MSc in Applied Digital Health

at University of Oxford

This course consists of eight compulsory modules and a dissertation.

Each module focuses on different ways in which digital health can be used to address the challenges facing twenty-first century healthcare. These solutions include clinical informatics for better surveillance of care quality and public health; harnessing electronic health data to improve diagnosis and prognosis; improving outcomes via remote patient monitoring and digital diagnostics; using digital tools to facilitate physical and cognitive behaviour change; implementing more efficient and effective models of primary care; reducing the cost of care.

Module titles:
 

• Foundations of Digital Health
• Clinical Informatics for Trials and Health Surveillance
• Harnessing Big Data to Improve Care
• Remote Monitoring and Digital Diagnostics
• Supporting Health Behaviour Change using Digital Tools
• Digital Transformation of Primary Care
• Economics of Digital Health
• User Focused Design and the Lifecycle of Digital Health Innovation

There are a number of cross-cutting themes that run throughout the modules. These themes include artificial intelligence and machine learning, behavioural science, challenges facing health systems, electronic health records, ethics, implementation, policy, programming for data analysis, regulation and law, sociotechnical processes, statistics and study design for the evaluation of digital tools.

The modules run consecutively, with each covering a two week period. In the first week of each module teaching is delivered via a range of face-to-face methods, including lectures, seminars, and group work. In the second week students engage in guided self-study and complete their assessment for the module, with learning further supported by a guest lecture series and a journal club.

In the third term students undertake an original research project, culminating in a research dissertation and a short presentation. Students are supported in the selection of a research topic, although the department welcomes students to propose a topic of their choosing (subject to conditions).

Proven and potential academic excellence

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
 

• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a subject broadly relevant to the interdisciplinary breadth of digital health medicine or health sciences.

Examples of relevant degrees include biomedical sciences, computer science, engineering, human sciences, mathematics, medical sociology, medicine, neuroscience, psychology, public policy and statistics. 

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0. 

In exceptional circumstances, applicants with a distinguished record of workplace experience or other relevant achievements may be accepted with lower grades at undergraduate level. The department nevertheless strongly encourages any applicants from industry to include at least one reference from an academic or someone in academic-related field.

GRE General Test Scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought. 

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
 

• Relevant working experience is desirable but not essential.

• An ability to work independently is essential.

• Publications are not expected or required for admission, although publication may help the assessors judge your writing ability and thus could help your application.

English  language proficiency
  
Minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level requirement

IELTS Academic 
 
7.5  

TOEFL  iBT, including the 'Home Edition'

110

Home    
£39,280

Overseas    
£39,280

Graduate destinations

This course will provide graduates with the skills to creatively and successfully harness digital health tools, be that as researchers, policymakers, technology specialists or health practitioners. For example, some students may go on to roles within health organisations that require digital health expertise, or similar roles in pharmaceutical, consulting or health tech companies. Others may be experienced health professionals who seek to exploit digital health opportunities in their own practice. Some may want to pursue an academic career path and may go on to a doctoral research position or a health policy role within government.

Wherever their particular interests may lie, it is anticipated that course graduates will be well placed to do pioneering work in the digital health sector.

It should be noted that this MSc is not a computing or engineering course.  While it does include significant content on concepts underlying and the evaluation of tools and technologies commonly used in digital health, including some coding for data analysis, it does not teach students how to programme digital health software.