Global Health and Mental Health MSc

Although mental health is now increasingly more understood as a topic, addressing mental health has been a neglected and overlooked aspect of healthcare. In many societies around the globe, experiences related to the mind are not conceptualised as a health issue. Developing mental health infrastructure as part of global health systems is a contemporary encounter with important conceptual and ethical questions. At the same time, increased globalisation is bringing forth travelling cultures and traditional understandings about mental illness. Orthodox healthcare practitioners and policy-makers are responding to phenomena such as spirit possession, accusations of child witchcraft, curses, and forced exorcisms. Exploring culture and mental health questions fundamental aspects of our existence such as our identity, customs, and symbolisms against the backdrop of a human rights discourse and the need to address treatment gaps in global mental health.

Global health is a broad discipline that attracts multidisciplinary involvement from those who wish to pursue an internationally focused career in development, policy, education, research or humanitarian relief. This will include doctors and other health professionals, as well as a range of people with an interest in governance, management, law, politics, economics, policy, science, anthropology, philosophy and ethics.

This Global Health MSc is a broad-ranging practical and clinical course that covers many different aspects of global health practice and policy. We have excellent local, regional and international links, enabling our students to complete global health projects in many different locations around the world. The university also shares its campus with one of the largest NHS teaching hospitals and many world-leading clinicians teach on our courses.

This stimulating and vibrant programme will give you the skills and knowledge necessary to understand, interpret and help solve critical global health challenges, empowering you to pursue an exciting international career as a global health practitioner or policymaker. The programme will also give you the ability to make a real difference in the pursuit of health equity and global social justice.

Studying

Teaching is delivered through a variety of methods including group lectures, course-specific seminars and small group sessions. You will also participate in self-directed study and wider reading, as well as individual and group practical sessions.

The course is designed to encourage you to progress towards greater self-direction in your studies; you are encouraged to develop insight into your own learning styles and thus to become responsible for your own learning and professional development. Personal and professional development is fostered through academic study, the promotion of self-directed learning activities, and the implementation of a research project under supervision.

You will encounter a wide range of teaching and learning strategies appropriate to the learning context. Combining these strategies during the course will enable you to develop an investigative, independent and individualised approach to learning and to undertake an extended research project.

Careers

When you graduate with a Global Health MSc from St George’s, you’ll open your world to a range of opportunities.

The breadth of experience that you will gain on the course will place you in prime position to make impactful change relating to your area of interest. You will have the skills to go on to work as a global health practitioner, policy maker, consultant or researcher in either government or the private sector, as well as national and international agencies.