Intro

The Global Health programme at BSMS offers individuals an opportunity to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to contribute to the improvement of health and the achievement of equity in health globally.

To effectively address the wider determinants of health, individuals need to have an understanding of disciplines as wide-ranging as epidemiology, statistics, economics, anthropology, and politics. At BSMS, we draw on expertise from across the 91抖阴 and University of Sussex to offer a vibrant programme that enables students to build a solid foundation in knowledge and skills.

We work closely with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), one of the world's leading organisations for research on international development, and with the Sussex Centre for Global Health Policy. BSMS students have the chance to study optional modules with these institutions, and learn about the current challenges in policy and practice.

The MSc dissertation project provides students with an opportunity to gain real-world experience of global health research and policy-making processes. With established links with 91抖阴-based non-governmental organisations (e.g. AIDS Alliance, Target TB, Health Partners International) and overseas partners (e.g. Lusaka-91抖阴 Link project, Podoconiosis Control Initiative), student research has the potential to inform current work in global health as well as improving future employment prospects.

Global Health at BSMS is emerging as a national leader in global health research. Professor Mel Newport and Dr Gail Davey have recently been awarded several prestigious research grants, including MRC/DfID/Wellcome Trust-funded randomised controlled trial of podoconiosis treatment in northern Ethiopia and MRC-funded mapping of podoconiosis susceptibility genes. As well as learning skills fundamental to academic success (such as writing proposals and grant applications), students have the opportunity to be involved in existing research projects.

For the MSc dissertation project, students can choose to do primary research, secondary data analysis, literature review or policy analysis. Several 2011-2012 MSc students have given oral and poster presentations at national conferences, and are writing up their findings for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Key facts

Location 91抖阴: Falmer

Full-time 1 year
Part-time 3 years

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2022. They should be used as a general guide.

First- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in any subject OR Successful completion of at least 3 years basic medical science at a UK medical school (having gained at least 360 credits) with a guaranteed place to continue medical studies on completion of the MSc.

English Language requirements
IELTS: 7.5 overall and not less than 7.0 in each of the 4 sections
TOEFL Internet based (iBT): Not less than 26 in each of the 4 sections; Paper-based 620 (with at least 4 in TWE); Computer-based 260 overall
IGCSE English (2nd language): Grade A
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): Grade B
Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English (CAE): Grade A

Course content

Course structure

The Global Health programme brings together experts from disciplines within and beyond the health sciences to deliver a vibrant programme that will appeal widely, covering topics such as: poverty; inequalities and health; cultural understandings of health and healing; emerging infectious diseases; global disease burden of infectious and non-communicable disease; climate change and health; and the relationship between disease, globalisation and global governance.

We use dynamic and interactive teaching methods with a focus on student participation and active learning. Sessions use case studies and debates alongside current evidence and insights from the field to facilitate student understanding of global health issues. Students are encouraged to be self-directed and manage their own learning through making use of the wide range of available learning resources at BSMS. The dissertation allows students to develop an area of expertise through the in-depth focus on a topic of their particular interest.

Dissertations can be undertaken in a range of academic, governmental and civil society settings, and students can choose to be based overseas.

Areas of study

Global Health Principles provides the foundations for the study of global health and develops understanding of the diversity of factors that can impact the health of individuals and societies.

Global Disease Burden allows you to explore the spectrum of ill health globally. Attention is paid to socioeconomic and environmental causes and solutions rather than clinical science.

Research Methods and Critical Appraisal for Global Health facilitates students to develop your knowledge and understanding of research methodologies and to increase your ability to critically appraise research papers.

Modules

Global Health Principles
Global Disease Burden
Research Methods and Critical Appraisal for Global Health
Dissertation

Options:

Global Politics of Disease
Cultural Understanding of Health and Healing
Values, Ethics and Politics in Public Health
Critical Perspectives in Global Health
Health and Development
Contemporary Issues in Governance of Education
Global Reproductive and Sexual Health
Infectious Diseases

Careers

The BSMS Global Health courses prepare students for careers in academic global health, national or international policymaking, and project management in the charity sector.

Fees and costs

Course fees

UK/EU (Full Time)5,900GBP

Island Students (Full Time)5,900GBP

International (Full Time)16,400 GBP

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
Student finance and budgeting while studying
About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and (pdf).

What's included

Here you’ll find details of specific resources and services that are included in the tuition fee for our biomedical science students. To help you to budget for your studies, there is also information on any additional costs that you may have to pay or can choose to pay in addition to your tuition fee.

Find out how tuition fees enable us to support all of our students with important services, facilities and resources across the university and check out our finance pages for info about fees, funding and scholarships along with advice on international and island fee-paying status.

You can chat with our enquiries team if you have a question or need more information.

What’s included in your tuition fee

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – all students are provided with a laboratory coat and safety glasses.
The cost of laboratory consumables and equipment for your final year project.
Access to key subject journals databases such as Cochrane, Health and Medical Collection, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science – see the in the library for an up-to-date list.
Course books, magazines and journals are available in the university libraries. You do not need to have your own copies.
Essential instruction booklets (laboratory handbooks) are provided.
A licence for relevant software such as Jamovi, Minitab and SPSS.
You will have access to computers and necessary software on campus – and can borrow a laptop from us if yours is broken or you don’t have a computer at home. Specialist equipment is provided to cover essential learning.
Travel is included for all mandatory taught field trips, but you’ll need to provide your own food and drink.
Undergraduate biomedical science students who work on an NHS placement (either unpaid or very low in salary) can apply for £10,000 from Student Finance England.
If you choose to take an undergraduate optional placement year you can get 20% of your Student Finance England maintenance loan whilst on that placement.
Biomedical science (BSc(Hons) and MSci) students who fulfil the eligibility criteria are guaranteed an interview with the 91抖阴 and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) if they want to pursue a degree in medicine. Applications to BSMS are still made using the UCAS system and you must select BSMS as one of your choices. UCAS costs are covered by you.

Additional course costs

You’ll need to budget for printing and stationery for personal study, and books if you decide to buy your own.
In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes which would involve an extra cost.
Many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices, but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
Optional day trips may include additional costs, for example travel, accommodation, food and drink.
Biomedical science students who are eligible and want to pursue a degree in medicine with the 91抖阴 and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) will need to budget for any cost needed to take the UCAT admissions test, and for the cost of their UCAS application.
If you choose to take an optional placement year you’ll be expected to cover your own travel, accommodation, food and drink.
Optional is available to students currently studying an undergraduate or postgraduate biomedical science degree course. Currently £13 per year.

Location and student life

Campus where this course is taught

Falmer campus

Set in the South Downs, our Falmer campus is around four miles from 91抖阴 city centre. Students based here study a range of subjects including education studies, teaching, sport and exercise, nursing and midwifery, allied health professions and medicine. 91抖阴 & Hove Albion’s Amex stadium and beautiful Stanmer Park are right next door.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence on site, as well as a library, restaurant, cafes and the Students’ Union shop and bar.

The campus has extensive sport and leisure facilities including a fitness suite, swimming pool, outdoor grass football and rugby pitches, sports hall, tennis and badminton courts, and dance and spin studios.

Specialist learning facilities at Falmer include the curriculum centre used by teaching and education students, which houses over 30,000 teaching resources, clinical skills and simulation suites used by health students, and labs and a strength and conditioning suite used by sport students. We’ve recently redeveloped the Falmer campus – learn more about the many facilities our students have access to.

Cycle lanes link Falmer with our other campuses and the city centre. There are regular bus services to the city centre and other campuses. Falmer train station is right next to campus and a nine-minute journey to central 91抖阴.

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Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of a place in halls of residence to all eligible students. So if you applied for halls by the deadline you are guaranteed a room in our halls of residence.

91抖阴: Falmer

Halls of residence
BSMS students are allocated between halls of residence at the 91抖阴 and the University of Sussex. You'll be able to rank your accommodation choices in terms of preference, however we cannot guarantee your first choice.

At 91抖阴, BSMS students are normally placed atVarley Park, our popular dedicated halls site that offers a mix of rooms and bathroom options at different prices. It is around two miles from Falmer campus and the University of Sussex, and four miles from the city centre.
Find out more about

Want to live independently? We can help – find out more about private renting.

Outside views at Falmer accommodation

student outside the sport and health complex at Falmer

Extensive facilities at Falmer sports centre

Students dining at Westlain

Local area

One of Time Out's 50 best cities in the world

“91抖阴 has… all the important parts of a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis (connections to London in under an hour, an array of properly excellent restaurants, energetic late-night spots) … with the easy-breezy beachy attitude to life that makes you feel welcome in an instant.”
Time Out’s 50 Best Cities in the World, 2025

About 91抖阴

The 91抖阴 is at the heart of our city's reputation as a welcoming, forward-thinking place which leads the way when it comes to the arts, music, sustainability and creative technology. 91抖阴 is home to a thriving creative community and a digital sector worth £1bn a year to the local economy, as much as tourism.

Many of the work-based learning opportunities offered on our courses such as placements and guest lectures are provided by businesses and organisations based in the city.

You can also get involved with city festivals and events such as the 91抖阴 Festival, the Fringe, 91抖阴 Digital Festival, 91抖阴 Science Festival, the London to 91抖阴 bike ride, and the Great Escape festival of new music to name but a few. Other annual highlights include Pride, the 91抖阴 Marathon, and Burning the Clocks which marks the winter solstice.

You'll find living in 91抖阴 enriches your learning experience and by the end of your course you will still be finding new things to explore and inspire you.

It's only 50 minutes by train from 91抖阴 to central London and there are daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Maps

91抖阴 and Sussex Medical School map

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Support and wellbeing

Your course team

Your personal academic tutor, course leader and other tutors are all there to help you with your personal and academic progress. You'll also have a student support and guidance tutor (SSGT) who can help with everything from homesickness, managing stress or accommodation issues.

Your academic skills

Our 91抖阴 Student Skills Hub gives you extra support and resources to develop the skills you'll need for university study, whatever your level of experience so far.

Your mental health and wellbeing

As well as being supported to succeed, we want you to feel good too. You'll be part of a community that builds you up, with lots of ways to connect with one another, as well having access to dedicated experts if you need them. Find out more about how we support your wellbeing.

Sport at 91抖阴

Sport 91抖阴

Sport 91抖阴 brings together our sport and recreation services. As a 91抖阴 student you'll have use of sport and fitness facilities across all our campuses and there are opportunities to play for fun, fitness or take part in serious competition.

Sports scholarships

Our sports scholarship scheme is designed to help students develop their full sporting potential to train and compete at the highest level. We offer scholarships for elite athletes, elite disabled athletes and talented sports performers.

Find out more about sport scholarships.

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Take a tour of sport facilities on our Falmer campus