MSc Global Health

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum): £5,300
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £10,300

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students.
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

The last few decades have seen a growing frequency and intensity of disasters, sparking major humanitarian crises, and changing and challenging social structures, practices and values. It has also called for renewed thinking and alternatives to tackle the ever-changing risk of disasters. What policies and practical tools are available to prepare against the ever-increasing threat of disasters? Are theories and assumptions to inform the current practices of disaster risk mitigation appropriate/adequate? What evidence-based alternatives are available to prepare against the complex and intersecting nature of disasters? These are the broad set of questions that this course aims to tackle. In so doing, it encourages students to think critically about key considerations in planning, promoting, and understanding the implications of disaster preparation and risk reduction approaches. The module seeks to engage with three major areas of disaster preparedness: theories/principles, policies and practices. Through a mix of approaches spanning lectures, tutorials and real-world case discussions, it aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to develop their own disaster preparation strategies for effective disaster risk reduction, informed by theoretical insights, policy and practical lessons from international case studies.

• Establish critical insight in disaster preparation as well as to understand its different contextual aspects, impacts and consequences.
• Demonstrate awareness of the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.
• Analyse potential effects of disasters and identify lessons for future development of strategies and methods to mitigate these effects.
• Develop a disaster risk reduction plan for a selected setting.
• Evaluate disaster preparedness approaches and strategies.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical, cultural and legal considerations in disaster preparedness.

(indicative curriculum content):

Disaster preparedness and disaster cycle: Understanding the definition of disaster planning and preparedness and the notion of disaster management cycle spanning preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction.

Vulnerability and resilience in a DRR context: Critically engaging with the notions of resilience and vulnerability and their interplay.

Designing contingency planning; Developing disaster plan under contingent circumstances, with consideration of resources, limitations and outcomes.

Contemporary practices in disaster planning and preparedness (Early Warning Systems); Understanding people-centered early warning systems and their potentials and limitations.

Risk Communication and Public Engagement; Developing critical understanding of risk communication, its relationship with trust, transparency and public engagement in disaster risk reduction.

Opportunities and Barriers to Operationalising Disaster Preparedness; Understanding how contextual (political, social, institutional) dynamics shape, enable or undermine disaster planning and preparation.

Disaster Risk Reduction: Comparative and Global Lessons Learned; Engage with international good practices of disaster planning and preparedness. 
 

Online lectures and tutorial activities provide students with current information on disaster preparedness and awareness of disaster risks, and stimulate them towards further reading. Lectures are offered with multimedia presentations to widen perspectives and to stimulate thinking. A range of audio-visual aids, such as films, videos, and slides, is used to facilitate and stimulate the interaction between teaching and learning, and in particular to increase the understanding of specific topics. Online lectures are arranged by shorter key topic areas, allowing students to study at their own pace and maximise learning.

Online discussion forums provide a platform for students to work together to achieve the learning outcomes through reflection, knowledge exchange and experience-sharing among peers. Students are expected to contribute to the discussion forums by responding to questions, providing new information, describing relevant experience or sharing opinions about the topic, and discussing the topic with the support of literature. Students are encouraged to challenge each other in a constructive way, so as to promote intellectual stimulation.

Establish critical insight in disaster preparation as well as to understand its different contextual aspects, impacts and consequences.

Demonstrate awareness of the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Analyse potential effects of disasters and identify lessons for future development of strategies and methods to mitigate these effects.

Develop critical skills to different forms of contextual challenges that affect disaster preparedness.

Develop theoretically-informed disaster preparedness plan.

Critically evaluate various forms of disaster preparedness plans.

Develop contingency planning strategies.

Develop practical lessons learned from various international case studies.

Provide constructive yet critical feedback to others’ work.

Conduct critical literature review and case analysis.

Develop disaster planning skills.
 

Written feedback on summative assessment within 15 working days.

Alexander, D. E. (2013). Resilience and disaster risk reduction: an etymological journey. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussion, 1 1257-1284.

Allen, K. M. (2006).  Community-based disaster preparedness and climate adaptation: local capacity-building in the Philippines. Disasters 30 (1): 81-101.

Choularton, R. (2007). Contingency planning and humanitarian action: A review of practice, ODI, London. Available at http://odihpn.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/networkpaper059.pdf.

Haworth, B., Whittaker, J. & Bruce, E. (2016). Assessing the application and value of participatory mapping for community bushfire preparation. Applied Geography, 76: 115-127.

IFRC (2009). World Disaster Report: Focus on early warning, early action. Geneva. Available at http://www.ifrc.org/Global/WDR2009-full.pdf.

Paton, D. (2003). Disaster preparedness: A social-cognitive perspective. Disaster Prevention and Management, 12: 210-216.

Perry, R W. and Lindell, M.K. (2003) Preparedness for Emergency Response: Guidelines for the Emergency Planning Process. Disasters, 27(4): 336–350.

UNISDR (2015). Post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction. Retrieved from http://www.unisdr.org/we/coordinate/hfa-post2015

This is an online module with 10 weeks of lectures/activities for about 20 hours+ independent activities (106hrs) and discussion board engagements for 20 hours. It also contains 4x1 hour Synchronous Sessions.