Health Data Science MSc

The amount of health data available today is vast. That information has huge potential to improve health around the world, but only if it’s properly managed, analysed, and communicated. Study MSc Health Data Science at LSHTM to combine your passion for healthcare with your technical knowledge – and help identify new ways to prevent, treat, and cure disease.

Over one year (full time) or two years (part time or split study), you’ll develop the specialist skills you need to become a successful and in-demand health data scientist. Immerse yourself in an inspiring environment where world leaders in subjects like machine learning, electronic health records and epidemiology are pushing boundaries.

What you will learn

Discover how mathematics, programming, statistics, epidemiology, and informatics combine in this emerging discipline
Build your quantitative, computational, and practical data management skills as you apply statistical and machine learning approaches to analysing health data
Develop the professional skills you’ll depend on in your career, such as teamwork, project management, and presentation
Find out how and where data are collected and what that means for their quality, accessibility, and bias
Study ethical, security, and governance issues around collecting, storing, and using personal information

LSHTM’s international portfolio of research and our Medical Research Council Units in The Gambia and Uganda provide a unique opportunity to learn about the challenges of global health and the emerging role of health data science in both high- and low-income countries.

Our data science partners can provide the setting for your own research project and give you experience of what employers are looking for. As part of their MSc our students have conducted research with healthcare consultancies, pharmaceutical companies, tech companies, SMEs, government agencies, and clinical audit providers. These include IQVIA, GSK, Pfizer, The World Food Programme, The UK Office for National Statistics. and the Royal College of Surgeons.

We’re one of only six UK institutions delivering this master’s for Health Data Research UK (the UK’s national institute for health data science). That means we have demonstrated scientific excellence and a commitment to building a health data science community.

Who is it for?

Perhaps you’re a computer science graduate thinking about moving into a health-related area. Maybe you’re a scientific medical professional needing strong data skills to get to the next stage of your career. Or you could be a medical student wanting to use this degree for intercalated study.

The course is suitable for a wide range of graduates and professionals with mathematical, programming or medical expertise. It’s ideal for anyone looking to learn and apply the skills to manage, analyse and interpret large amounts of electronic health information.

In order to be admitted to an LSHTM master's degree programme, an applicant must: hold either a first degree at Second Class Honours (2:2) standard in a relevant discipline, or a degree in medicine recognised by the UK General Medical Council (GMC) for the purposes of practising medicine in the UK, or another degree of equivalent standard awarded by an overseas institution recognised by UK ENIC or the GMC or hold a professional qualification appropriate to the programme of study to be followed obtained by written examinations and judged by LSHTM to be equivalent to a Second Class Honours (2:2) degree or above or have relevant professional experience or training which is judged by LSHTM to be equivalent to a Second Class Honours (2:2) degree or above.