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
Lectures and practicals for this online programme will be delivered during the UK timezone, on weekdays, usually between 09.00-17.00.
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.
Hélène Comer
MSc Climate Change & Planetary Health
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.
Please note that lectures and practicals for this online programme will be delivered during the UK timezone, on weekdays, usually between 09.00-17.00.
- 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 six compulsory AB1 modules:
- Basic Epidemiology
- Basic Statistics for Public Health & Policy
- Environment, Health and Sustainable Development
- Fundamentals of Climate Change & Planetary Health
- Issues in Public Health
- Methods in Climate Change & Planetary Health
- Term 2
Students take a total of four study modules, one from each timetable slot (C1, C2, D1, D2).
C1 slot
- Research Design & Analysis (compulsory)
C2 slot
- Population, Poverty & Environment (compulsory)
D1 slot
- Planetary Health Research 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 2026/27 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Home | Full-time | £23,100 |
| Part-time | £11,550 | |
| EU/Overseas | Full-time | £23,100 |
| Part-time | £11,550 |
*Mobile users, scroll right to view fees
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.
Some applicants may be exempt if they have previously studied in English or meet other specified criteria. Please see our English language requirements for details.
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.
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, as we do not invite applicants to interview for this programme, so the clarity and relevance of the information you can provide is of considerable importance to us. We would like to know your experiences in the relevant field(s), your reasons for applying to our programme, 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 date for all taught online Master’s applications for entry in the 2026/27 academic year is:
- Monday 31 August 2026 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.
The programme can prepare you for roles in:
- national and international public health agencies
- global organisations working on climate change and health
- government policy and advisory teams
- non-governmental organisations and international development agencies
- research institutes and universities
- climate and health consulting organisations
Graduates may go on to work as climate and health researchers, policy advisers, environmental epidemiologists, or analysts contributing to the design and evaluation of interventions that protect population health in a changing climate.
The programme also provides a strong foundation for doctoral study and specialist careers in climate and health research, environmental health and planetary health policy.
Employability
On average, 90% of our master's graduates from the 2019/20-2022/23 cohorts were in employment or undertaking further studies 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes Surveys, 2020-2023).
Hear from a MSc Climate Change & Planetary Health alumni
Shahab shares his experience of studying the MSc at LSHTM and how it shaped his career after graduation.
Employers and job titles examples for this programme
As a top-ranked institution for public health, our graduates' knowledge, skills and qualities are in demand in the field. Our graduates go on to various roles with a wide range of employers. Below you will find just a few of the positions and organisations that our graduates from this programme have entered:
LSHTM Alumni
LSHTM’s alumni community includes over 35,000 graduates across more than 190 countries. It offers a lifelong connection to LSHTM and to each other.
We are proud of our global alumni network, which includes many notable members, such as:
- Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), who completed his MSc in Immunology of Infectious Diseases
- Karina Rando, the Minister of Public Health in Uruguay, studied MSc Public Health
- Christopher Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to UK Government, studied MSc Epidemiology.
- Vanessa Bradford Kerry, founder of the non-profit Seed Global Health, director of the Program in Global Public Policy and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, and Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health for the World Health Organization (WHO), studied the MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing
- Career support - the LSHTM Careers Service provide a range of services from 1-1 appointments to events and workshops.
- Alumni blogs - did you know LSHTM has over 35,500 alumni in more than 190 countries.
- International alumni chapters - find an LSHTM network of alumni near you from our over 30 chapters.