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Health Care Research Methods MSc

Part of: Medicine

This programme will give you the academic background and specialist skills to carry out healthcare and clinical research. If you are a graduate, nurse, medical doctor or other health professional this programme is for you.

  • Learn how to take research forward in health services, academic environments, contract research organisations, or pharmaceutical industry environments
  • Gain a detailed picture of the complex and inter-related activities of the development cycle, from discovery to successful commercialisation
  • Gain an understanding of the regulatory framework governing good clinical research
  • Learn to apply the principles that you have learnt to your professional commitments
  • Develop skills in gathering, recording and communicating information

Study options

Starting in
September 2025
Location
Charterhouse Square
Fees
Home: £12,250
Overseas: £28,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students

What you'll study

The modular nature of the programme is designed to fit in with your needs if you are in full-time employment. You will receive the taught element of the modules in three-day blocks approximately every four to six weeks.

You will learn how to design a clinical study and gain insights into practical aspects of early drug development. You will cover ethics and regulation and understand how to manage the data of a study. You will also gain a wider picture of the health management environment and the decision-making within it.

Structure

  • Nine compulsory modules
  • Compulsory 20,000-word dissertation
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Compulsory/Core modules

Clinical Study Design

No module detail available

Practical Aspects of Clinical Research and Early Drug Development

No module detail available

Ethics and Regulation in Clinical Research

No module detail available

Data Management: the Interpretation of Statistics and Pharmacokinetics

No module detail available

Health and Pharmaco-Economics

No module detail available

Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing

No module detail available

Dissertation

No module detail available

Health and the Human Body

No module detail available

Specific Topics in Clinical Trial Design and Elective Project

No module detail available

- Concepts of health and illness - Measuring health at local and national levels - Healthcare systems - Critical reviewing literature to establish current knowledge - Development and change in the NHS - Evaluating healthcare improvements through research, audit, or service development - Presenting research, audit, and service development - Developing policies and clinical guidelines - Equality, equity and health policy - The professional in a large organisation - Resource allocation and rationing

Assessment

  • You will receive continuous assessment in your taught modules through essay-style answers, a series of shorter answers or a mixture of both 
  • There is no final written examination

Dissertation

You will complete a critical dissertation of approximately 20,000 words.

Teaching

Your learning will include:

  • seminars
  • self-directed learning
  • reading lists of books and journal papers.

This programme is also available to study part-time which means that you would take fewer modules per semester. Classes generally take place during the day, so if you intend to study part-time, contact the course convenor to get an idea of when these teaching hours are likely to take place.

You will have an Academic Adviser who will guide you in both academic and pastoral matters throughout your studies.

Where you'll learn

Facilities

  • The William Harvey Research Institute offers state-of-the art core facilities, including a Genome Centre, a flow cytometry and cell sorting station, and in vivo imaging facilities
  • A Learning Resources Centre, open around the clock, with 200 networked PCs solely for the use of postgraduate students
  • Medical libraries located at the Royal London and St Bart's hospitals and at the main university campus at Mile End
  • Access to the Postgraduate Reading Room
  • Research access to the British Library

About the Institute

William Harvey Research Institute

The William Harvey Research Institute (WHRI) places a high value upon training the next generation of researchers. We are part of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London, which is ranked joint seventh in the UK for the quality of our research (REF 2021).

Our primary research focus and excellence lies in our cardiovascular, inflammation and endocrine research themes. In addition, we achieve international excellence in critical care and perioperative medicine research. We aim to combine talents from different disciplines such as genomics, cell biology, and pharmacology, with translational bench-to-patient studies and large-scale clinical trials.

We are currently the largest pharmacological research institute in the UK University sector, and one of the largest in Europe. The Centre employs 530 clinicians and scientists from 45 countries.

Career paths

This programme will give you the academic background and specialist skills to carry out healthcare and clinical research. 

  • 93% of WHRI graduates are in employment or further study (2020/21)
  • 88% of WHRI graduates in employment or study are in highly skilled work or graduate study (2020/21)

Fees and funding

Full-time study

September 2025 | 1 year

Unconditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Part-time study

September 2025 | 2 years

The course fee is charged per annum for 2 years. Note that fees may be subject to an increase on an annual basis - see details on our tuition fees page.

Unconditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Part-time study

September 2025 | 2 - 4 years


The course fee is charged per annum for the first 2 years. Note that fees may be subject to an increase on an annual basis - see details on our tuition fees page.

Unconditional deposit

Home: Not applicable

Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits

Queen Mary alumni can get a £1000, 10% or 20% discount on their fees depending on the programme of study. Find out more about the Alumni Loyalty Award

Funding

There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.

Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:

Entry requirements

UK

Degree requirements

A 2:2 or above at undergraduate level in a relevant degree.

Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.

International

English language requirements

The English language requirements for our programmes are indicated by English bands, and therefore the specific test and score acceptable is based on the band assigned to the academic department within which your chosen course of study is administered. Note that for some academic departments there are programmes with non-standard English language requirements.

The English Language requirements for entry to postgraduate taught and research programmes in the William Harvey Research Institute falls within the following English band:

Band 4: IELTS (Academic) minimum score 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each of Writing, Listening, Reading and Speaking

Please note, there are some postgraduate programmes with non-standard English language requirements in this Institute.

We accept a range of English tests and qualifications categorised in our English bands for you to demonstrate your level of English Language proficiency. See all accepted English tests that we deem equivalent to these IELTS scores.

Visas and immigration

Find out how to apply for a student visa.

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