PGDip in Global Health Research
This online Postgraduate Diploma in Global Health Research (GHR) fulfils a unique training need by providing an academically rigorous and pragmatic approach that will equip students with real-world skills for designing and implementing impactful global health research across many varied topics and population settings.
Closed to applications for entry in 2026-27. Register to receive an email when applications open (for entry in 2027-28).
- Expected length:
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- Part time: 14 months
- Expected start date:
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- Part time:
- English language level:
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- Higher level required
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About the course
The Postgraduate Diploma in Global Health Research is embedded within the Oxford Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine.
The course aims to enhance knowledge and raise standards of professionals working in health research in a global context so they can lead successful and high-quality research studies should they be from organisations who fund, sponsor or regulate these studies or those working within sites and centres where research is conducted with study participants.
Students will discover best practices in global health research studies, the mechanisms, the methods and processes required to implement good quality, safe and ethical research, typically in low resource settings. Through practical case studies and applied tasks, you will gain sufficient experience to implement what you learn in order to resolve difficult challenges and become the next generation of leaders in your field of study.
The PGDip is an online four-term course that teaches the key steps required to carry out good research in the context of global health. As a student, you will learn to formulate viable research questions, you will consider target populations within your area of interest, create study plans addressing sample size and understand the variables that might affect your results. You will learn how to avoid errors in design and implementation, the most common reasons for getting wrong answers to research questions and where possible, you will be encouraged to implement your study.
The department's goal is to embed effective health research into the work of healthcare workers and allied professions. Whatever research one is planning, whether it is a randomised controlled trial, or an observational study, knowing what kind of information the study should collect is important, and so researchers may need to use epidemiology data, adapt to different social norms or utilise diagnostics to create valid, evidence based, outcomes. Whatever your research question, the PGDip will guide you from conception to execution and completion of a final report. Our graduates will conduct their research aware of the larger context within which research takes place, they will plan and implement their projects accordingly and communicate their reasoning and findings as effectively as possible, increasing the probability of successful research and turning that research into practice.
The PGDip will provide you with many transferable skills, not least higher-level critical-thinking and analytical skills to enable you to develop professionally as an independent learner during and after the course. At the end of the course, the aim is for graduates to be intellectually curious, improve global health, gather and analyse data, lead research projects, make good decisions and continue on a journey of life-long learning, like all Oxford graduates.
The course will support the attainment of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably the following goals with regard to SDG 3, ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing at all ages’:
- 3.B ‘Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries’;
- 3.C ‘Substantially increase…development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries’ and
- 3.D ‘Strengthen the capacity of all countries, particularly developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks’.
This PGDip is different from other courses for two key reasons:
- Firstly, it refers entirely to health issues specific to diseases of poverty in low-resource countries.
- Secondly, this is an operational and applied course that covers the steps needed to set up studies across all types of health research
Course structure
The course consists of four terms, with eight teaching weeks per term.
- Term one, Research Design, will be taught during Michaelmas term
- Term two, Data Management and Analysis, will be taught during Hilary term
- Term three, Quality Systems, will be taught during Trinity term
- Term four, Research Implementation, will be taught the following Michaelmas term.
Each week consists of an introduction, pre-recorded interactive lectures, structured discussion forums to help put theory into practice and a live lecture.
A typical lesson consists of an introduction, pre-recorded interactive lecture, discussion forum with tasks or questions to help put theory into practice. There is a live class using online video conferencing software, and asynchronous tutorials based on reflective practice. Additional resources include an online reading list. Students will quickly know what to expect and will only need to learn to navigate a lesson once, as all lessons will follow a similar pattern.
The PGDip is structured to be as flexible as possible for busy adults who have work and family commitments. Therefore, a lot of the activities can be completed to suit your schedule, and whilst most forums and tutorials are asynchronous, there will be a weekly live class using video conferencing software. This class will be recorded.
Core components
You will take sixteen core modules.
Course details
Entry requirements
For entry in 2026-27