The amount of health data available today is vast. That information has huge potential to improve health around the world, but only if it’s properly managed, analysed, and communicated. Study MSc Health Data Science at LSHTM to combine your passion for healthcare with your technical knowledge – and help identify new ways to prevent, treat, and cure disease.

Over one year (full time) or two years (part time or split study), you’ll develop the specialist skills you need to become a successful and in-demand health data scientist. Immerse yourself in an inspiring environment where world leaders in subjects like machine learning, electronic health records and epidemiology are pushing boundaries.

What you will learn

• Discover how mathematics, statistics, programming, epidemiology, and informatics converge to power innovation in public health.
• Develop strong computational and data management skills, mastering tools and methods used at the forefront of digital health research.
• Apply machine learning and data science techniques to analyse complex health data, generate insights, and tackle real-world challenges such as disease prediction, prevention, and health system optimisation.
• Examine data quality, accessibility, bias, and ethics, and learn how to build responsible and transparent AI systems for health.
• Build professional and collaborative skills that enable you to use advanced analytics and AI for social good and meaningful public health impact.

LSHTM’s international portfolio of research and our Medical Research Council Units in The Gambia and Uganda provide a unique opportunity to learn about the challenges of global health and the emerging role of health data science in both high- and low-income countries.

Our data science partners can provide the setting for your own research project and give you experience of what employers are looking for. As part of their MSc our students have conducted research with healthcare consultancies, pharmaceutical companies, tech companies, SMEs, government agencies, and clinical audit providers. These include IQVIA, GSK, Pfizer, The World Food Programme, The UK Office for National Statistics. and the Royal College of Surgeons.

We’re one of only six UK institutions delivering this master’s for Health Data Research UK (the UK’s national institute for health data science). That means we have demonstrated scientific excellence and a commitment to building a health data science community.

Who is it for?

Perhaps you’re a computer science graduate thinking about moving into a health-related area. Maybe you’re a scientific medical professional needing strong data skills to get to the next stage of your career. Or you could be a medical student wanting to use this degree for intercalated study.

The course is suitable for a wide range of graduates and professionals with mathematical, programming or medical expertise. It’s ideal for anyone looking to learn and apply the skills to manage, analyse and interpret large amounts of electronic health information.

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), 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.

Duration

One year full-time; part-time or split-study over two years. Ways to study explained.

Intercalating study

Find out about intercalating this programme.