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Key information
Award:
MPhil
PhD
Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Campus:
Strand Campus
Duration:
Duration MPhil: two years FT, four years PT. PhD: three-four years FT, six-seven years PT. Most candidates begin the programme in October; February entry may be considered.
Overview
Global Health and Social Medicine welcomes applications to join our lively and mutually-supportive community of doctoral students. Working on and across our key research themes, the growing community is co-located in our research lab with visiting researchers, research fellows and professors. Students benefit from our active participation in the London Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (LISS-DTP), which provides training and leadership in relevant cross-cutting themes. Within Global Health and Social Medicine, we also offer a thriving programme of workshops, reading groups and other events.
Course Detail
Research in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine (established January 2012) focuses on the social, political, economic, legal and ethical factors shaping developments in biomedicine, disease and healthcare and their implications.
We have research priorities in the following areas:
- Social determinants of national and global inequalities in health, including from life-course and international comparative perspectives;
- Philosophical and ethical aspects of global health pertaining to theories of social justice;
- Social, ethical and political implications of developments in psychiatry, neuroscience and brain research, and the changing territory of mental health;
- Political economy, sociology and history of pharmaceutical regulation, innovation and pharmaceuticalization, especially drug safety and efficacy;
- Social study of reproductive technologies;
- Social, ethical, and regulatory aspects of personalised and data-driven medicine, of bio-information use in forensics and policing, and of innovation and translation in genomics, stem cells and neuroscience;
- The ethical and social implications of conducting research with human participants, and of making treatment decisions at the end of life
- Social, economic and policy consequences of ageing populations in developed and developing worlds;
- Family care and support in later life, with a particular focus on international comparative work;
- Life course influences on health and wellbeing at older ages, including life-long disorders;
- Social and ethical consequences of the capitalisation of healthcare and the roles of solidarity, justice and priority-setting in biomedicine and healthcare;
- Social and ethical implications of emerging biotechnologies, bio-politics and the global bio-economy;
- Medical anthropology and science and technology studies pertaining to knowledge, expertise, morality, safety and security;
- Medical anthropology, history, and public health of Sub-Saharan Africa;
- Socio-political and cultural dimensions of global health research, policy and innovation in developing countries, including disease control interventions such as outbreak response and preparedness;
- Social and political history of biosciences in the global south.
Information is current, but staff members can change.
Head of group/division
The tuition fees below are for the first year of the course. These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.
To find out about the funding opportunities available to students at King’s, please search our funding database for information on funding opportunities which you may be eligible to apply to: List of funding opportunities
UK Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees:
£7,500 per year (MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£3,750 per year (MPhil/PhD)
International Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees:
£28,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£14,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
UK Tuition Fees 2026/27
Full time tuition fees:
£8,000 for the first year(MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£4,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
International Tuition Fees 2026/27
Full time tuition fees:
£30,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£15,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
Base campus
Strand Campus
Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.
Study Environment
The supervisory relationship is central to doctoral studies in the Department. Admission to the doctoral research programme is highly selective and is dependent upon a good match being found between student interests and supervisor capabilities. Each student is allocated a principal supervisor from within the Department, experienced in the relevant research area and responsible for all aspects of supervision. A second supervisor is allocated, who may be a member of the Department, or a specialist from another Department in the School. Research students are integrated within a community of research students, research fellows, visiting researchers and senior visiting academics from across the world, and have access to a range of formal and informal study groups and activities organised by this research community. Students also have access to graduate seminars, workshops, seminars and conferences, often in association with other departments in social sciences, arts and humanities and the Health Schools within King's.
Postgraduate training
The Department of Global Health and Social Medicine participates in the research training programme offered in the ESRC funded London Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (LISS-DTP) and all incoming research students have the opportunity to access a programme of doctoral training to suit their specific needs. In addition, students on our doctoral programme audit parts of our MSc in Global Health, Social Justice and Public Policy, to provide background and skills in areas relevant to their research topic.
Student Destinations
- Teaching and research in universities
- Government and NGOs
- Policy and regulation
- Employment in the biotech sector
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The tuition fees below are for the first year of the course. These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.
To find out about the funding opportunities available to students at King’s, please search our funding database for information on funding opportunities which you may be eligible to apply to: List of funding opportunities
UK Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees:
£7,500 per year (MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£3,750 per year (MPhil/PhD)
International Tuition Fees 2025/26
Full time tuition fees:
£28,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£14,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
UK Tuition Fees 2026/27
Full time tuition fees:
£8,000 for the first year(MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£4,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
International Tuition Fees 2026/27
Full time tuition fees:
£30,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
Part time tuition fees:
£15,000 for the first year (MPhil/PhD)
Base campus
Strand Campus
Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.
Study Environment
The supervisory relationship is central to doctoral studies in the Department. Admission to the doctoral research programme is highly selective and is dependent upon a good match being found between student interests and supervisor capabilities. Each student is allocated a principal supervisor from within the Department, experienced in the relevant research area and responsible for all aspects of supervision. A second supervisor is allocated, who may be a member of the Department, or a specialist from another Department in the School. Research students are integrated within a community of research students, research fellows, visiting researchers and senior visiting academics from across the world, and have access to a range of formal and informal study groups and activities organised by this research community. Students also have access to graduate seminars, workshops, seminars and conferences, often in association with other departments in social sciences, arts and humanities and the Health Schools within King's.
Postgraduate training
The Department of Global Health and Social Medicine participates in the research training programme offered in the ESRC funded London Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (LISS-DTP) and all incoming research students have the opportunity to access a programme of doctoral training to suit their specific needs. In addition, students on our doctoral programme audit parts of our MSc in Global Health, Social Justice and Public Policy, to provide background and skills in areas relevant to their research topic.
Student Destinations
- Teaching and research in universities
- Government and NGOs
- Policy and regulation
- Employment in the biotech sector
Loading...
Key information
Award:
MPhil
PhD
Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Campus:
Strand Campus
Duration:
Duration MPhil: two years FT, four years PT. PhD: three-four years FT, six-seven years PT. Most candidates begin the programme in October; February entry may be considered.
Contact us
For more information regarding our courses please contact us using the details below
Global Health and Social Medicine Research
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