IGHD Postgraduate Degrees | Queen Margaret University (�鶹��), Edinburgh

Study with the Institute for Global Health and Development

At the Institute for Global Health and Development (IGHD), we offer dynamic, skills-focused postgraduate courses that prepare health, development and humanitarian professionals for the challenges of today and the career opportunities of tomorrow. As a multidisciplinary institute for education and research, we address global and public health, humanitarian response and development issues across local, national and international contexts.

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MSc Global Health

If you are passionate about social justice or seeking a qualification that will prepare you for senior roles in health policy and practice, the MSc in Global Health could be an ideal next step.

MSc Global Health

MSc Global Health (Global Health Systems)

This course is designed for those interested in how health systems operate and influence population health. It combines a strong foundation in global health with a focus on the structures, policies and processes that shape health service delivery.

MSc Global Health (Health Systems)

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MSc Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Do you want to make a difference to the mental health and wellbeing of people affected by conflict, displacement, disasters and instability? If you are passionate about supporting vulnerable populations or seeking a qualification that will prepare you for senior roles in health, development and humanitarian policy and practice, this course could be the ideal next step.

MSc Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

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MSc Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Do you want to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in diverse communities across the UK and around the world? Are you passionate about social justice and interested in developing the knowledge and skills needed for senior roles in health policy and practice? This course provides a strong foundation for professionals seeking to influence policy, programmes and services that promote health, equality and human rights.

MSc Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

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MSc Public Health

Do you want a career that improves health and wellbeing locally, nationally and globally? Are you passionate about social justice and creating a healthier, more sustainable and equitable world? This course is designed for those who want to lead and innovate in public health practice.

MSc Public Health

Why study with IGHD at �鶹��?

The IGHD master's courses, led by experienced subject specialists, draw together participants from diverse cultural, professional and academic backgrounds to share a student-centred experience emphasising mutual learning and support.

Our approach is marked by a commitment to critical thinking, practice engagement and social justice:

Critical thinking means we bring fresh insight and perspectives to situations, with our work frequently involving innovative methodologies and approaches.
Practice engagement means that we are committed to working directly with ministries of health, international and national organisations and local communities to develop real solutions to problems.
Social justice means that we are always particularly mindful of the needs of the most disadvantaged and ways of improving their health and wellbeing.

A distinguished history of influence

For more than 30 years, the Institute for Global Health and Development has been at the forefront of postgraduate teaching and research in health, development and humanitarian studies. We launched the first UK Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Health Care designed specifically for participants from the Global South, and our work has continued to expand ever since.

Since our foundation, we have equipped more than 500 master’s and doctoral alumni - from Sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas - for leadership roles in the health, development and humanitarian sectors.

A setting for world-leading research

The Institute hosts world-leading research in the following two areas:

Health systems, particularly in fragile and low income settings - Our team is heavily engaged with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded ReBUILD consortium. ReBUILD’s work is focused in Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Cambodia. Other recent and ongoing health systems work has been funded by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Work has addressed issues ranging from human resources for health in Africa to analysis of systems resilience in the Middle East and strategies supporting victims of stroke in Asia.
The psychosocial wellbeing, protection and integration of migrant, refugee and other vulnerable populations - Our work is typically with inter-governmental, governmental and non-governmental partners (such as UNICEF, World Vision and the Scottish Refugee Council).This work involves studies across diverse settings, with a consistent focus on refugee and other vulnerable or marginalised communities, both in humanitarian situations (for example, in Nepal, in Malawi post-floods, in the Middle East, in Somalia, and South Africa) and in contexts of refugee resettlement (including the settlement of Afghan refugees and Ukrainians displaced population in Scotland). Our ongoing work in this area has been funded by a range of academic funders such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Immigration Fund (AMIF), the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR).

Our impact highlights

Shaping the UK Home Office's Indicators for Integration Framework for refugee populations.
Launching one of the world's first MSc degrees in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).
Working with multiple stakeholders to better understand strategies to strengthen refugee inclusion and health systems integration in settings such as Pakistan, Zambia, Mauritania, Peru, Kenya and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, among many others.
Co-leading award-winning migration research collaborations that inform policy and practice in Latin America and other regions.
Reaching the milestone of having helped to support and equip more than 500 women and men to earn their master’s and doctoral degrees through teaching and research supervision
Creating and evaluating contextually adapted measures of psychological distress rooted within local contexts, belief systems and idioms of distress in Sierra Leone.
Advancing the understanding of how ‘social connections’ facilitate integration and psycho-social well-being in migration contexts in addition to influencing intimate partner violence coping strategies, with tools developed to support practitioners to map and better understand the function ‘social connections’ in their contexts.
Hosting the NIHR Research Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility (RUHF) and working to strengthen health systems as a part of the UK FCDO-funded ReBUILD for Resilience research consortium alongside partner institutions in Europe, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Nepal and Lebanon.
Supporting research-driven development of a globally replicated community-based child protection intervention (World Vision International’s ‘Channels of Hope’) that engages faith leaders, their spouses, and faith communities to challenge traditional values and practices that undermine child protection, based on research in Senegal, Guatemala and Uganda.
Advising WHO and global policymakers on the development of culturally and faith-sensitive MHPSS policies aimed at fulfilling human rights and strengthening the effectiveness of humanitarian responses.

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Our teaching approach emphasises active, applied learning

The diverse background of our students and small/medium class sizes enables learning to be interactive, with lectures and online learning material supplemented with in-class group work and discussion.

Assignments are varied and geared towards both to critical thinking as well as practice applications and facilitating the extension of participants’ interests and development needs. Our teaching approach is guided by case-based learning, and the active engagement of teaching staff in applied research provides many opportunities to illustrate issues with contemporary field examples.

With a typical cohort size of around 25 students, our courses provide a learning environment focused on active learning and interchange of ideas and views between participants and educators.

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Our courses lead to careers in a variety of settings

Many of our graduates are looking to progress into higher-level technical or management positions and others are looking for a complete change of career. In order to support students to strengthen their employability in their chosen field postgraduate, IGHD provides a range of support and career development opportunities.

In partnership with the �鶹�� Careers and Employment Service, IGHD offers students opportunities to apply for optional paid and voluntary work placements within �鶹�� and externally with our extensive local and international network.

Through these voluntary placement opportunities and by engaging with leading experts and guest lecturers in class sessions and in research events, you will have access to a range of subject specialists and industry connections from organisations, such as:

Health Systems Global
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Network
Scottish International Development Alliance
Development Studies Association
Scottish Government
Scottish Refugee Council
The MHPSS Academy
UN House Scotland
International Organization for Migration
UNHCR
Waverley Care (Sexual Health Charity)
Women in Liberation & Leadership in The Gambia
The MHPSS Hub (Red Cross Red Crescent Movement)
NHS Scotland Trusts (working on Public Health and Maternal &
Child Health)
World Health Organization

Additionally, working closely with the �鶹�� Careers and Employment Service, at IGHD we seek to provide tailored careers guidance and support resources. This includes course-specific input from experienced instructors, recommendations on strategies for job searching, links to job sites and job opportunities along with more in-depth career coaching, interview preparation coaching and support for curriculum development (provided by the Careers and Employment Service).

IGHD graduates have a strong track record long-term of ultimately securing mid and high-level roles in the health or social sectors within national or local NGOs and international organisations; in health services, charities and public health organisations; in higher education and research institutions; and within ministries of health and other government bodies. Other graduates have likewise launched and successfully led independent health or social sector non-governmental organisations as CEOs.