MSc/PGDip/PGCert Health Informatics (UCL/UoM Joint Award)

Course description

This programme focuses on how information and information technology are used in the organisation and delivery of healthcare.

Our MSc in Health Informatics (jointly awarded by UCL and The University of Manchester) offers an innovative and exciting training in a uniquely challenging and important field.

Our blended learning MSc will equip you with the skills to work in this exciting field by providing:

a unique combination of personal learning, theoretical challenge and practical application;
blended approach which combines face-to-face contact and distance learning, harnessing the advantages of both across two campus;
flexible study allowing you to complete the programme full-time in one year, or flexibly over up to five years;
engagement with leading thinkers in the field across the UK and internationally;
participation in a thriving network of academics, clinicians and informatics professionals.

Our programme is suitable for health professionals currently in work or graduate students.

UCL and The University of Manchester are uniquely placed to provide the health informatics training required for a modern health service.

You will have access to the largest UK health informatics faculty in UK, including researchers who develop and apply solutions in a range of healthcare settings.

Both institutions sit in two of the largest regional health economies in the UK, hosting the greatest concentration of NHS global digital exemplar programmes. Six professors and 13 senior academics contribute to the programme, alongside NHS and industry professionals.

Aims

The programme aims to:

• provide you with the skills to manage healthcare systems;
• provide you with an understanding of the healthcare system, from treatment of individuals to the wider population;
• emphasise the importance of informatics in patient driven healthcare;
• embed key health informatics principles, concepts and skills in students' working practices;
• combine leadership and transferable skills with technical skills training.

Teaching and learning

This programme is mostly delivered online with 3 day problem-based face-to-face workshops on campus hosted either at The University of Manchester or UCL.

Coursework and assessment

You will use a number of assessed and non-assessed activities to develop key skills and expand your knowledge base. There is a mix of assessment: written assignments, exam, group work and other activities such as moderated discussion boards.

Career opportunities

All graduates of this course will be prepared for technical and management roles leading the digital transformation of healthcare. Graduates of the course have gone on to leadership roles in the NHS and other healthcare organisations here and overseas.

Some of our graduates have moved into roles in industry in pharmaceutical companies or consulting organisations. Others have gone on to further study, taking on PhDs or fellowships while others have launched their own businesses.

Health Informatics is a subject of growing importance, with exciting career development prospects for clinicians, managers, administrators and technologists, as the Building a Digital Ready Workforce website demonstrates.

Students can also exit with PGDip or PGCert awards.

We require an honours degree (minimum upper second class) or overseas equivalent in: computer science; health services research; biological sciences; statistics; pharmacy; nursing; medicine. Students who do not meet these requirements but have appropriate professional experience will also be considered. Applications from candidates who don't meet usual admissions criteria are also reviewed by the Dean of Students at UCL.