Global Health and Social Medicine with a Year Abroad

Global health and social medicine examines health not simply as a biological phenomenon but as something shaped by social, economic, political, and environmental forces that vary profoundly across and within countries. The discipline asks why some populations live long and healthy lives while others face high rates of preventable illness and premature death, what role health systems, policies, and inequalities play in producing these differences, and how effective responses to global health challenges can be developed and implemented. It draws on epidemiology, social science, history, ethics, and policy analysis to build a rigorous interdisciplinary understanding of health and wellbeing.

At King's College London this four-year full-time BSc, which includes a year abroad, is an interdisciplinary programme designed for students who want to make a difference to health and wellbeing by shaping effective health policies and healthcare delivery systems. You will engage with urgent questions about health and wellbeing disparities, studying how social determinants, including poverty, gender, race, and geography, produce unequal health outcomes, and how international health policy, development organisations, and civil society work to address them. The year abroad provides an opportunity to engage directly with health systems and challenges in a different national and cultural context, adding depth and perspective to your academic study.

You will develop skills in critical analysis, interdisciplinary research, and the evaluation of evidence from multiple sources and traditions, preparing you to engage with complex health challenges from a range of angles.

Graduates move into careers in international health policy, global health organisations, government health departments, NGOs, humanitarian agencies, research, health journalism, and consultancy. Many continue to postgraduate study in global health, public health, health policy, or related fields.