Health Data Science
Entry requirements
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.
If you have not previously studied in the UK, you can check our guide to international equivalent qualifications for our master's degrees.
Relevant subjects and appropriate qualifications for the MSc Health Data Science include mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering and computer science. Other life science qualifications will be considered subject to evidence within transcripts of sufficient quantitative exposure (please make this evidence clear within the application). Free online courses (e.g. Coursera Data Science) undertaken by the applicant will also be considered at the application stage.
After submitting an application, the Programme Director will email a pre-entry assessment to evaluate the applicants quantitative and programming knowledge. This assessment must be completed to move further in the application process. The 60-90 minute online assessment will review the applicant's knowledge in Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra, Functions, Calculus, Combinatorics and Programming/Programming logic (prior exposure to writing programming syntax is essential). View the previous pre-entry assessment as an example.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum entry requirement, but who have relevant professional experience may still be eligible for admission. Qualifications and experience will be assessed from the application.
Intercalating students
You will need the equivalent of a bachelor's degree to undertake an MSc. This will usually require you to have a BSc degree or have completed the first three years of your medical degree. More information on intercalating an MSc at LSHTM.
Access and widening participation
At LSHTM we are committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds feel encouraged to apply to study with us. To that end, we have introduced an innovative contextual admissions system that is designed to consider any barriers applicants may have faced and take account of the circumstances in which their grades have been achieved, rather than relying on results alone. More information on widening participation at LSHTM.
Months of entry
September
Course content
This programme, supported by Health Data Research UK (HDR UK), aims to train a new generation of world-leading health data scientists, to work in both the public and private sector. Teaching will focus on building strong quantitative, computational and practical data management skills, while providing opportunities to develop key professional skills required to be a successful health data scientist.
Health Data Science is an emerging discipline, combining mathematics, statistics, epidemiology and informatics. This programme will equip graduates with the tools and skills to manage and analyse very large diverse datasets across healthcare systems.
The programme will enable you to:
- apply statistical and machine learning approaches to analyse health-related data
- acquire the tools and skills to manage very large diverse datasets across healthcare systems
- develop the professional skills – including teamwork, project management, and presentation skills – to work as a successful data scientist in the public or private sector
- understand the varied roles of a health data scientist within the wider health and health research environment
- learn about the key sources of health data, and the context in which these data are collected, implications of the context on issues such as data quality, accessibility, bias and the appropriateness of use to address specific questions
- study the key issues related to ethics, security and information governance
Support and partnerships
This programme is supported by Health Data Research UK – the national institute for health data science.
The programme will be delivered with the support of a number of partners, drawn from across the health data science landscape, including international healthcare consultancies (IQVIA, Panalgo), pharmaceutical companies (GSK), multinational technology companies (Microsoft Research), health-tech SMEs (Biosensors Beyond Borders), governmental agencies (National Institute for Health Protection), and national clinical audit providers (Royal College of Surgeons – Clinical Effectiveness Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre and Deloitte).
These partners will help ensure that our programme fits the needs of prospective employers, both within academia and in industry. They will help us offer students on this programme hands-on experience with data arising from the whole health spectrum, from the molecular to the population.
Information for international students
English Language Requirements
If English is not your first language, you will need to meet these requirements: Band B
Please see our English Language Requirements FAQs for information.
Fees and funding
Information on all the scholarships we offer and how to apply to them can be found here. These pages are updated regularly as new scholarships become available. However, we recommend that students also look into alternative sources of funding.
Our fees can be found on the LSHTM website.
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- MSc
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Course Enquiries
- study@lshtm.ac.uk