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Postgraduate Taught

MSc Health Research Methods

Please note: The below is for 2025 entries. Click here for 2024 entries.
UCAS code 1234
Duration 1 year full time
2 or 3 years part time
Entry year 2025
Campus St Luke's Campus
Discipline Healthcare and Medicine
Contact
Typical offer

View full entry requirements

 2:2 Honours degree

Contextual offers

Overview

  • Develop the skills and knowledge needed to enact meaningful change as an effective and confident healthcare practitioner.
  • Designed for health researchers, academic clinical fellows, nurses, midwives, allied healthcare professionals and public health professionals.
  • Also suitable for new graduates seeking a comprehensive grounding in health services research methods to develop your career as a health researcher.
  • Study topics such as patient and public involvement, collaborative working, evidence-based practice, complex interventions, health economics, clinical trials and medical statistics.
  • Taught by leading international experts and authors in complex interventions research methods.

Play a vital role in making health services better. Constant changes in healthcare means that highly skilled researchers are in-demand for developing, testing, evaluating and implementing evidence-based healthcare in highly complex situations.

By studying MSc Health Research Methods, you could help solve important problems to deliver better, safer and more accessible healthcare to the population.

Previous topics that students have chosen for independent study include:

  • Exploring facilitators and barriers of patients’ trust in clinical pharmacists in Primary Care.
  • Improving the physical health monitoring of patients taking Clozepine.
  • Intravenous antimicrobial therapy in the home.
  • Effectiveness of group psychological interventions in reducing the burden for caregivers of patients with dementia residing in the community.

 

Apply online

View 2024 Entry

Apply for individual modules 2024/25

Fast Track (current Exeter students)

Accreditation of prior learning (APL)

Open days and visiting us

Get a prospectus

Contact

Programme Director: Dr Antonieta Medina-Lara

Web: Enquire online

Phone: +44 (0)1392 72 72 72

Aerial photo of St Lukes Campus

This programme is delivered at our St Luke’s Campus, which is home to the University of Exeter Medical School. The campus is a short walk from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and offers a range of research facilities and equipment. Students will be able to access resources used by our Institute of Health Research.

Top 10 icon

Top 10 in the UK for our world-leading and internationally excellent Clinical Medicine research

Based on 4* + 3* research in REF 2021

Medal with star on icon

Our Public Health research is 11th in the UK for research power

Submitted to UoA2 Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care. REF 2021

Medical building icon

Major capital investment in new buildings and state-of-the-art facilities

Large group icon

Vibrant and active research student community supported by excellent pastoral and academic staff 

Top 10 icon

Top 10 in the UK for our world-leading and internationally excellent Clinical Medicine research

Based on 4* + 3* research in REF 2021

Medal with star on icon

Our Public Health research is 11th in the UK for research power

Submitted to UoA2 Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care. REF 2021

Medical building icon

Major capital investment in new buildings and state-of-the-art facilities

Large group icon

Vibrant and active research student community supported by excellent pastoral and academic staff 

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum 2.2 Honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. Relevant clinical or professional experience may be taken into consideration as evidence of equivalency.  A personal statement, detailing your reasons for seeking to undertake this subject, will be required. 

Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.

Please visit our international equivalency pages to enable you to see if your existing academic qualifications meet our entry requirements.

International students are normally subject to visa regulations which prevent part-time study. It is recommended that international students apply for the level of the final award you intend to complete i.e. PGCert, PGDip or Masters, due to the associated cost and requirements for a Tier 4 student Visa.

Accreditation of prior learning for Masters courses in Healthcare and Medicine

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) is a process whereby students, who have already gained relevant skills and knowledge prior to the start of their course, may be granted a partial credit exemption from their programme instead of unnecessarily repeating work. Find out more about APL.

Entry requirements for international students

Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.

Read more

Entry requirements for international students

English language requirements

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

Course content

The programme is divided into units of study called ‘modules’ which are assigned a number of ‘credits’. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with one credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work, a 15 credit module being equivalent to 150 hours of work and a full Masters degree being equivalent to approximately 1,800 hours of work. Therefore, for applicants who are working full time (or close to full-time), we recommend applying to complete the Masters degree over 2 or 3 years rather than 1 year.

To gain a Masters qualification, you will need to complete 180 credits at level 7.

It is also possible to exit with a PGCert after completing 60 credits of taught modules or a PGDip after completing 120 credits of taught modules. The list of modules below shows which are compulsory.

Contact days

Health Research Methods timetable 2024/25

(Please note: timetables are draft and subject to change)

The last contact day and assessment deadline for the programme will be earlier than the actual end date of your registration with the University, to allow a period of time at the end of your active studies for further support and mitigation, if needed.

 

The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

 

 

Compulsory modules

If you are a part-time MSc student, you will take the taught compulsory modules in your first year and your research module in your final year.

 

CodeModule Credits
HPDM092 Fundamentals of Research Design 15
HPDM093 Systematic Reviews for Policy and Practice 15
HPDM054Z Statistics as Applied To Health 15
HPDM148 Independent Research 60

Optional modules

CodeModule Credits
HPDM055 Qualitative Methods and Process Evaluations 15
HPDM057 Health Economics 15
HPDM058 Implementation Science 15
HPDM059 Leading Change in Health Services 15
HPDM056Z Clinical Trials 15
HPDM118 Structuring and Solving Public Health Problems 15
HPDM136 Evidence to Decision: Health Technology Assessment, Health Policy and Resource Allocation 15
HPDM154Z Future Health: Beyond Data 15
HPDM155Z Future Health: Reimagining Systems 15

Compulsory modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme

 

MSc full time, 2 year part-time and 3 year part-time

 

Note: If you are a part-time MSc student, take taught compulsory modules in your first year and take your research module in your final year.

 

 

 

CodeModule Credits
HPDM092 Fundamentals of Research Design 15
HPDM093 Systematic Reviews for Policy and Practice 15
HPDM054Z Statistics as Applied To Health 15
HPDM148 Independent Research 60

Optional modules

CodeModule Credits
HPDM055 Qualitative Methods and Process Evaluations 15
HPDM058 Implementation Science 15
HPDM056Z Clinical Trials 15
HPDM057 Health Economics 15
HPDM059 Leading Change in Health Services 15
HPDM118 Structuring and Solving Public Health Problems 15
HPDM136 Evidence to Decision: Health Technology Assessment, Health Policy and Resource Allocation 15
HPDM154Z Future Health: Beyond Data 15
HPDM155Z Future Health: Reimagining Systems 15

Compulsory modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme 

MSc full time, 2 year part-time and 3 year part-time

 

Note: If you are a part-time MSc student, take taught compulsory modules in your first year and take your research module in your final year.

 

CodeModule Credits
HPDM092 Fundamentals of Research Design 15
HPDM093 Systematic Reviews for Policy and Practice 15
HPDM054Z Statistics as Applied To Health 15
HPDM148 Independent Research 60

Optional modules

Choose either 45 credits or 75 credits of Recommended or Other** approved modules:

CodeModule Credits
HPDM055 Qualitative Methods and Process Evaluations 15
HPDM058 Implementation Science 15
HPDM056Z Clinical Trials 15
HPDM057 Health Economics 15
HPDM059 Leading Change in Health Services 15
HPDM118 Structuring and Solving Public Health Problems 15
HPDM136 Evidence to Decision: Health Technology Assessment, Health Policy and Resource Allocation 15
HPDM154Z Future Health: Beyond Data 15
HPDM155Z Future Health: Reimagining Systems 15

Fees

2025/26 entry

UK fees per year:

  • MSc : £12,100 full-time, £6,100pa part-time 2 years, £4,050pa part-time 3 years
  • PgDip:  £4,050pa part-time 2 years
  • PgCert:  £4,050

Standalone module fees: UK: £1,150 per 15-credit module

International fees per year:

  • MSc: £28,600 full-time,  £14,300pa part-time 2 years, £9,550 pa part-time 3 years
  • PgDip:  £9,550pa part-time 2 years
  • PgCert: £9,550

Standalone module fees: International: £2,600 per 15-credit module

Find out more about tuition fees and funding

Fee information

Fees can normally be paid by two termly instalments and may be paid online. You will also be required to pay a tuition fee deposit to secure your offer of a place, unless you qualify for exemption. For further information about paying fees see our Student Fees pages.

Scholarships

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships*.

For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.

*Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.

Funding and scholarships

UK government postgraduate loan scheme

Postgraduate loans of up to £12,167 are now available for Masters degrees. Find out more about eligibility and how to apply.

Scholarships

There are various funding opportunities available including the Medical School's Global excellence scholarships for international fee paying students. For more information visit our Masters funding page.

Teaching and research

Our purpose is to deliver transformative education that will help tackle health challenges of national and global importance.

The taught component of this programme is delivered in the first two terms (one year programme) or five terms (two year programme). During this time you’ll also be helped to develop a dissertation project to be completed in the remaining six months.

Teaching and learning methods

All material is designed for Masters-level and will involve keynote lectures, case studies, seminars and group discussion. Within modules there is considerable scope for you to direct your learning towards fields of particular interest, especially through your choice of dissertation project and in your guided independent study.

Assessment

Short assessments are tailored to each module, with some assessment taking place in class, and others requiring electronic submission of assignments towards the end of a module.

Advice and support

One-to-one tutorials with module leads are timetabled into each of the four taught modules to ensure that you’ll receive personalised support. The Programme Lead is also available to help you with further guidance and advice.

Careers

This programme is designed for a wide range of participants. It will enable health professionals from a variety of disciplines to gain expertise and become a more effective and confident practitioner. It is suitable for health researchers, academic clinical fellows, nurses, midwives, allied healthcare professionals and public health professionals. It is also suitable for new graduates (e.g. Medical Science, Psychology, Sociology, Geography) who wish to gain a comprehensive grounding in health services research methods as a platform for developing a career as a health researcher. 

Careers support

All University of Exeter students have access to Career Zone, where you’ll gain access to our wealth of business contacts, support and training as well as the opportunity to meet potential employers at our regular Careers Fairs.