Our distance learning programmes are run in collaboration with the University of London, a federation of 17 independent member institutions and universities, of which the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is one.
- Who does what?
The course content, teaching and assessment are developed by academic staff at LSHTM, while the University of London manages administrative matters including registration, distribution of materials and tuition fee payment. As such, applications must be made through the University of London.
- Quality of teaching
LSHTM's distance learning programmes aim to provide health practitioners, clinicians, policy-makers, scientists and recent graduates with a world-class qualification in public and global health.
These programmes are developed to the same high standard as our face-to-face programmes, and as a result, the final certification you will receive as a distance learning graduate is the same as for a face-to-face student.
- Your qualification
When you graduate, your prestigious University of London award will be valued globally and help you to pursue sought-after careers in health-related fields. On graduation, you will join a distinguished list of University of London alumni from Nobel prize-winners to leaders in national and regional governments.
When you graduate with a degree, diploma or certificate you will receive two important documents – your Final Diploma (the parchment you receive on graduation) and a Diploma Supplement.
The Final Diploma
• Indicates that you were registered with the University of London and awarded a University of London qualification, without stating the method of study
• States that the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine developed the syllabus and provided assessment
• Features the University of London crest and the Vice-Chancellor’s signature, and the Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s signatureThe Diploma Supplement
• Describes the nature, level and content of the programme you successfully completed
• Includes the transcript of modules taken, marks achieved and overall classification
• States the role of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the method of study- LSHTM: a brief history
LSHTM was founded in 1899 by Sir Patrick Manson, a physician who had worked in the Far East and believed doctors should be trained in tropical medicine. The original school was established as part of the Seaman’s Hospital Society in the hospital ships docked in Greenwich, where diseases could be studied in their acute stages. LSHTM moved to its iconic main building on Keppel Street, in the Bloomsbury area of London, in 1929.
Keppel Street houses the faculties of Epidemiology & Population Health and Infectious & Tropical Diseases. The Public Health & Policy faculty is located nearby on Tavistock Place, in a second building opened in 2010.
Did you know? Facts about Keppel Street
• The purchase of the Keppel Street site and building costs were made possible through a $2m gift from the Rockefeller Foundation
• The building is decorated with the names of great pioneers in public health and tropical medicine, as well as gilded vectors of disease including the Tsetse fly, tick, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles mosquitoes
• The Medical Research Council Streptomycin in Tuberculosis Trials took place at LSHTM in 1948; this study is generally accepted as the first randomised clinical trial
• In 1950, LSHTM researchers Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill published their preliminary study linking smoking with lung cancer- University of London: a brief history
The University of London was established by Royal Charter in 1836 for the public benefit and is recognised globally. Throughout its long history, the University of London has offered access to a wide range of academic opportunities. It was the first university to admit students regardless of their gender, race or religion, the first to admit women to degree programmes and, in 1865, the first to give students the opportunity to study wherever they are, providing access to higher education across the globe.
The University of London is a federation of 17 independent member institutions and universities, of which LSHTM is one. The University of London’s administrative headquarters are based at Senate House, just across the street from LSHTM’s Keppel Street building.
Did you know? Facts about Senate House
• Senate House was built between 1932 and 1937. At 210ft high, it was called “London’s first skyscraper” by the press
• It housed the Ministry of Information during WW2, and it was rumoured that Hitler admired the building so much that he planned to make it his British headquarters
• Senate House is reputed to be the model for George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Senate House is often used as a filming location, appearing in movies such as Batman Begins and The Theory of Everything as well as popular TV series Dr Who, Black Mirror and Bodyguard