Global Health Studies (Online Learning) PgCert (ICL), PgProfDev

Level: Postgraduate taught

Subject: Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences

Year of entry: 2026

Study options

Mode of study

Online learning

Part-time intermittent study
  • PgProfDev | 2 years | Start date: multiple dates
  • PgCert (ICL) | 3 years | Start date: September 2026

Key facts

School

Edinburgh Medical School

College

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Accreditation

Not available

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Open Days on Demand

Dive into an extensive selection of programme-specific session recordings hosted by our Academic and Professional Services staff.


About the degree programme

Are you passionate about health, equity and sustainability on a global scale? The Global Health Studies programme at the University of Edinburgh offers a flexible and fully online route for you to explore the most pressing issues affecting human, animal, and environmental health worldwide.

This part-time Postgraduate Certificate is designed for professionals and graduates from diverse backgrounds, including:

  • healthcare
  • veterinary science
  • environmental science
  • public health
  • international development

Whether you want to deepen your understanding, shift career direction, or build towards a masters-level qualification, this programme provides a student-centred, interdisciplinary learning experience.

You will have the freedom to tailor your studies by choosing from a wide selection of specialist courses linked to global health. Topics may include:

  • global disease landscapes
  • animal health
  • biodiversity
  • ecology and conservation
  • water and sanitation
  • climate change

The flexible structure allows you to complete the certificate in 12 to 36 months, and there is no requirement to study modules in a set order, making it ideal if you are balancing work and study.

Our Global Health Studies programme is rooted in real-world relevance and delivered by experienced academics engaged in cutting-edge research. You will join a diverse international community of learners and participate in online discussions that encourage collaborative learning and global perspectives. Whether you are looking to build your expertise in global health governance, One Health, or sustainable development, you will find modules that align with your personal and professional goals.

Study options

There are two exit points for the Global Health Studies programme: 

  • Postgraduate Certificate qualification
  • Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD)

Postgraduate Certificate

A postgraduate certificate is a recognised academic qualification. You must take 60 credits of courses from a wide list of options.

There are no compulsory aspects to complete, and the 60 credits may be combined from any of the offered courses.

You will complete the programme through an intermittent study pattern, meaning you have between 12 and 36 months to complete your certificate qualification.

Postgraduate Professional Development

Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) is aimed at working professionals who want to advance their knowledge through a postgraduate-level course(s), without the time or financial commitment of a full Postgraduate Certificate.

You may take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses over two years through our PPD scheme; these are invoiced per course. These lead to a University of Edinburgh postgraduate award of academic credit.

Alternatively, after one year, you can choose to transfer your credits and continue on to studying towards a higher award on a related Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, or Postgraduate Certificate programme. 

PPD courses have various start dates throughout the year.  

If you do opt to transfer credits to another programme, any time spent studying PPD will be deducted from the amount of time you will have left to complete a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, or Postgraduate Certificate programme.

Programme benefits

  • Flexible online structure with tailored course selection.
  • Interdisciplinary approach with real-world relevance.
  • Option to study through PPD.
  • Delivered by a globally recognised university with expertise in online education.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are invoiced at course level at the point of enrolment, there is no fixed annual payment.

Graduate discount

If you are a University of Edinburgh graduate, you will be eligible for a 10% discount on your tuition fees for this programme. You may also be eligible if you were a visiting undergraduate student.

Find out how to receive your graduate discount

Deposit

You do not have to pay a deposit to secure your place on this programme.

Funding opportunities

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

  • borrowing money
    • taking out a loan
    • family support
  • personal savings
  • income from work
  • employer sponsorship
  • scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Other funding opportunities

Online Learning Scholarships

Search for other funding opportunities

You can find scholarships, bursaries and other funding you might be eligible for on our Scholarships and Student Funding site.

Postgraduate funding opportunities

These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.

Qualifications

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent. A biomedical, medical, public health, veterinary or relevant bioscience topic is particularly suitable for this degree programme.

We may also consider your application if your degree is in an unrelated discipline but you have relevant work experience; please contact us to check before you apply. You may be admitted to Certificate level only in the first instance.

International qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

English language requirements

You must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme.

This is the case for all applicants, including UK nationals.

You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following:

  • an English language test
  • a degree that was taught and assessed in English
  • certain professional qualifications

English language tests we accept

We accept any of the following English language tests, at the specified grade or higher:

  • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
  • Oxford ELLT: total 7 with at least 6 in each component.
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 145 with at least 135 in each component.
How old your English language tests can be
Tests no more than two years old

The following English language tests must be no more than two years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality:

  • IELTS Academic
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition)
  • Trinity ISE
  • Oxford ELLT
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced
Tests no more than three and a half years old

All other English language tests must be no more than three and a half years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality.   

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration.

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English-speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

How old your degree can be

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts.

This time limit does not apply to your degree if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country.

Find out more about our English language requirements

Find out about other English language qualifications we accept, including professional qualifications.

English language requirements

What you will study

On the Global Health Studies (Online Learning) programme, you will explore a wide range of topics that influence health worldwide. You will examine the complex links between human, animal and environmental health, with options to study global disease challenges, such as:

  • public health policy
  • biodiversity
  • food security
  • sanitation
  • climate change

The programme is modular, offering a flexible student-centred approach to the choice of courses studied. You may select your courses from a wide list of both 10 and 20 credit options based on your interests and career goals. You will engage with real-world case studies and join a diverse international learning community, gaining interdisciplinary skills to address global health issues in practice.

Option courses

You will choose 60 credits from a wide range of option courses that may include:

  • An introduction to vaccinology
  • Climate change and infectious disease
  • Emerging infectious diseases
  • Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis
  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • Newborn and child health
  • Project management of development aid
  • Reproductive and maternal health
  • Sexually transmitted infections
  • Technological advances in diagnostics
  • The nexus of food security and global health
  • Travel medicine and infectious diseases
  • Water and Sanitation
  • Zoonotic disease
  • Zoonotic diseases in a global setting

Option course availability is subject to annual academic review and demand.

Find courses for this programme

Find out what courses you can study on this programme and how each of them are taught and assessed.

The courses on offer may change from year to year, but the course information will give you an idea of what to expect on this programme.

Part-time intermittent study

We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Learning is delivered through:

  • weekly materials, recommended reading, and organised discussions with other learners, tutors, and course organisers
  • opportunities to connect regularly with your course organiser and programme team to address concerns and monitor progress
  • group assignments and online discussions with your peers that will expose you to different perspectives and new ways of thinking about a problem or topic
  • independent study and reflection

Assessment

Assessment is varied to enhance the development of different transferable skills, innovative approaches and methods of communication. 

All courses provide support and detailed information about the assessment process, and assessment dates are clearly provided at the start of each course. 

Examples of assessment include:

  • recorded presentations
  • essays
  • group discussions
  • grant proposals
  • peer reviews

Learning outcomes

By the end of the programme, you will be able to:  

  • Understand global health challenges: demonstrate critical awareness of the social, environmental and economic factors that shape global health and inequalities.
  • Apply interdisciplinary knowledge: integrate perspectives from public health, veterinary science and environmental studies, to analyse complex health issues.
  • Communicate effectively: present complex ideas and arguments clearly to diverse audiences, including academic peers, professionals, policymakers and the public.
  • Develop skills for further study or practice: build independent learning, research and critical thinking skills that support career development or progression to further postgraduate study.

Support for your studies

You will have access to a range of support services if you need them throughout your degree.

We will assign you to a student adviser, and this should be the first person to contact if you need help. They can guide you to other University service teams depending on what support you need.  

How we support you

Our academic staff

Teaching is delivered by academic staff who provide an outstanding research-led learning experience that fosters individual intellectual development.

Meet the programme team

How online learning works

Online programmes are delivered through the University's Virtual Learning Environment, LEARN. Our award-winning, online learning technology is fully interactive, and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from the comfort of your own home or workplace.

Our online students not only have access to the University of Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.

Watch our video to see how online learning works.

Time commitment

This programme is designed to be fully flexible to fit around your schedule. You can study in your own time and access all your learning resources, such as reading lists, discussion forms and slides from anywhere in the world.  

If there are live online sessions, you can watch a recording later in the virtual learning environment at a time convenient to you.    

Typically, you will need to dedicate around 10 to 20 hours per week to your programme although managing this is up to you. This may also vary from course to course, and the time commitment may increase when assignments are due.  

See 'Find courses' in Programme details for more information about study time commitment

Equipment and software needs

To study this online programme, you will need access to:   

  • a computer or laptop  
  • the internet  
  • the latest version of a web browser  

As an online student, you will have access to a range of software you can download to help you complete your coursework, including Microsoft Office 365. 

IT support is available if you have technical difficulties.  

IT and computing help

Support for online students

Career opportunities

Graduates go on to enhance their careers in:

  • international health organisations
  • government agencies
  • non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
  • global research institutions

With a qualification from a world-leading university and proven expertise in online education, you will be well-equipped to make an impact in the evolving global health landscape.

Further study

After completing this programme, you may wish to consider applying for a PhD or other research programme.

Applying for research degrees

Moving on to a PhD (advice from the University's Careers Service)

Careers Service

Our Careers Service can help you to fully develop your potential and achieve your future goals. 

The Careers Service supports you not only while you are studying at the University, but also for up to two years after you finish your studies. 

With the Careers Service, you can: 

  • access digital resources to help you understand your skills and strengths
  • try different types of experiences and reflect on how and what you develop
  • get help finding work, including part-time jobs, vacation work, internships and graduate jobs
  • attend careers events and practice interviews
  • get information and advice to help you make informed decisions 

Visit the Careers Service website 

How to apply

You apply online for this programme. After you read the application guidance, select your preferred programme, then choose 'Start your application' to begin.

If you are considering applying to more than one programme, you should be aware that we cannot consider more than 5 applications from the same applicant.

When to apply

Programme start date Application deadline
14 September 2026 21 August 2026

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible so that we have enough time to process your application. This is particularly important if you are also applying for funding. Applications may close earlier than published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand.

For an application to be reviewed, it must be a complete application by the application deadline with all supporting documentation uploaded, including references and transcripts.

If you already have evidence that you meet the English language entry requirements, such as via an approved English language test, please upload this evidence at the time of your application. If you have not already met your English language requirements, please upload that evidence as soon as you have it.

Postgraduate Professional Development

If you are applying for the Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD), you can apply for your course of interest up to one week before the start date. 

You should indicate on your application form which course(s) you are interested in taking.

Application fee

There is no fee to apply to this programme.

What you need to apply

As part of your online application, you will need to provide: 

You will also need to submit some or all of the following supporting documents:

When you start your application, you will be able to see the full list of documents you need to provide.

References

You must submit one reference with your application.

Apply

Select the award, duration and delivery mode you want to study. Then select the start date you want to apply for.

After you apply

Once you have applied for this programme, you will be able to track the progress of your application and accept or decline any offers.

Checking the status of your application

We will notify you by email once we have made a decision. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it might take a while until you hear from us.

Receiving our decision

What to do if you receive an offer:

Academic contact

Dr Jenna Fyfe

Programme Director

  • Edinburgh Medical School
  • College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
  • University of Edinburgh

Contact details

Address

Old Medical School
Teviot Place
Central Campus
Edinburgh
EH8 9AG

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