MSc Global Health (Humanitarian Response)

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Queries regarding the content of this course should be sent to the Course Director, Dr Amanda McCorkindale, who can discuss the course in greater detail and address any questions prior to applying. Contact here.

Global health challenges are becoming increasingly complex, from conflict and displacement to disease outbreaks, health inequalities and humanitarian emergencies. The MSc Global Health equips you with the knowledge and practical skills to respond to these challenges and improve health outcomes in communities around the world.

Developed in collaboration with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), this course was designed to meet the needs of global health practitioners, particularly those working in humanitarian settings. Whether you are looking to enter the field or build on existing professional experience, you will gain a critical understanding of the issues shaping global health today and learn how evidence, policy and practice come together in real-world contexts.

Drawing on expertise from across the health and social sciences, the course takes an interdisciplinary approach to global health, combining perspectives from humanitarian studies, disaster studies, emergency medicine, community health, and the anthropology of health and illness. You will explore how health challenges are experienced and addressed across different settings, particularly in contexts affected by conflict, crisis and disaster.

A distinctive feature of the programme is the opportunity to tailor your studies through one of three specialist pathways: Emergency Medical Response, Humanitarian Response, or Disaster Management. These pathways enable you to develop expertise aligned with your professional interests and career ambitions.

You will explore issues related to the worldwide improvement of health, the reduction of disparities, protection against global threats that disregard national borders, and specialise in Humanitarian Response.

•    Provide students with critical insights into various perspectives on how Global Health can be understood, analysed, and explained.

•    Develop students’ analytical skills in critically evaluating the idea of Global Health and the ways it is organised, justified and implemented.

•    Develop students’ skills in gathering, organising and using evidence and information from a wide variety of sources.

•    Enable students to apply established techniques of research and enquiry to a relevant research area.

•    Enable students to gain a relevant specialisation in Humanitarian Response.

Online course delivery

You will be able to engage fully with the course content and other students via recorded lectures, discussion boards, group work, online chat, question and answer sessions with the tutor, and peer-to-peer feedback and assessment.

The course will begin with an online induction session that explains how the course will progress and how you can fully engage with the curriculum and the online classroom environment. It will set out the key contacts and what each student can expect.

Academic and pastoral support will be offered online by the programme director, course leaders and teaching assistants, who will be responsible for monitoring progression through the course. A dedicated programme administrator will be responsible for dealing with day-to-day enquiries.

The course lasts for three years in total. You will study four course units in each of Years 1 and 2. Three units comprise of ten weeks of teaching followed by one week for assessment. The Research Methods module will run in parallel and across the academic year. The format is designed to be adaptable to the needs of professional students and provides opportunity for reflection between units. Year 3 comprises the dissertation for the MSc award. Students will submit a research proposal and be allocated a dissertation supervisor. You will then be guided through key milestones in the completion of your dissertation.

All assessment will take place online. Each of the four units in Years 1 and 2 will conclude with a selection of assessments, including multiple choice tests, group assignments, and prose-based assessments.

Certain academic pieces placed in the discussion forums are used as part of the overall assessment process for each unit (10%).

Each student will provide a 100 to 150-word (excluding references) written academic piece expressing a view or perspective upon a question raised by the tutor/convenor weekly during the course.

This will provide eight pieces of primary work that will be submitted to the discussion board per course unit. Engagement on the discussion boards is required throughout the course.

You will receive formative feedback and guidance throughout the course, which will enable you to progress and develop your confidence and analytical skills.

The tutors are very approachable and are also very open and responsive to feedback.

My course has students from all over the world, and the experience we have between us is rich and diverse, making for some very interesting discussions and peer learning.

HCRI

The Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute is widely recognised as being a leading international research institute focusing on the study of humanitarianism, conflict response, and peacebuilding.

You’ll have the opportunity to engage first-hand with the people, projects and organisations that shape humanitarian, global health, disaster management, conflict response, and intervention strategy around the world.

The MSc Global Health is designed for both early-career professionals seeking to enter the global health and humanitarian sectors and experienced practitioners looking to advance their careers and leadership potential.

Throughout the course, you will develop expertise in areas such as health systems, humanitarian response, disaster management, programme design, policy analysis and research. These skills are highly valued across international organisations, government agencies, health services, charities and non-governmental organisations.

Graduates go on to work in a wide range of roles across the global health sector, contributing to the design, delivery and evaluation of programmes that address some of the world's most pressing health challenges. The course can support career progression within government departments, international NGOs, humanitarian organisations, national health services, civil society organisations and academic and research institutions.

Find out more about careers and employability and our alumni.

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability.