Programme summary for MSc Health Informatics

Subject to validation

About the programme

The aim of the Health Informatics programme is to provide students with a critical awareness of the processes involved in the capture, storage, manipulation and utilisation of health related data and information such that they are able to apply informatics appropriately to enhance healthcare delivery in a variety of settings. The programme will draw upon content based on practices within the NHS but also make comparisons with other countries and healthcare sectors.

The central focus of Informatics is the transformation of information. ‘Health informatics is one of the fastest growing areas within the health sector’ (NHS). The scope of health informatics can be taken to be ‘the knowledge, skills and tools which enable information to be collected, managed, used and shared to support the delivery of healthcare and to promote health’ (NHS). Potential for growth in the health informatics industry is significant. The heath sector in general is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade (UK Commission for Employment and Skills).

Programme structure

The programme at UEL brings together expertise from our Schools of Health, Sport and Bioscience and Architecture, Computing and Engineering to ensure that you receive expert tuition from both a systems designer and an end user perspective. Teaching methods include lectures, tutorials, seminars, laboratory work and external site visits. Teaching is supplemented by expert guest lecturers who are active practitioners in the field and web-based learning is also employed particularly for the research dissertation.

The programme can be taken either in a full-time or in a part-time mode. The MSc for full-time students has the possibility of being completed in one calendar year if started in September. For part-time students the minimum duration of these studies is two years and 4 months.

Enrolment on the programme is possible either in semester A (starting in September) or semester B (starting in February).

Teaching at UEL is divided into three periods, semester A, which runs from September to January, semester B, which runs from February to June, and the summer period from July to September which is referred to as semester C. Taught modules are only delivered during semesters A and B however dissertation work may be undertaken in semester C.

The programme consists of four 30-credit taught modules plus one 60-credit dissertation.

Students must successfully complete two 30-credit modules for the PGCert, four 30-credit modules for the PGDip (Intermediate awards) and four 30-credit modules plus a 60-credit Research Dissertation in the area of Health Informatics for the MSc.

A variety of assessment methods is used including essays, case studies, data analyses and examinations.

Career opportunities

The expected career opportunities for graduates from this programme are numerous and fall into the following categories:

Knowledge management
Information management
Clinical informatics
Service management

Admission

The entry requirement for this MSc programme is normally satisfied by possession of one of the following:

BSc (Hons) in a relevant health or science based subject, with an award classification of no less than a lower second class honours (2:2).

A degree qualification of a standard equivalent to that obtained after a programme of study in a recognised university outside the UK. (Note: Sources such as the British Council Handbook and NARIC will be used as references to verify the qualifications equivalence to a UK degree)

Applicants with other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis

A minimum of one years work experience in a health related profession is preferred.

In the case of applicants whose first language is not English, then IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required. International qualifications will be checked for appropriate matriculation to UK Higher Education postgraduate programmes.

Students that apply to enter stages of the programme may be admitted through normal Accreditation of Experiential Learning (AEL) or Accreditation of Certificated Learning (ACL) processes, or through an approved articulation agreement. Therefore such applicants must be able to demonstrate and evidence that they have the required learning outcomes as listed in the modules for which they are seeking exemption.