Royal Holloway has opened a new Department of Health Studies offering a range of courses which aim to make a difference by connecting knowledge to global health-related challenges, promoting healthier populations and environments.

The new department will welcome its first postgraduate students from September 2022 and builds on world-class research and interdisciplinary collaborations at Royal Holloway. It will develop new areas of growth with leading experts in health and environmental sectors. These include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Harvard-led Planetary Health Alliance. 

Health Studies degrees will be taught by staff who are experts in their fields, drawing on their links with international research networks, human and plant health collaborations across the world.

Professor Alex Palombi, Head of the Department of Health Studies, said:  “We have a unique opportunity to address the equity issues in our global community by creating an interdisciplinary learning environment which promotes the value of good health.

“Our vision is to develop an ambitious department which is well connected and integrated into close and far communities. Our students will become leaders, innovators and influencers across boundaries to build health and resilient societies.”

Three new Masters courses include:

MSc Food Security, Sustainability and Biodiversity (in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) – students on this degree will study at Royal Holloway and at Kew, learning from world-leading experts at both institutions, covering a range of topics at the intersections of environmental health and human health; addressing the link between biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods and food security.

MSc Global Health: Human Health and the Environment – students will work collaboratively to examine fundamental challenges of environmental change, climate instability, urbanisation, shifting geopolitics, changing demographics, sustainability, biodiversity and development.

MA Global Health: Society, Culture and Behaviour – this masters addresses existing and emerging health challenges of the modern age. Students will examine how culture, behaviour and governance, as well as environmental economic factors impact human and environmental health, affecting us all.

At undergraduate level, Royal Holloway is developing a new BSc Health Studies for September 2023 entry. Designed to equip a new generation of health practitioners with the skills to address health protection, health promotion and sustainable living frameworks, this degree will lead to rewarding career paths promoting the value of health for our communities and environment.

Academic research from this new department will feed into the university’s Living Sustainably research theme which addresses the challenges of climate change, biodiversity, food and energy security, infectious disease, inequalities in education, work and participation, political polarisation and resource consumption.  

To find out more about Health Studies, click here.