We’re all familiar with news stories of wildfires, flooding, diseases. Understanding the connection between planetary and human health is vital if we want to change the trajectory and create a liveable planet for future generations.

Join us to unravel the impact of climate change on diverse populations around the world and analyse how our behaviour influences the planet. You’ll build confidence in assessing links, anticipating problems, finding solutions and intervening early. You’ll develop specialist skills to become an agent of change. Ready to work towards a sustainable planet and healthy population?

What you will learn

Find out how global environmental systems (such as heat stress, food systems, air pollution, and biodiversity loss) affect human health
Interpret studies to make informed decisions and understand theoretical underpinnings so you can turn evidence into action
Apply and evaluate methods to quantify the impact of climate change on health, policies and practices
Learn to co-develop solutions and engage with a large range of audiences to bring about change
Discover how to promote and support population health in a sustainable way.

You’ll be taught by more than 60 experts working in the planetary health field. The teaching team includes specialists in areas such as air pollution, heat, drought, infectious diseases and sustainable food systems. And our academics include several planetary health world leaders, including Professor Sir Andy Haines who chaired the very first (Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet) Commission on Planetary Health. On top of this, you’ll learn alongside a globally diverse range of students whose experiences bring a richness to the course.

We host the Centre for Climate Change and Planetary Health and the WHO Collaborating Centre on Climate Change, Health and Sustainable Development. There are opportunities to work with the centres’ world leading experts as part of your final project. Or perhaps you’ll contribute to their ongoing research or collaborate with the WHO.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for a wide range of academics and professionals. That means you’ll have opportunities to work alongside students from all sorts of related fields.

You should be keen to understand the complex systems that link the environment and human health, and motivated to pursue a career in planetary health. You’ll also need some mathematical background, as parts of the programme are more focused on quantitative assessment.

Our students have varied ambitions. Some go into policy making, while others launch their careers as programme workers in national and international organisations. Or you might like to follow a path into academia. Whatever you do next, you’ll graduate with a wide range of specialist skills ready to be a true agent of transformative change.