Health Data Science

The MSc in Health Data Science is distinguished by its interdisciplinary character and an emphasis on applied skills that will be of particular value if you are looking to follow a career in digital health.

Digital technology is transforming healthcare. It is enabling faster diagnosis and better treatment of illnesses, supporting improvements in patient care, and making healthcare settings more efficient. That transformation is creating a need for professionals who understand existing medical technologies and who have the skills and expertise to develop new technologies, analyse medical data, and inform policy on medical data analytics. Students from the MSc in Health Data Science will be able to fill those roles.

On the MSc you will learn about the theoretical underpinnings of digital health. You will look at different forms of health data, the technology that generate them, methods used for processing and analysis, and how digital data is integrated in clinical decision making. In particular, you will develop an appreciation of the challenges in handling, storing and analysing big data in healthcare contexts.

An understanding of these principles provides a basis for studying the practical applications of digital health and developing your understanding of how digital health concepts can be applied to solve real-world medical problems. You will learn practical skills in medical data analysis and the use of digital technologies to address healthcare challenges. You will develop your understanding of techniques for programmatically processing medical data such as genetic data, medical images, and patient vital signs. You will also learn about digital health governance and the ethical considerations that can arise when designing and executing medical data analysis studies.

Particular attention is paid to training in medical image analysis, bioinformatics and modelling and analysis of medical data such as patient records. Theoretical learning is applied to real-world case studies, and you will develop an understanding of practitioner and industry perspectives and the work that is needed across academia and other sectors to advance digital health. More broadly, you will develop practical skills in explaining digital health concepts to different audiences and the translation of academic thinking on digital into recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.

Digital health is inherently interdisciplinary. This MSc brings together academic staff, National Health Service (NHS) colleagues, and industrial partners providing a greater breadth of learning that encompasses real clinical problems as well as the solutions that digital health can provide.