Study options
- Starting in
- September 2025
- Location
- Whitechapel
- Fees
- Home: £12,250
Overseas: £24,250
EU/EEA/Swiss students
What you'll study
This is a collaborative programme taught by the Centre for Global Public Health, and the Centre for Psychiatry. As a student of this programme you will consider issues of mental health within the context of culture. As a mental health professional, your learning will take place within a broader public health curriculum that covers:
- basic epidemiology and statistics
- an understanding of health systems policy, including health financing and human resource policy
- an introduction to the social determinants of health
- medical anthropology
- an understanding of research, evidence and epistemology
You will go on to study cultural and global perspectives in mental health care. Much mental health research and clinical practice in the UK is still Eurocentric in its approach and in its research findings and does not always fully consider the cultural background of the patients it seeks to help. In a globalised world, mutual understanding and respect are essential, and you will gain insights from anthropology, sociology and geography as well as psychiatry and psychology.
Finally, you will complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice in the field of mental health care, mental health policy or public mental health.
Structure
- Five compulsory modules
- 10,000-word dissertation
Compulsory/Core modules
The module will include case studies to explore contemporary policy debates and the influence of quantitative research studies on public health and primary care policy and government intervention programmes. The advantages and disadvantages of different study designs and their application to different research questions will be covered. Students will gain skills in summarising quantitative data, including routine morbidity and mortality measures and interpreting the results of commonly used statistical techniques.
This module will examine the theories and evidence underpinning social inequalities in health (defined as the unfair and avoidable differences in health status). It will consider structural/material and psychosocial theories, and hypothesis about social drift, self-selection, and genetics. Attention is given to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Sources of data and measurement of scale of inequalities between and within groups are addressed. The module will consider association with income and distribution of money, resources, and power at global, national, and local level. Policy interventions and their different approaches will be explored including universal and targeted or selective approaches to reducing inequalities by reducing the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources.
In this module we address the fundamental public health question of how best to finance and organise health systems in order to achieve universal health coverage and the effective delivery of comprehensive PHC. We will be particularly concerned with the ways in which health care systems differ from the perspective of access to services among different social groups within the population, and also with the distributive effects of different organising principles such as market and public control. The relationship between health systems and the Primary Health Care Approach will be covered, as well as key debates around the interface between aid, global health governance and national health systems. This module will also cover the essential economic theories used to inform health systems policy.
The module will consist of a self-directed research project in the field of mental health care, mental health policy, mental health systems, or public mental health. There will be some group support, and one-to-one tutor support provided by a appointed dissertation supervisor.
This module provides students with essential knowledge and skills about Applied Research Methods. The general aim is to equip students with transferable skills that can be either used towards completing an empirical project or conducting a systematic review.
This module provides students with practical application of Applied Research Methods. The general aim is to equip students with transferable skills that can be either used towards completing an empirical project or conducting a systematic review. There is no taught component in this module, except for 4 hours of tutorial sessions delivered on alternate weeks. These 4 sessions will be complementary to 5 tutorial sessions delivered in Semester 2 for Psychological Therapies:Paradigms and Systems and Psychological Therapies: applications and Effectiveness. The aim of these 4 tutorial sessions is to provide academic support for their completion of their Pilot study.
This module will provide a critical understanding of the intersection between culture and mental health within a global context. Students will be introduced to social science theories from disaplines such as anthropology and sociology which have been used to inform psychological and psychiatric understandings of mental illness and its treatment. Topics discussed will include the links between culture and mental processes, variations in the manifestation and interpretation of mental illness across cultures, challenges of assessment and treatment of mental illness within multicultural contexts and the impact of intersecting inequalities on the mental health of minority populations . Students will be encouraged to reflect on the impact of culture on both mental disorder and mental healthcare treatment at both local and global levels.
The module links theory to practice, providing an overview of culturally competent approaches to the assessment, treatment and prevention of mental illness in local and global contexts. Students are introduced to research evaluating cultural competency at different levels of service delivery including culturally adapted psychological therapies, culturally appropriate assessment tools, clinical and organizational strategies to improve accessibility of mental health services, cultural competency training frameworks as well as strategic approaches to equitable global mental health care. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the importance and effectiveness of these different approaches and how they are used to enhance and improve available psychological interventions and systems of service delivery to treat a range of mental illnesses across diverse populations. Students will be also submitting a reflective piece based on their work/clinical placement.
Assessment
- 67% Modules
- 33 % Dissertation
Assessment will be a mixture of written essays, oral presentations and exams.
One written exam and one oral presentation for the module Epidemiology and Statistics, which is a 15 credit module.
Cultural and Global Perspectives in Mental Health is a 60-credit module and is assessed by a written exam, 5,000 word research project and an oral presentation.
Teaching
You will be taught with a mixture of formal lectures and small group seminars. The seminars are designed to generate informed discussion around set topics, and may involve student presentations, group exercises and role-play as well as open discussion.
You will have an Academic Adviser who will guide you in both academic and pastoral matters throughout your studies.
On this programme you will be taught across two Queen Mary campuses. In the first semester you will be taught on the Whitechapel campus. In your second semester you will be taught on the Charterhouse Square campus.
Where you'll learn
Facilities
At Queen Mary you will have access to a number of advanced facilities, some of which are designated exclusively to postgraduate students. These include:
- the Blizard Building, which has state of-the-art facilities for students and staff including open-plan research laboratories, office space, a 400-seater lecture theatre and a café, and several seminar rooms
- a Learning Resources Centre, open around the clock, with 200 networked PCs solely for the use of
postgraduate students - medical libraries located at the Royal London and St Bart's hospitals and at the Queen Mary Mile End campus
- access to the Postgraduate Reading Room
- research access to the British Library.
About the Institute
Wolfson Institute of Population Health
This course is based at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, which delivers internationally recognised research and teaching in population health. The Wolfson Institute is a part of Queen Mary University of London’s faculty of medicine and dentistry.
The work of our researchers and educators has had a significant impact on lives across the world. We provide integrated teaching and training opportunities delivered by leaders in the field. By sharing knowledge and pushing the boundaries of research, we will continue to advance population health and preventive medicine on a global scale.
Queen Mary is a member of the Russell Group of leading research universities in the UK and the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry proudly holds an Athena Swan Gold Award in recognition of our commitment to gender equality.
Career paths
This course is intended for both professionals currently active in mental health services, and more recent graduates with an interest in working on a global scale. Including:
- clinicians working in psychiatry, clinical psychology and other settings who have an interest in the public health and socio-cultural dimensions of mental illness
- health managers (working at facility, district, provincial or national levels), policymakers, commissioners and activists who want to develop a public health understanding of mental health policy and mental healthcare systems
- graduates seeking to work in healthcare management
- anyone wanting to develop a research career in mental health policy, mental health care systems, the socio-cultural determinants of mental illness or cultural psychiatry.
For those with a public health background or interest, this MSc will help you develop expertise in tackling the unmet need of mental illness.
- 92% of Institute postgraduate taught graduates are in employment or further study 15 months after graduation (2020/21)
- 84% of Institute postgraduate taught graduates are in highly skilled work or graduate study (2020/21)
Fees and funding
Full-time study
September 2025 | 1 year
- Home: £12,250
- Overseas: £24,250
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Unconditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Part-time study
September 2025 | 2 years
- Home: £6,150
- Overseas: £12,150
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Unconditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Queen Mary alumni can get a £1000, 10% or 20% discount on their fees depending on the programme of study. Find out more about the Alumni Loyalty Award
Funding
There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.
- Scholarships and bursaries
- Postgraduate loans (UK students)
- Country-specific scholarships for international students
Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:
Entry requirements
UK
Degree requirements
A 2:1 or above at undergraduate level in a relevant subject such as Medicine, Nursing, the health sciences or the social sciences.
Applicants with a 2:2 degree and relevant experience in the field will be considered on an individual basis.
Other routes
Candidates that do not currently meet the set entry requirements may also have the option to study the Graduate Diploma in Humanities and Social Sciences. Meeting the required grades on completion of this programme will provide a pathway to study MSc Public Mental Health.
Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.
International
English language requirements
The English language requirements for our programmes are indicated by English bands, and therefore the specific test and score acceptable is based on the band assigned to the academic department within which your chosen course of study is administered. Note that for some academic departments there are programmes with non-standard English language requirements.
The English Language requirements for entry to postgraduate taught and research programmes in the Wolfson Institute falls within the following English band:
Band 4: IELTS (Academic) minimum score 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each of Writing, Listening, Reading and Speaking
We accept a range of English tests and qualifications categorised in our English bands for you to demonstrate your level of English Language proficiency. See all accepted English tests that we deem equivalent to these IELTS scores.
Visas and immigration
Find out how to apply for a student visa.