Entry requirements

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. The main field of study must be in medicine, nursing, nutrition, or similar fields relevant for global health.

Language requirements

Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se.

Aims

The overall aim of the programme is to provide a deeper understanding of the current challenges in global health and prepare the students to take an active part in Agenda 2030, as implementers and/or researchers. Building on scientific research and the diverse experiences and backgrounds of students and teachers the programme will provide a transdisciplinary perspective to the field of global health. Departing from a focus on women's and children's health the programme strives to incorporate multiple topics relevant to global health, including nutrition, migration, implementation science and health systems strengthening.

Learning outcomes

In line with rules and regulations for higher education (Högskoleförordningen 1993:100), students should after completing the programme:

• be equipped with a deep as well as broad knowledge about global health, as well as the ongoing discourse within the field, and critically be able to analyse global health issues from a transdisciplinary perspective and evaluate the implications in relation to ethics and sustainability
• be able to critically evaluate scientific results and reports within global health and make assessments based on relevant scientific, societal and ethical aspects, as well as to show awareness about ethical aspects of research and development work
• have an in-depth knowledge about scientific methods and practical skills to critically, independently and creatively identify and formulate research questions on global health issues, as well as be able to plan and with adequate methods analyse, prepare and perform scientific studies, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge within the area.
• be able to communicate and discuss, in diverse social and cultural contexts and in dialogue with different groups, their findings and conclusions and the evidence and arguments on which they are based.
• Critically reflect on their own role in and contribution to global health and the Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030), as well as display insight about the possibilities and limitations of science, its role in society and human responsibility for its use.

Layout of the programme

All courses within the programme are on the advanced level. The first semester will provide an overview of the field of global health, and touch upon areas such as global nutrition, child health, sexual and reproductive health and rights and migration. The global burden of disease and the structural determinants of health will be in focus. Part of the semester will focus on research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. Practical skills training in academic writing will be provided.

The second semester will focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, child health, migration and global nutrition. The last part of the semester will provide training in research methods emphasizing practical skills on how to design and conduct scientific research.

During the first half of the third semester there will be an opportunity to choose different topics within global health, or to do a field research in global health if you want to collect new data for your Master's thesis, or do an internship at an organization within global health. The last half of the semester will focus on health systems and research methods to prepare for thesis writing.

The fourth semester will focus entirely on the Master's thesis. This includes in-depth studies within a chosen area, report writing and presentation of the report at a seminar. During the semester there will be a number of group supervisions in the form of seminars.

Semester 1

Global Health 1, 30 credits

Semester 2

Global Health 2, 30 credits

Semester 3

Global Health 3, 30 credits

Semester 4

Master's thesis in Global Health, 30 credits

Instruction

The education is based on global health research and will be presented by researchers from our own department and occasionally invited Swedish and international researchers. Our lecturers have extensive experience of global health work in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The instruction consists of a mix of lectures, seminars, group works and assignments. Opportunities to develop the ability to understand, interpret and critically evaluate scientific literature will be provided by discussing the results and methodology and summarize facts and hypotheses.

The examination consists of written exams, assignments and active participation in seminars and presentations. Language of instruction is English.

Degree

The programme leads to a Master of Medical Science (120 credits) with Global Health as the main field of study.