Postgraduate

For new international students we have introduced an orientation week which starts on 9 September 2013. This extra week is specifically designed to assist new international students in settling into the UK and GCU prior to the start of general student induction and teaching.

There will be a whole host of fun and informative activities taking place during this period, including campus and city tours, as well as welcome events where you can meet other international students. 

Full details are available from our award winning International Student Support Service or on our Welcome to GCU Facebook page.

The MSc Health History examines how past events have shaped present day concerns about health and healthcare. Emphasising the social aspects of medicine, health and healthcare, our programme offers a fantastic opportunity to study a wide range of relevant, contemporary issues in health and healthcare which are grounded with a broad historical and cultural perspective.

The programme is based in the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare (CSHHH), a research collaboration between GCU and Strathclyde University. The teaching on the course draws on the expertise of internationally known, research-active historians who are recognised leaders in their fields. Information about the CSHHH is available at: http://www.gcu.ac.uk/cshhh/

The modules are research led and cover a range of countries and historical perspectives. The underlying philosophy of the programme is to engage students with historical debates, methodological issues and primary source materials related to the history of health and healthcare in society and to ensure their development as scholars and researchers.

Full-time and part-time study are available. You can start in either September or January.

A core part of the MSc Health History programme is developing practical methods and skills. The module Sources and Methods in the History of Medicine, Health and Healthcare is split into two parts: Debates and Controversies in the History of Medicine and Health and Healthcare: Historical Methods and Interpretation. 

In addition to the core module students will select 4 option modules from a wide range of offerings in order to tailor the programme to their own interests. Students will currently choose from the options below. Additionally, if there is an area of study which is of particular interest, there is an opportunity for students to develop their own module by negotiated study. 

• Nursing and Caring: A Profession for Women, 1840-1948
• Governing Highs and Health: History and the Control ofDrugs, c. 1800 - c. 1945
• Work and Occupational Health in the Twentieth Century:Comparative Perspectives
• Health and Healthcare in the Long Nineteenth Century
• A Social History of Health in British Colonial Africa
• The Politics of Health in 20th Century Britain
• Food and Health in the West in the 20th Century
• Medicine and Warfare since the 19th Century
• Child Health and Industrialisation, c. 1750-1870
  
• Module by Negotiated Study

Please note that not all modules will be available every semester.

You can choose to study full-time or part-time or just select individual modules to study. To achieve the full Masters degree, students must complete 6 taught modules and a research dissertation on a topic of their choice.

Our MSc Health History can be studied full-time over one year or undertaken as a part-time course.

Full-time MSc students take two specialist taught modules each trimester in addition to the core module. They also complete a dissertation that continues throughout the year, but primarily from second trimester onwards.

Following a part-time course of study, students can currently choose to take between 1 and 3 modules per semester. Each module requires one-half day per week of class time on campus, as well as an average of 6 hours of independent study. The Masters Dissertation requires greater commitment.  As it is a double module, it would require approximately 12 hours per week during the final 12 months.

Students are also able to study individual modules for professional development.

As students complete modules they will achieve academic qualifications starting with the Postgraduate Certificate.

Students can gain the following awards:

• Postgraduate Certificate (PgC) – three 20-credit modules
• Postgraduate Diploma (PgD) – six 20-credit modules
• MSc – six 20-credit modules, plus a 60-credit Masters dissertation

The teaching staff are leading scholars in their fields from both Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Strathclyde with a broad range of expertise. They are supported by the research excellence of The Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare (CSHHH) further details about the staff, areas of research excellence and the CSHHH, please see: http://www.gcu.ac.uk/cshhh/

Assessment is through a combination of coursework, essays, oral presentations, case study analysis, group work, research plans and the Master’s dissertation

Wellcome Trust
Each year, the Centre plans to put forward a candidate for a Wellcome Trust funded MSc studentship. The studentship provides for fees at the Home/EU rate plus a living. Strong preference is given to applicants intending to make a long-term academic career in the subject. For further information or informal enquiries about the studentship, please contact the Programme Leader, Dr Janet Greenlees.

In addition, the following grants are available to international students:

Saltire Scholarships
Saltire Scholarships provides an exciting scholarship opportunity, open to permanent residents of Canada, the United States, India and the People’s Republic of China (mainland China only). You must be in your home country at the time of application. Each Scholarship is for £2000, which is deducted from the current fees. For application information please see the website: http://www.scotlandscholarship.com/.

All students
Additional information about GCU scholarships available at: http://www.gcu.ac.uk/study/scholarships/

Additional information about Strathclyde University scholarships at: http://www.strath.ac.uk/studying/prospective/financingyoureducation/scholarships/