’re all familiar with news stories of wildfires, flooding, diseases. Understanding the connection between planetary and human health is vital if we want to change the trajectory and create a liveable planet for future generations.
Join us to unravel the impact of climate change on diverse populations around the world and analyse how our behaviour influences the planet. You’ll build confidence in assessing links, anticipating problems, finding solutions and intervening early. You’ll develop specialist skills to become an agent of change. Ready to work towards a sustainable planet and healthy population?
What you will learn
- Find out how global environmental systems (such as heat stress, food systems, air pollution, and biodiversity loss) affect human health
- Interpret studies to make informed decisions and understand theoretical underpinnings so you can turn evidence into action
- Apply and evaluate methods to quantify the impact of climate change on health, policies and practices
- Learn to co-develop solutions and engage with a large range of audiences to bring about change
- Discover how to promote and support population health in a sustainable way
The aims and learning outcomes are detailed in the programme specification.
This programme is also available online.
You’ll be taught by more than 60 experts working in the planetary health field. The teaching team includes specialists in areas such as air pollution, heat, drought, infectious diseases and sustainable food systems. And our academics include several planetary health world leaders, including Professor Sir Andy Haines who chaired the very first (Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet) Commission on Planetary Health. On top of this, you’ll learn alongside a globally diverse range of students whose experiences bring a richness to the course.
We host the Centre for Climate Change and Planetary Health and the WHO Collaborating Centre on Climate Change, Health and Sustainable Development. There are opportunities to work with the centres’ world leading experts as part of your final project. Or perhaps you’ll contribute to their ongoing research or collaborate with the WHO.
Who is it for?
This course is suitable for a wide range of academics and professionals. That means you’ll have opportunities to work alongside students from all sorts of related fields.
You should be keen to understand the complex systems that link the environment and human health, and motivated to pursue a career in planetary health. You’ll also need some mathematical background, as parts of the programme are more focused on quantitative assessment.
Our students have varied ambitions. Some go into policy making, while others launch their careers as programme workers in national and international organisations. Or you might like to follow a path into academia. Whatever you do next, you’ll graduate with a wide range of specialist skills ready to be a true agent of transformative change.
Duration
One year full-time; part-time or split-study over two years. Ways to study explained.
Intercalating study
Find out about intercalating this programme.
Climate Change & Planetary Health
Watch Programme Directors Pauline Scheelbeek and Priya Mondal talk about the programme.
This programme is also available online.
The below structure outlines the proposed modules for this programme. Programme and module specifications provide full details about the aims and objectives of each module, what you will study and how the module is assessed.
- Structure of the year
Term 1 (September - December) consists of ten teaching weeks for AB1 slot modules, plus one Reading Week* in the middle of the term. Followed by the Winter break.
Term 2 (January - March) consists of a further ten weeks of teaching for C and D slot modules, plus a Reading Week in the middle of the term. C modules are taught in five half-week blocks before Reading Week. D modules are taught in five half-week blocks after Reading Week. Followed by the Spring break.
Term 3 (April - September) consists of the project report.
*Reading Week is a week during term where no formal teaching takes place. It is a time for private study, preparing for assessments or attending study/computer skills workshops. There are two Reading Weeks at LSHTM: one in November and the other in February.
- Term 1
All students take five compulsory AB1 modules:
- Basic Epidemiology
- Basic Statistics for Public Health & Policy
- Environment, Health and Sustainable Development
- Fundamentals of Climate Change & Planetary Health
- Methods in Climate Change & Planetary Health
All students take one additional AB1 module, selected from the following:
- Issues in Public Health
- Health Policy, Process & Power
- Principles of Social Research
- Term 2
Students take a total of four study modules, one from each timetable slot (C1, C2, D1, D2).
C1 slot
- Research Design & Analysis
- Study Design: Writing a Study Proposal
C2 slot
- Health Systems
- Population, Poverty & Environment
- Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
D1 slot
- Planetary Health in Practice (compulsory)
D2 slot
- Environmental Epidemiology (compulsory)
- Term 3: Project report
Students will start working on their summer project mid-April for submission by early September. The project will typically involve formulating strategies and concepts, deciding and acting on own initiative, planning, organising and time keeping, analysing critically, systems thinking, relating and networking, adapting and responding to change, expressive writing and scientific reporting and presenting and communicating information.
Changes to the programme
LSHTM will seek to deliver this programme in accordance with the description set out on this programme page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for LSHTM to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. For further information, please see our page on changes to courses.
| Fees 2025/26 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Home | Full-time | £13,580 |
| Part-time | £6,790 | |
| EU/Overseas | Full-time | £29,960 |
| Part-time | £14,980 |
*Mobile users, scroll right to view fees
Early application fee reduction for UK MSc students 2025-26
If you are a student from the UK (and have a home fee status), you will be eligible to receive a 5% reduction in your tuition fee if you submit your application by 23:59 on Friday 4 April 2025 and subsequently register onto one of our in-person MSc programmes (some exclusions apply, see detailed terms and conditions).
You must be applying for full-time study on a programme starting in September 2025; be funding your fees yourself; and be a new applicant.
If you meet the above criteria and submit your application by the deadline, you will automatically receive the tuition fee discount.
In order to be admitted to an LSHTM master's degree programme, an applicant must:
- hold either a first degree at Second Class Honours (2:2) standard in a relevant discipline, or a degree in medicine recognised by the UK General Medical Council (GMC) for the purposes of practising medicine in the UK, or another degree of equivalent standard awarded by an overseas institution recognised by UK ENIC or the GMC.
or
- hold a professional qualification appropriate to the programme of study to be followed obtained by written examinations and judged by LSHTM to be equivalent to a Second Class Honours (2:2) degree or above.
or
- have relevant professional experience or training which is judged by LSHTM to be equivalent to a Second Class Honours (2:2) degree or above.
If you have not previously studied in the UK, you can check our guide to international equivalent qualifications for our master's degrees.
Additional requirement: applicants for the MSc Climate Change and Planetary Health will need to provide some evidence of ability in mathematics, post-16 year education. This could include:
- A-level or a higher school certificate
- a module within an undergraduate degree (such as quantitative methods, epidemiology or statistics)
- mathematics (including statistics) studied as part of a general research methods course
Applicants who do not meet the minimum entry requirement, but who have relevant professional experience may still be eligible for admission. Qualifications and experience will be assessed from the application.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language, you will need to meet these requirements: Band B
It is possible to apply without English language test results however the results of a test may be listed as a condition of an offer of admission. Please see our English language requirements for more information.
Intercalating students
You will need the equivalent of a bachelor's degree to undertake an MSc. This will usually require you to have a BSc degree or have completed the first three years of your medical degree. More information on intercalating an MSc at LSHTM.
Access and widening participation
At LSHTM we are committed to ensuring that excellent students feel encouraged to apply for a course of study with us. We have introduced an innovative contextual admissions system that is designed to support those students who have faced the greatest barriers to their learning. More information on widening participation at LSHTM.
Applications should be made online and will only be considered once you have provided all required information and supporting documentation.
Please also read LSHTM's Admissions policies (pdf) prior to submitting your application.
You can apply for up to two master's programmes. Make sure to list them by order of preference as consideration will be given to your top choice first.
Please ensure you pay careful attention to the content of your personal statement (page limit: 1 page). We do not invite applicants for interviews, so the clarity and relevance of the information you provide in your personal statement are of considerable importance to us. We would like to know your experiences in relevant fields(s), your reasons for applying to our MSc, what you hope to gain from the training we offer, and how you intend to use the knowledge and skills you acquired to further your career and contribute to improving health.
Application fee
A standard non-refundable application fee of £50 applies to all taught Master’s degree programmes and is payable upon application submission. The application fee also applies to PG Diplomas and PG Certificates where appropriate. Income generated from the application fee is shared between scholarships and the student hardship funds.
Application deadline
The final closing dates for all taught Master’s applications for entry in the 2025/26 academic year is:
- Sunday 27 July 2025 at 23:59 UK time for all students requiring a Student visa
- Sunday 31 August 2025 at 23:59 UK time for all UK, Irish and non-Student visa students
Tuition fee deposit
Applicants are required to respond to their Offer of Admission and pay the £500 deposit within 28 days of receipt, or their place will be released and the offer automatically declined. The deposit is deductible from tuition fees upon full registration with LSHTM. Applicants in receipt of a full scholarship will not be required to pay the deposit.
Do you need a visa?
Please visit our Visa & Immigration pages for advice and guidance.