PG Diploma Health Economics and Health Policy Analysis

Health economics and health policy analysis can enable decision makers to improve resource use and service delivery across health and care systems. This 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 and UK contexts. 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. You will also 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 and make sound, methodological judgements in the absence of complete data. This 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.

You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or international equivalent in any subject. You will also need to demonstrate evidence of your numeracy skills through a quantitative unit/module at an upper second-class or above or an international equivalent, with examples of acceptable modules including Statistics, Maths, Econometrics, Quantitative Methods, R/STATA/SPSS/SAS, Psychometrics, or Mechanics; UK medical degrees have an acceptable level of Mathematics. OR GCSE / O-level Mathematics: Grade 7 or above (A/A+), AS-level Mathematics: Grade B or higher, or A-level Mathematics: Grade C or higher, with acceptable subjects including Mathematics, Statistics, Pure Mathematics, or Further Mathematics. If you are currently completing a degree, we understand that your final grade may be higher than the interim grades or module/unit grades you have achieved during your studies to date. We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer; this offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree, and specific module requirements would still apply. We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement. If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional relevant work experience or qualifications.