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In these rapidly changing times, preventing disease, improving our health, and reducing health inequality will depend on a broad range of people and expertise. Our MSc in Public Health reflects this, offering an unparalleled number of specialised modules designed to help you become a catalyst for change in your area of interest.
Over one year (full-time) or two years (part-time), you’ll gain a strong grasp on the core disciplines of public health. Your faculty leaders, who are active researchers in their fields, have all the experience needed to help you succeed in the specialist studies for your chosen career path.
What you will learn
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of the wider determinants of health and the breadth of factors that undermine its foundation
- Develop critical thinking skills to confidently analyse evidence, question assumptions, and shape innovative approaches
- Learn how to systematically approach problems and navigate through possible solutions and theories with assurance
- Option to follow the General Stream or to focus on the area that matters most to you and your career plan; Health Economics, Health Promotion, Health Services Management, or Health Services Research.
The aims and learning outcomes are detailed in the programme specifications.
When you study MSc Public Health, you’ll join around 200 students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. In our collaborative classes, you’ll share knowledge and experience that enriches your learning with tangible examples of the many disciplines involved in improving public health.
You’ll also have access to our 13 cross-institution School Centres where you can engage with a network of academics and researchers working together to address diverse global health challenges.
Who is it for?
Perhaps you’re already working in public health and need to strengthen your epidemiology skills to get to the next stage of your career. Maybe you’ve been working in an underfunded health service and want to move into policy where you can better drive the changes needed. Or maybe you’ve witnessed the rise in preventable illnesses and you’re keen to progress to a position where you can serve the population more effectively.
This course is open to a wide range of graduates. Ideally, applicants will have professional experience in a health-related setting, and use insights from this to tailor the course to meet career goals. You might also like to join us for intercalated study. Whichever specialism you choose, you’ll graduate with an MSc that’s internationally recognised as a qualification of excellence in the area of public health.
Specialised streams
After a series of compulsory core modules, students can choose to focus on a specialised stream of study or remain on the core public health programme. On successful completion of the programme, students will receive a Master's degree in Public Health. This will reflect their choice of stream:
The decision about which stream to follow will depend on each student's needs and can be discussed with tutors and the programme directors, with the final choice being made during Term 1. In addition to compulsory stream-specific modules, students will be able to choose modules from a wide selection covering all aspects of public health.
In addition to the MSc Public Health, other programmes at LSHTM may be relevant to students with an interest in public health and applicants should review the pages of other courses as follows: (i) MSc Public Health for Development - for those with an interest in low-income countries; (ii) MSc Health Policy, Planning & Financing - for applicants with a particular interest in Health Policy; (iii) MSc Nutrition for Global Health - for those with an interest in nutrition.
Students
Approximately 150-200 students study the MSc Public Health each year.
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.
Related courses
Find out about our public health distance learning programmes.
Public Health
Watch Programme Directors Shakoor Hajat and Dalya Marks talk about the programme.
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 five weeks of teaching for E slot modules, taught in half-week blocks, and 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 complete the Public Health common core, consisting of four compulsory AB1 modules:
- Basic Epidemiology
- Basic Statistics for Public Health & Policy
- Issues in Public Health
- Principles of Social Research
All students take two additional modules, selected from the following:
- Environment, Health & Sustainable Development
- Foundations for Health Promotion
- Health Policy, Process & Power
- Health Services
- Introduction to Health Economics
- Terms 2 and 3
By the middle of Term 1 students must have selected one of the six streams. During Terms 2 and 3 all students will take a total of five study modules, one from each timetable slot. For most streams two of these modules are compulsory. Which modules these are, and what other modules are available, differs according to the stream.
- Project report
In addition, all students prepare a project report during the summer months (July - August), for submission by early September. The nature of this project may differ between streams, and the content must be relevant to the stream.
Please note: Should it be the case that you are unable to travel overseas or access laboratories in order to complete your project, you will be able to complete an alternative desk-based project allowing you to obtain your qualification within the original time frame. Alternatively, you will be able to defer your project to the following year.
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.
In order to be admitted to the MSc Public Health, an applicant must:
- hold either a first degree at Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) 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 an Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) degree or above.
or
- applicants with a 2:2 degree will also be considered if they have sufficient relevant professional experience or training in the field (sufficient, relevant work experience would typically mean at least two years working in a field allied to public health) - we would encourage such applicants to contact the Programme Directors to discuss their suitability before applying.
If you have not previously studied in the UK, you can check our guide to international equivalent qualifications for our master's degrees.
Applicants with relevant work experience will be given preference. This includes both paid and voluntary work, internships etc.
Applicants 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)
- statistics studied as part of a general research methods course
- an online biostatistics short course
Any undergraduate degree subject at Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) standard can be acceptable with a demonstrable commitment to public health.
The personal statement should address at least the following: why do you wish to study MSc Public Health at LSHTM? How does it fit into your career objectives? What will you contribute as a student on the MSc Public Health programme?
English language requirements
If English is not your first language, you will need to meet these requirements: Band A
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.
| Fees 2025/26 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Home | Full-time | £12,940 |
| Part-time | £6,470 | |
| 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.
Funding available for this programme:
- 2024-25 Wellcome Trust Masters Scholarship (application deadline: 15 April 2024)
Graduates from this programme enter a diverse range of positions in public health, research, NGOs, health programmes, health services, government, policy and planning.
Below you will find just a few of the positions and organisations that our graduates from this course have entered:
- Example job titles:
-
Academic Researcher
Clinical Fellow in Medicine
Clinical Trials Assistant
Data analyst
Director and Health Impact Assessment Consultant
Doctor and Senior Health Officer
Ebola Emergency Response Manager
Epidemiologist
Health Improvement Leader
Health Policy Officer
Health Promotions Specialist
Monitoring and Evaluation Associate
Policy Adviser
Project Manager
Senior Executive for Service Planning and Care Integration
Short term Consultant, World Health Organisation
Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow
Health Economist - Example organisations:
-
Association for Young People's Health
BioGen
Cancer Research UK
Department of Health
GlaxoSmithKline
Health Protection Agency
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johnson & Johnson
KPMG
Malaria Consortium
Marie Stopes International
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
Public Health England
NHS England
World Health Organization
United Nations (UN)
This programme is delivered on campus.
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 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.
Application deadlines
All applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure availability of a place and a timely decision on their application. This is particularly important for applicants with sponsorship deadlines.
We strongly advise that you apply early as popular programmes will close earlier than the stated deadline if they become full.
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
Applicants will be required to meet the conditions of their offer and provide all necessary documents by the date of their Offer of Admission.
Application fee
A standard non-refundable application fee of £50 applies to all taught Master’s degree programmes and is payable upon application submission. Income generated from the application fee is shared between scholarships and student hardship fund.
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.
Do you need a visa?
Please visit our Visa & Immigration pages for advice and guidance.