Department of Health Policy

“I would recommend this programme to anyone who has a passion for improving health outcomes for people in society. The faculty that have taught me this year are experts in their field and have opened my eyes to the different areas of global health policy. Additionally, the cohort of students I was able to study with were from a wide range of backgrounds, both professionally and academically and in terms of nationality. This made for enriching conversations within seminars, and also outside of the classroom. Overall, I am extremely grateful that I was able to learn in this environment.“

“The degree allows you to take a multitude of paths afterwards including health consulting, health economics roles, aid and development work as well as policy roles. Gaining the breadth of knowledge from the MSc in Global Health Policy allows you to fully understand the broader context of health systems which makes you far more confident in deciding your chosen career path. You make a strong bond with your cohort and the academic and administrative team which help make the year more fulfilling.”

“I would definitely recommend this programme to people who are passionate about health and eager to learn and grow under amazing guidance and mentorship. There are a host of opportunities available to you at the LSE, from career support to research opportunities, and the availability of many events in different fields means you can always continue learning and growing. The teaching support has been excellent, since the professors and seminar leaders are interested in your thoughts and development. From the day I started this MSc, I knew I wanted to savor each one, however stressful it may have been, and I am grateful to have been able to enjoy it as much as I could have done this year! My year at the LSE will always be fondly remembered as the place I grew the most and connected with people from around the world, and this experience has taught me so much about making the most of whatever opportunities come my way.“

Internal Medicine Resident Physician

“As a front line healthcare worker, I entered the Health Policy, Planning and Financing programme with the skills to care for my individual patients. The programme has provided me with the knowledge and skills to advocate for ALL my patients at the policy level. The value of this programme is in its networking and work opportunities that supplement the in-class learning. By the end of the MSc, I was applying my degree to make substantial transformations to a real national health system. It was these experiences offered by the programme that exceeded my expectations.“

Medical Officer/Physician

“The experience of studying this programme at LSE has been truly incredible. I strongly feel I have gathered the much-needed skillset which I was missing as a physician and would now steer my new career path in health policy. The most attractive feature about this programme was the range of students from varied professional backgrounds and work experience. I learned a lot from the many discussions with my peers inside and outside the lecture rooms. Also, getting exposure of two world class institutions (LSE & LSHTM) was highly significant for me to choose this programme. And to top it all, the excellent faculty at LSE made the entire journey very comforting and enriching. Students looking forward to applying for this programme should be prepared for a year of insightful academics along with career events, socials and outstation trips with friends. Reflecting on my time at LSE just feels that it ended too soon!“

"More than anything, I appreciate my time at LSE for the people I have met. It has been so rewarding to have met friends and colleagues from around the world, and to learn about Health Policy in such diverse contexts."

"The elective modules offered allowed me to pursue my wider interests within the Department of Health Policy and broadened my career aspirations. In addition, the placement opportunities on the MSc programme, in industry and consultancy, provide fantastic insight and invaluable experience, especially to those people who are at the beginning of their career path. Day to day you will have the opportunity to interact with approachable Professors at the forefront of innovative research in health economics and health policy as well as colleagues who came from a variety of academic and cultural backgrounds."

"LSE’s MSc in International Health Policy was the kick-starter to my career. I was drawn to the LSE for the esteem of its lecturers and academic rigour, placement-based dissertation, highly motivated and experienced students, and well-established network bridging academia and real-world health policy.

The programme allowed me to hone in on my skills while establishing a network of peers and academic mentors that have remained great professional allies. The prestige of the programme and level of international recognition as well as the wide network of leading alumni testify to the skills of graduates in areas like health systems thinking, performance measurement and international policy.

This level of recognition has afforded me great opportunities, including my initial placement with the World Health Organization where I would continue to work in the years that have followed graduation, and now, with the opportunity to work towards my PhD as a research fellow of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network for Healthcare Performance Intelligence Professionals. In my personal experience and looking to that of my professional network, I strongly believe this is the programme for those looking to kick-off a career in international health policy."

“This programme gave me a great opportunity to become familiar with the most applicable and practical method in health economics, from both a researcher and advisor point of view. Professors in the Department were very friendly and willing to help students. Also, being in this programme provided me with an excellent environment to work and learn from my classmates from various backgrounds. Moreover, the unique placement scheme offered students precious opportunities to gain experience in the leading private sectors, public sectors, NGO or academic institutions.

I would definitely recommend this programme to others as I found it to be a wonderful opportunity to study in one of the most prestigious institutions and learn from the professors' wisdom. If you want to obtain insightful knowledge and become familiar with the most applicable research method in health economics, this is no doubt the most valuable programme and you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to take part.“

Member of Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo

"Beyond the incredible experience at such reputable higher education institutions, and having the chance to be a student of the most respected departments in the world within the area of health care, the programme gave me a better understanding of key challenges in health care and opened many doors through the connections I made. It equipped me with the necessary theoretical findings and technical skills to be able to quantify problems, and reach the most suitable and effective solution. Understanding the linkage between economics and the operation of health markets and health institutions helped me in health policy design and implementation."

Assistant Professorial Research Fellow, Network of African Health Systems and Policies

"The multi-faceted nature of the programme and its delivery exposes students to the core issues in health economics and financing in a very interactive learning environment. Deciding to enrol in this programme was the defining point in my career. I am now engaging with country partners in health systems to strengthen efforts under the African Health Systems and Policies Platform supported by the LSE while also teaching on this programme."

External Relations Officer, World Health Organization

"The excellent courses and the intensive work with the dissertation opened new perspectives and gave me new skills that helped me transition to a new phase of my career. After working in the pharmaceutical industry, I moved on to work in the United Nations system and also held a position in the European Commission. Furthermore, I expanded my network of relevant health economics and policy experts and I made many new friends with whom I am still in contact."

Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa

"The curriculum was well integrated and gave me the tools to critically assess the issues facing health care and to generate appropriate policy solutions. The programme offers the flexibility that I needed to pursue my training while having a full-time job."

Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at Yale University

Why did you decided to apply for the programme?
At this junction of my academic and professional journey, I am becoming even more interested in working not only “in” the system, but also “on” the system. Being involved in science, teaching, patient care and administration in a time of increasing opportunities but with decreasing resources, I have grown a strong interest in health care management, and in the evaluation of interventions and outcomes. I believe that through better coordination of care and using the compass of the patient-oriented value medicine, we could overcome some of the current obstacles in health care. I have experienced these obstacles and lived through them daily in my work as a physician and as head of division and department chair.

How do you plan to use the knowledge and skills gained in the programme in your future career?
There is a lot that academic physicians can do to improve care delivery. However, the skills to evaluate health care interventions and outcomes are rarely part of the physician armamentarium. My expectation is that, by attending the LSE Master in Health Care Interventions and Outcomes, I will improve these critical skills and broaden the scope of my research to other areas of clinical medicine and health care delivery.

What are you looking forward to most about the programme?
So far, the programme has provided great teaching, a dense schedule of well-integrated activities and a lot of “hands on” teaching, all with the quality and rigor one expects from LSE plus plenty of real-world experience from NICE’s experts.

Sanofi Genzyme

Why did you decided to apply for the programme?
LSE and NICE are highly regarded institutions in education, policy and HTA.

How do you plan to use the knowledge and skills gained in the programme in your future career?
To increase my contribution to the Rare Disease community

What are you looking forward to most about joining the programme?
Even more exposure to amazing LSE professors, NICE lecturers and students

Novartis Hellas

Why did you decided to apply for the programme?
To learn more about HTA, health policy and access

How do you plan to use the knowledge and skills gained in the programme in your future career?
Apply the knowledge to my profession, Medical Lead in gene therapy rare diseases

What are you looking forward to most about joining the programme?
Understanding health policy principles and application in real-life models