- Degree
- Master of Science
- Course location
- Bonn
- Teaching language
- • English
- Languages
- Courses are exclusively held in English.
- Programme duration
- 4 semesters
- Beginning
- Winter semester
- Additional information on beginning, duration and mode of study
- This is an in-person study programme: students are required to be present in Bonn and attend the courses physically. Naturally, exceptions apply, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic; courses can then revert to online formats and/or hybrid formats.
Students who are not physically in Bonn and not attending classes by 31 October LATEST will not be allowed to start the programme in that year. They are advised to postpone their start in the programme to the following year. To that effect, they must "re-apply", using their admission letter. International students facing this situation are advised to make sure that they are not enrolled with the University of Bonn if they are not able to start the programme in time – enrolment is linked with financial obligations (semester fees, health insurance) and only makes sense for students who can actually start the programme by the 31 October deadline. For visa applications, the admission letter from the study programme is required, but no proof of enrolment is required.
- Application deadline
- The application period opens on 1 December (of the previous year) and closes on 15 July (of the same year). We recommend international students who require a visa to enter Germany to apply as soon as possible, and no later than 15 April.
- Tuition fees per semester in EUR
- None
- Combined Master's degree / PhD programme
- No
- Joint degree / double degree programme
- No
- Description/content
- The MSc Planetary Health is a genuinely interdisciplinary degree, by design. The programme structurally prevents siloed learning: regardless of your chosen specialisation (Environmental Health, Human Health, or Societal Health), you are required to take modules in the other two specialisations and in a shared cross-disciplinary area. From day one, you work in interdisciplinary project groups alongside peers from very different academic backgrounds.
Students learn about cutting-edge methods to solve pressing global problems. The curriculum includes machine learning and causal inference, spatial data analysis and GIS with R, analytical epidemiology, satellite remote sensing, probabilistic programming, and integrated assessment modelling — all taught in the context of climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, and public health. You graduate fluent in the tools that research and policy organisations actually use.
The students are embedded in ongoing research from the start. The programme is directly connected to the University of Bonn's Excellence Cluster PhenoRob and two Collaborative Research Centres focusing on climate and land use change as well as on development and future making in rural areas. Several methodology courses were developed specifically by these research groups to give students early access to frontier methods. The thesis semester (30 ECTS) can be conducted within these networks, providing you with experience in applied problem-focused research.
The MSc Planetary Health opens doors across academia, policy, and the private sector. The degree signals both disciplinary depth (your major specialisation appears on the certificate) and cross-disciplinary competence — making you competitive for PhD programmes in multiple fields as well as roles in international organisations, public health agencies, environmental NGOs, and sustainable business. The MSc Planetary Health is entirely taught in English and is explicitly designed for an international career.