Program Overview

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Global Health & Social Medicine BSc

Key Information

Course type: Single honours Delivery mode: In person Study mode: Full time Required A-level: AAB Full entry requirements, including contextual requirements Duration: Three years full-time or four years with a year abroad Application status: Open Start date: September 2025 Application deadline: 29 January 2025 Optional study abroad

Course Essentials

Modern society recognises the importance of health and has created supportive healthcare systems to maintain welfare and to tackle diseases. These systems are not only ‘medical’, such as training and certifying doctors, networks of general practitioners, hospitals and specialised clinics, they are also ‘social’, covering the provision of clean water, food and sanitation, the design of accommodation, education in child development and the promotion of health and hygiene. The Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Global Health and Social Medicine is an interdisciplinary degree course that creates unique opportunities to combine social sciences with an introduction to key areas of biomedicine. This course will provide you with the intellectual skills, practical knowledge and research techniques required for independent critical thinking and analysis.

Base Campuses

• Guy’s Campus: The Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, and the Institute of Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience are based at the riverside Guy's Campus, next to the Shard.
• Strand Campus: Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.
• Waterloo Campus: Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties

Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the modules you study.

Special Features

• Optional study abroad: On this programme, you will have the opportunity to apply to study abroad, supported by the Study Abroad Tutor in your department and King’s Global Mobility Office. Together with partner organisations around the world, you will be supported in navigating your international, educational journey, developing new skills and competences and learning to apply different perspectives to your chosen discipline.

Awarding Institutions

King's College London and Affiliates

Regulating Bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

Entry Requirements

Subject Requirements

Required subjects: A-level (or equivalent) grade B in Biology or Chemistry. Preferred subjects: None.

A-Levels

Required grades: AAB Please note that A-level General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted by King's as one of your A levels. Must include grade B in Biology or Chemistry. Notes: If you are taking linear A-levels in England, you will be required to pass the practical endorsement in all Science subjects. This is with the exception of private candidates who are unable to take the practical component. We do not consider the EPQ at any point of the assessment process.

Contextual A-Level Information

BBB Please note that A-level General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted by King's as one of your A levels. Must include grade B in Biology or Chemistry. Notes: If you are taking linear A-levels in England, you will be required to pass the practical endorsement in all Science subjects. This is with the exception of private candidates who are unable to take the practical component. We do not consider the EPQ at any point of the assessment process.

International Baccalaureate Diploma

35 points overall or an aggregate score of 17 from three Higher Levels Must include grade 5 in Higher Level Biology or Chemistry. Note: The total point score of 35 includes TOK/EE.

Contextual International Baccalaureate Information

32 points overall or an aggregate score of 15 from three Higher Levels. Must include grade 5 in Higher Level Biology or Chemistry. Note: The total point score of 32 includes TOK/EE.

Alternative Accepted Qualifications

• Access to HE Diploma
• BTEC Nationals/CTECs
• Cambridge Pre-U
• European Baccalaureate
• Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers

Standard Requirements

The Access to Higher Education Diploma must be 60 credits in total. Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall: 33 credits must be from units awarded at Distinction, with 12 at Merit. The Access to Higher Education Diploma must include at least 15 Level 3 credits in Biology awarded at Distinction or at least 15 Level 3 credits in Chemistry awarded at Distinction. The Access to Higher Education Diploma should be in a relevant subject - Science, or similar - to be considered.

Contextual Requirements

The Access to Higher Education Diploma must be 60 credits in total. Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall: 30 credits must be from units awarded at Distinction, with 12 at Merit, and 3 at Pass. The Access to Higher Education Diploma must include at least 15 Level 3 credits in Biology awarded at Distinction or at least 15 Level 3 credits in Chemistry awarded at Distinction. The Access to Higher Education Diploma should be in a relevant subject - Science, or similar - to be considered.

International Applicants

Course specific subject requirements are indicated in subject requirements above

English Language Requirements

English language band: B Please note that nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries (as defined by UKVI) who have successfully completed high school in the respective country, are not required to complete an English language test. For information on our English requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.

Selection Process

• Contextual consideration: We make contextual offers for this programme, which can be found in the entry requirements. As part of the assessment process, we take into account contextual information to gain a more complete picture of each application. More information can be found on the Contextualised admissions website.
• Deferrals: Applications can be submitted for deferred entry by choosing the appropriate year of entry on the UCAS application.
• Foundation courses: Applicants studying Foundation Year programmes in the UK are welcome to apply for this programme. Foundation programmes from other universities and further education providers in the UK are considered on a case-by-case basis. Whether or not we can consider a particular foundation year as suitable for study at King's depends on the content of the syllabus and modules studied. In the past we have accepted foundation programmes from a number of other institutions.
• Graduates: Our general entry requirements are based on A-level or equivalent. However, where an applicant is completing/has completed a degree, we are able to consider the degree study as part of the assessment of the application.
• Personal Statement: Your personal statement is one of the many factors in the overall assessment of your application, and is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the university and inform us of your commitment to the programme and how the programme fits into your career plans, as well as any work experience or extracurricular activities you have done.
• Resits: We are able to consider applicants who have retaken or are retaking their qualifications.
• Transfers: We are able to consider applications for transfer into Year 2 of this programme. Please see our Transferring to King’s website for more information.

Teaching Methods - What to Expect

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Small Group Tutorials

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and small group tutorials.

Location

The degree course is delivered across three campuses, the Strand Campus, Guy’s Campus and Waterloo Campus. Campuses are close to the River Thames, with facilities offered by the university easily available and the cultural attractions of the South Bank and Covent Garden close by. The library and computing facilities are readily accessible together with the opportunity to use the University of London Library at Senate House.

Assessment

• Coursework
• Examinations
• Tutorial Participation

Your performance will be assessed through a combination of coursework and written/practical examinations. Forms of assessment may typically include practical lab reports, scientific paper interpretation, infographics, research consultancy reports, unseen examinations, poster presentations, group projects, research essays and a dissertation.

Structure

Courses are divided into modules. Each year you will normally take modules totalling 120 credits.

This is a three-year degree course in which you will take a combination of required and optional modules to total 360 credits.

Required Modules

You are required to take the following modules:

• Introduction To Global Health (15 credits)
• Inequalities in Global Health (15 credits)
• Social Science Perspectives on Health and Medicine (15 credits)
• Social Medicine and Intersecting Inequalities (15 credits)
• Research Practice & Design Studio (30 credits)

You are also required to select one of the below biomedical pathways to follow throughout your degree and take 30 credits from that pathway to make up 25% of your first year of study:

• Neuroscience pathway: You are required to take the following modules:
  • Cell Biology & Neuroscience (15 credits)
  • Fundamentals of Pharmacology (15 credits)
• Pharmacology pathway: You are required to take the following modules:
  • Fundamentals of Pharmacology (15 credits)
  • Cell Biology & Neuroscience (15 credits)
• Ageing pathway: You are required to take the following modules:
  • Cell Biology & Neuroscience (15 credits)
  • Genetics & Molecular Biology (15 credits)

Optional Modules

There are no optional modules for Year 1.

Employability

The COVID-19 pandemic shows the social science of global health and medicine has never been more important in meeting the significant social, political and ecological challenges facing the world.

Destinations: This degree provides a rigorous intellectual and empirical grounding for careers in public administration, NGOs and INGOs, charities, think tanks, academia, and social advocacy organisations. Our graduates enter a wide range of professions within health services, public health, government, and NGOs in the UK and beyond. For example:

• Policy (e.g., Nuffield Council on Bioethics, King’s Fund, UK Biobank Ethics & Governance Council, public health consultant at UN, policy analyst at World Health Organization, membership organisations like the British Pharmaceutical Society)
• National and international NGOs (e.g., Cancer Research UK, British Lung Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières, Gates Foundation, Malaria No More, Care UK, NCD Alliance, Prostate Cancer UK, International Longevity Centre (ILC), The Purpose Xchange)
• Government (Department for Health & Social Care, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, public health officer in local government, Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, Health Research Authority, Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology)
• Private sector (e.g., management consultancy, market research, political affairs, pharmaceutical companies, think tanks, health start-ups, independent research institutes, science communication)
• Academia (postgraduate study, postdoctoral study, lecturing and other roles in universities).

Tuition Fees

Full Time Tuition Fees UK

The UK tuition fee for the academic year is currently £9,535 per year. This is based on the UK Government's cap.

Full Time Tuition Fees International

The International tuition fee for the academic year is £35,800 per year.

Please note that the International tuition fee is subject to annual increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.

All International applicants to Undergraduate programmes are required to pay a deposit of £2000 against their first year's tuition fee. This deposit is payable when you firmly accept an unconditional offer to study with us, and will be offset against your tuition fees when you join King's.

If you choose the study abroad option with one of King’s partner universities, you will not be charged tuition fees by the host university (although some partners do charge a small administration fee for applying). Please see the Study Abroad webpages for details of the relevant partner universities. King’s will continue to invoice for a proportion of King’s tuition fees. At present these are as follows: • Home students studying for a semester abroad will receive an invoice for £6,000 for King's tuition fees for the year. • Overseas students studying for a semester abroad will receive an invoice for two thirds of the King's tuition fees for the year The OfS cap for a compulsory or optional year abroad is £1,385. NB: EU students will be liable for the same study abroad tuition fees as overseas students in 2025/26 You should also budget to pay for the associated subsistence costs, such as travel, visas, accommodation and food as well as any vaccination/immunisations required by the country to which you are travelling. Please see the Study Abroad web pages for details of the relevant partner universities and detailed information on the fees that apply under the Course Essentials tab.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

• Books, if you choose to buy your own copies
• Clothing for optional course related events and competitions
• Library fees and fines
• Personal photocopies
• Printing course handouts
• Society membership fees
• Stationery
• Graduation costs
• Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses

Funding

To find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans, and other financial help available at King's please visit the Fees and Funding section.