Overview
Introduction
The MSc Health Policy, Planning and Financing teaches you to critically analyse issues in health policy, planning and financing. The programme enables students to devise appropriate health policy responses, and make valuable contributions to local, national, or international health services and system.
This is a joint programme co-designed and co-delivered with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), where students will benefit from the expertise, resources, and networks available at both institutions.
What you'll learn:
- Critically understand a diverse range of international and national health policies, including current and emerging trends
- Gain knowledge of selected topics related to the study of health policy, planning and financing, such as epidemiology, health economics, and social sciences
- Develop skills in applying conceptual and theoretical knowledge using a multidisciplinary approach to formulate, design, implement, evaluate and appraise health policies and plans
- Know how to assess and communicate empirical evidence, including critically appraising debates relevant to issues of health policy
- Grow your research and presentation skills, including the ability to plan and carry out a literature search to evaluate research findings.
For more details on programme structure, please visit the LSHTM website.
The LSE Department of Health Policy offers a wide range of programmes in health policy and health economics. Find out which programme is best for you.
Entry requirements
You must satisfy the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine general entrance requirements and the additional programme-specific entrance requirements, to be considered for admission.
See LSHTM entrance requirements
Please select your country from the dropdown list below to find out the entry requirements that apply to you.
Overseas
Programme content
You'll take the LSE course Financing Health Care, and one compulsory choice between two options at LSHTM. In addition, you'll choose courses from a range of possible combinations at both LSE and LSHTM. Finally, you'll complete a 10,000-word dissertation on any topic in the field.
Year 1
Courses to the value of three units from a range of options at LSE and LSHTM
For the latest list of courses, please go to the relevant School Calendar page.
A few important points you’ll need to know:
We may need to change, suspend or withdraw a course or programme of study, or change the fees due to unforeseen circumstances. We’ll always notify you as early as possible and recommend alternatives where we can.
The School is not liable for changes to published information or for changing, suspending or withdrawing a course or programme of study, due to developments in teaching practice, regulatory requirements that require us to comply, lack of demand, financial unviability of a course, or due to circumstances beyond our control, such as the loss of a key member of staff or where a location or building becomes unavailable for use.
Places are limited on some courses and/or subject to specific entry requirements so we cannot therefore guarantee you a place.
Changes to programmes and courses may be made after you’ve accepted your offer of a place – normally due to developments in the discipline or as a consequence of student feedback. We may also make changes to course content, teaching formats or assessment methods but these are made to improve the learning experience.
For full details about the availability or content of courses and programmes, please take a look at the School’s Calendar, or contact the relevant academic department.
Some major changes to programmes/courses are posted on our updated graduate course and programme information page.
Why study with us
Discover more about our students and department.
Meet the department
The department seeks to advance and challenge our collective understanding of health systems and the social, economic and political contexts in which they operate. Through our research, teaching and scholarship, we aim to influence and inform how health policy is designed, implemented and evaluated globally.
We apply rigorous social science research to emerging health and social care challenges, advising national and international agencies as well as government bodies. This world-leading research is conducted through two affiliated research centres: LSE Health and the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC).
Our academics have made significant contributions to developing policies on global health, health equality, older adults, care and welfare.
The department’s research feeds into our multidisciplinary teaching, with an emphasis on health and social care policy, health economics and management. We offer a range of postgraduate master’s programmes and our MPhil/PhD programme. Students learn about healthcare systems around the world and develop skills that can be applied in many different contexts.
Our goal is to prepare the healthcare leaders of tomorrow for challenging and rewarding careers.
Why LSE
University of the Year 2025 and 1st in the UK in 2025 and 2026
Times and The Sunday Times - Good University Guide 2025 and 20261st in London for the 14th year running
The Complete University Guide - University League Tables 20265th in the world for the study of social sciences and management
QS World University Rankings by Subject 20266th in the world for leading the way in social and environmental sustainability
QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026Your application
Overview
Who attends
The programme is ideal for anyone interested in understanding policy making for health services from a nuanced position, to make effective decisions in the delivery of health services in low-, middle- and high-income settings.
Students come from a wide variety of backgrounds – most students have experience working in health policy or public health services, with at least one year’s experience a requirement for admission. This means you’ll be working alongside students who have an enormous wealth of expertise in clinical, policy, or research-related settings with relevance to health.
When to apply
Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis. This means that applications will close once the programme is full.
There is no fixed deadline. However, if you’d like to be considered for any funding opportunities, you must submit your application (and all supporting documents) by the funding deadline. See the fees and funding section below for more details.
Fees and funding
The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.
You're charged a fee for your programme. At LSE, your tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It doesn't cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.
At LSE, your tuition fees, and eligibility for any financial support, will depend on whether you’re classified as a home or overseas student (known as your fee status). We assess your fee status using The Higher education (Fee Limit Condition) (England) Regulations 2017.
Learning and assessment
How you learn
Within your programme you'll take a number of courses, often including half unit courses and full unit courses. In half unit courses, on average, you can expect 20-30 contact hours in total and for full unit courses, on average, you can expect 40-60 contact hours in total. This includes sessions such as lectures, classes, seminars or workshops. Hours vary according to courses and you can view indicative details in the Calendar within the Teaching section of each course guide.
You're also expected to complete independent study outside of class time. This varies depending on the programme, but requires you to manage the majority of your study time yourself, by engaging in activities such as reading, note-taking, thinking and research.
LSE is internationally recognised for its teaching and research and therefore employs a rich variety of teaching staff with a range of experience and status. Courses may be taught by individual members of faculty, such as lecturers, senior lecturers, readers, associate professors and professors. Many departments now also employ guest teachers and visiting members of staff, LSE teaching fellows and graduate teaching assistants who are usually doctoral research students and in the majority of cases, teach on undergraduate courses only. You can view indicative details for the teacher responsible for each course in the relevant course guide.
Academic mentor: you’ll meet with your academic mentor regularly to discuss your work. Your mentor can provide advice and guidance on academic issues and, where appropriate, personal concerns.
Other academic support: at LSE, we offer lots of opportunities to extend your learning outside the classroom.
The Learning Lab is the place to discover and develop the skills you’ll need to reach your academic goals at LSE.
Through the Learning Lab, you can:
- attend practical workshops and one-to-one sessions on essay writing, conducting research, and on managing your reading lists, workloads, and deadlines
- develop your academic writing, reading, and critical-thinking skills to meet degree-level expectations
- work in study groups to strengthen collaboration, cross-cultural communication, and teamwork skills in a supportive environment.
Disability and Mental Health Service: we want all LSE students to achieve their full potential. Students can access free, confidential advice through our Disability and Mental Health Service. This is the first point of contact for students.
How you're assessed
All taught courses are required to include formative coursework which is unassessed. It's designed to help prepare you for summative assessment which counts towards the course mark and to the degree award. LSE uses a range of formative assessment, such as essays, problem sets, case studies, reports, quizzes, mock exams and many others. Summative assessment may be conducted during the course or by final examination at the end of the course.All full-unit courses are assessed by three hour unseen examinations in the Spring Term. Half-units are assessed by two hour unseen examinations. Some of the half-unit optional courses also have group/individual project work as part of the assessment. An indication of the formative coursework and summative assessment for each course can be found in the relevant course guide.
Graduate destinations
Overview
Career destinations after graduation are wide and varied, reflecting the diverse international mix and multi-disciplinary nature of the Health Policy, Planning and Financing class. Graduates from the programme are typically employed by national governments, international organisations, research/management consultancy, industry and the voluntary sector.
Further information on graduate destinations for this programme
Mentorship Programme
As a student in the LSE Department of Health Policy, you'll be able to apply to take part in our Mentorship Programme. The programme connects current students with one of our alumni, active in a wide range of fields, to provide career mentoring as students graduate from the MSc courses. The programme gives students greater insight into career prospects after graduation and will help students build connections with current health policy leaders and experts to build their network.
Learn more about the programme and our mentors
Median salary of our graduate taught students 15 months after graduating:
Top 5 sectors our students work in:
Career support
From CV workshops through to careers fairs, LSE offers lots of information and support to help you make that all-important step from education into work.
Many of the UK’s top employers give careers presentations at the School during the year and there are numerous workshops covering topics such as job hunting, managing interviews, writing a cover letter and using LinkedIn.
See LSE Careers for further details.
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