Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene

This course will take place in London, UK.

The Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (DTM&H) is an intensive, three-month, full-time course in tropical medicine and public health for physicians.

The course combines practical laboratory work, a series of lectures and seminars and some limited clinical experience designed to provide doctors with the clinical and factual knowledge that will form the basis of professional competence in tropical medicine. It is designed for physicians who intend to work in the tropics, physicians with tropical experience who have returned for a refresher, or practitioners who may be working in non-tropical countries and who need experience in clinical parasitology, imported diseases and travel medicine.

Why study the DTM&H with us?

LSHTM has been providing advanced and interdisciplinary research training for future senior academics, policy-makers, practitioners, and research workers in the global health, medical and public health community for over 100 years. 

The diversity of our students and staff is exceptional; staff come from 45 countries and our postgraduate students from over 120 countries and this provides a rich environment for students to learn. LSHTM alumni are now working in more than 160 countries; many former students hold prominent positions in health ministries, universities and international organisations throughout the world.

The academic staff teaching on the course, most of whom have lived and worked in the tropics, come from all departments of LSHTM and from many external institutions. The Hospital for Tropical Diseases provides the setting for clinical training; students should be aware however that bedside clinical teaching is not usually offered.

Who should apply?

The Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene is open to doctors who hold a medical qualification from a recognised medical school in any country who are registered for medical practice in that country. Priority may be given to students from low and middle income countries and to those with at least three years of post-qualification clinical experience. Places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Credit

The course is a Professional Diploma and as such does not attract any academic credit.

• View programme specification (pdf)

Aims & objectives

The course aims to teach doctors the skills required to understand, diagnose, treat and prevent diseases that are especially prevalent in tropical and developing countries where resources may be limited. The course has a strong epidemiological base but the scientific basis of infectious diseases is also given priority.

A particular feature of the course is the diversity of students who attend. Among the 70 students who take the diploma course each year, more than 25 different countries are usually represented. Students range in experience from recently qualified doctors (though usually no earlier than 3 years post-graduation) to specialist infectious disease physicians and surgeons with many years of experience working in tropical and developing countries.

The course is continually updated in response to changing needs, new developments in knowledge and technology, and student feedback. It has remained highly popular with students throughout its history which spans over 100 years.

Course outline

Much of the course is devoted to seminars, in which a multi-disciplinary team of experts from within and outside LSHTM covers a particular disease or group of diseases in depth. Lectures cover the causative organisms, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, management and prevention of these diseases. Time is set aside after each lecture for discussion. Implications for travel medicine are discussed where appropriate.

Other seminars focus on aspects of community health. These include an introduction to epidemiological methods used in the study of communicable diseases, and lectures on water supply, sanitation and nutrition. Seminars are also held on maternal and child health, non-communicable disease, population and reproductive health and health in emergencies.

One day a week is devoted to parasitology teaching. Lectures are followed by practicals in which the laboratory diagnosis of all the major parasitic diseases is taught. One day a week entails clinical teaching, often at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Clinical activities include problem-based teaching, small group discussions, and, because the number of clinical cases in the Hospital is often limited, case presentations of derived from recent cases seen at the Hospital.

The course is intensive, without much free time during the three months. Sessions start at 09.00 most mornings and teaching continues most days until 17.00 hours.

A number of full scholarships are available.

Eligibility criteria:

• Applicants must be resident in, and a national of, a LMIC (eligible countries)
• Applicants must hold an offer of admission for the course

How to apply:

Applicants need to submit the following to [email protected]:

• A statement of no more than 200 words, clearly stating their eligibility for this award and the difference it would make to their future career
• Contact details for two referees
• A letter of recommendation from one of their two referees

Please follow these instructions as applications with statements of more than 200 words or with more than one letter of recommendation may not be considered.

Please state – ‘DTM&H Scholarship’ in the subject line.

Closing date for applications:

Monday 16^th May 2022. Decisions will be confirmed within two weeks of the closing date.

Students of this programme range in experience from recently qualified doctors (though usually no earlier than 3 years post-graduation) to specialist infectious disease physicians and surgeons with many years of experience working in tropical and developing countries. Graduates from this programme enter a diverse range of positions and organisations. 

Below you will find just a few of the positions and organisations that our graduates from this course have entered after graduating:

Applying for this course

Applications for 2022 are now closed. Register your interest to be notified when applications reopen.

Please read read our admissions policies before submitting your application.

Entry criteria

The Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene is open to doctors who hold a medical qualification from a recognised medical school in any country who are registered for medical practice in that country. The number of participants is limited to 70. 

Priority may be given to students from low- and middle-income countries and to those with at least three years of post-qualification clinical experience. Places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Applicants must have a good standard of written and spoken English and of English comprehension. LSHTM will require applicants to provide evidence of a satisfactory standard of English. LSHTM has approved certain English tests. 

Visas

The student is responsible for obtaining any visa or other permissions to attend the course, and is encouraged to start the application process as early as possible as obtaining a visa for the UK can sometimes take a long time. The Short Courses team can provide supporting documentation if requested.

Accommodation

A list of hotels located in the vicinity of LSHTM, along with further resources for short term accommodation, can be found on our accommodation pages. 

Important information

Please note:

• If you have been offered a place on the course you will not be able to register without bringing formal ID (Passport) and without having obtained the correct visa if required.
• It is essential that you read the current visa requirements for short course students.
• LSHTM may cancel courses two weeks before the first day of the course if numbers prove insufficient.  In those circumstances, course fees will be refunded.
• LSHTM cannot accept responsibility for accommodation, travel and other losses incurred as a result of the course being cancelled.