Course summary

Health economics and health policy analysis can enable decision makers to improve resource use and service delivery across health and care systems. This MSc will enable you to apply economic and policy theory and practice for this purpose, and to a range of complex challenges facing the global community (for example inequalities, mental health, infectious disease, climate change, health and social care provision). The programme will teach you key concepts in economics and policy by drawing on real-world examples from international contexts as well as the UK. This applied focus will ensure you are able to communicate and share economic and policy thinking and evidence with various audiences, including policymakers, academics, and the general public. You will learn a range of analytical techniques and research methods used by professional health economists and policy analysts, including statistics and econometrics, economic evaluation, qualitative and survey methods, evidence synthesis and modelling. In addition, you will gain valuable practical experience in using appropriate software for qualitative and statistical data analysis, and for building economic models, so that you can confidently select and creatively apply these methods and software in your future careers as well as make sound methodological judgements in the absence of complete data. This MSc encourages you to apply multidisciplinary skills and a multi-stakeholder perspective to health and care challenges. The programme therefore welcomes professionals and students from multiple backgrounds. This MSc is particularly suitable for professionals who have experience of working within health care, social care or pharmaceutical settings, and graduates with a degree in economics, health sciences, mathematics, statistics, social policy or pharmacology.