University of Strathclyde – New programme for 2021: MSc Health Analysis, Policy and Management

Over the past year health has become a major focus for everyone with the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, hitting the headlines daily. The pandemic has taken a toll on both individuals, businesses and health agencies, and health expertise has never been more called for.

Strathclyde Business School , Glasgow is introducing a new programme MSc Health Analysis, Policy and Management for September 2021 start.

The MSc Health Analysis, Policy & Management has been developed to equip students with the practical, evaluative, and analytical skills needed to influence and develop strategy and performance in the healthcare sector.

The skills learned will apply for roles at different levels in organisations across the health sector, including in hospitals, health systems, healthcare consulting firms, governments, and other local and international health organisations. They’re also useful tools for beginning an academic research career in the area.

The programme is offered by the Department of Management Science whose academics are actively engaged in research and consulting work for UK and international health organisations, including the English and Scottish National Health Services in the UK. All students will work on summer projects on a relevant theme and, where possible, we try to arrange external projects with the organisations we work with.

This unique course takes a ‘systems thinking’ approach to improving decision-making in healthcare in the UK and internationally.

Programme lead Dr Itamar Megiddo said, “Modelling has played a key part in the approach by Governments around the world to Covid-19, from ensuring hospitals can deal with an upsurge in patients to working out how potential vaccines will be distributed. Data and systems can play a hugely important role in healthcare and make incredibly positive impacts on healthcare systems.

“Earlier this year, researchers in our department carried out work to model local hospital resources during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic here in Scotland. Our researchers are also working on a number of other health care modelling projects – there is a wealth of academic and practical expertise in the analysis and management of healthcare systems and these are skills needed more than ever in the healthcare sector.

“Our programme is novel, if not unique, in teaching health decision making in a business school setting as opposed to a humanities, mathematics or medical perspective. However, we’re drawing on expertise from across the University to ensure this programme is a new, dynamic programme which will enable our graduates to work in a broad range of health-related sectors.

“In our new programme there will be a strong emphasis on practical learning with guest lectures and cases from external agencies. On graduation, students will have gained skills that translate to roles in public and private organisations across the health sector, with roles available in health services, public health agencies, non-profit organisations, and private industry.”

The fee for international students is £ 21, 300 and to know more about the programme, how to apply and entry requirements for the MSc Health Analysis, Policy and Management please visit https://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/healthanalysispolicymanagement/#whythiscourse