Course summary

In the drive to improve people’s health worldwide, policymakers and practitioners are becoming more aware of the stark differences in knowledge, practices, beliefs and identities in relation to health. Humanities is increasingly being seen to offer alternative approach to inform global health – not just biologically, but philosophically, socially and politically, from past, present and future perspective. This specialist pathway aims to showcase the different ways of exploring and understanding health from humanities-based approaches, collecting human experiences and narratives, for example, to help people connect more easily. It covers a fascinating range of topics including health activism, narrative-based medicine and story-telling for trauma. Global health is a fascinating, broad and multidisciplinary field that is underpinned by the desire to improve people’s health worldwide, reduce inequality and protect communities from global threats, such as conflict, economic crises or preventable diseases which, as coronavirus has demonstrated, do not respect national borders. In addition to our general degree in Global Health, we offer five themed degree pathways which enable you to graduate with a named degree award: Global Health and Conflict; Global Health and Humanities; Global Health and Mental Health; Global Health, Ethics and Law; and Global Health, Infection and Immunity. Core compulsory and elective modules, common to each pathway, will give you the skills and knowledge necessary to understand, interpret and help solve critical global health challenges, and prepare you to conduct a high-calibre research project in your chosen specialism. Past research projects have covered the full spectrum of the discipline – from a clinical project to examine correlation between COVID and HIV conducted here in the UK, for example, to assessment of mental health care provision in rural South Africa and an analysis of the narratives of women imprisoned in Afghanistan and Iraq. St George’s University of London is the UK’s only university dedicated to medical and health sciences education, training and research. We share our site with a major London teaching hospital which is both on the clinical frontline for a diverse local community and a centre of excellence for specialist conditions. You’ll study in a clinical setting with like-minded individuals, mixing with the many different healthcare professionals you will go on to work alongside throughout your career.