Health Data Science, MSc / PGDip / PGCert

Note for international and European applicants: details of how your qualification compares to the published academic entry requirements can be found on our Country Specific Entry Requirements page.

We require at least 2:2, or overseas equivalent, in a quantitative discipline such as

• Mathematics
• Statistics
• Computing
• Engineering
• Physics
  or
• Biomedical science (including epidemiology, biological sciences, or medicine)

 

Your degree must have had significant statistical and computational elements or health data/medical background.

• Relevant experience in health data science, or a related field, may be accepted in lieu of a degree and should be evidenced within your applications.
• International Applicants for whom English is not your first language, may require an IELTS score or Swansea University recognised equivalent. If this is the case an IELTS score or recognised equivalent of 6.5 (minimum of 6 in each component) or higher will be needed.

Most of our courses consist of in-person, on-campus teaching, enabling full engagement with your lecturers and fellow students.

The courses are designed to give you the opportunity to apply what you learn to real-world data from highly successful research projects across various disciplines in health data science.

Assignments are relevant to the types of work for health data scientists, and you will have an opportunity to apply advanced statistical and machine learning methods to health data.

You will learn how to work to analyse and interpret health data and use it to help solve healthcare challenges.

Many of our students complete a dissertation on a dataset from a research grant which has provided significant contributions to understanding disease, putting health data into clinical practice, or supporting clinical decisions.

Some provision

There are opportunities for Welsh speakers to study some elements of this postgraduate course through the medium of Welsh but there is not yet enough provision to reach 40 credits in each year. The Programme Director can outline to you what is available in Welsh.

Academi Hywel Teifi is here to support you throughout your time at Swansea University. We can offer you:

• Access to generous Welsh-language study scholarships or bursaries.
• Access to the Arwain mobile app for the latest information about Welsh-medium courses and modules available to download free on the App Store and Google Play.
• An interview through the medium of Welsh when applying for a place.
• Personal correspondence in Welsh, English or bilingually.
• The option to create and submit your coursework or sit exams through the medium of Welsh (even if you have chosen to study in English), and your work will be assessed in Welsh.
• A Welsh-speaking Personal Tutor.
• One-to-one support to improve your academic Welsh language skills.
• An opportunity to gain an additional free qualification that serves as evidence of your Welsh language ability for future employers.
• Membership of the Swansea University Branch of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.

Visit the Welsh Language Rights webpage for further information about Students' Welsh Language Rights.

Continuing to study through the medium of Welsh will be:

• a natural step for you if you have studied through the medium of Welsh at undergraduate level.
• a way of maximizing your chances of getting the best education.
• a way of receiving a high level of support as the study groups are smaller.
• a valuable addition to your CV and career development.

Health Data Science students will be taught by a range of world leading researchers based at the Medical School, giving you unrivalled access to teaching on our latest medical research.

 

Principal teaching staff for the Health Data Science programmes are:

• Interim Programme Director: Dr Vesna Vuksanovic
• Admissions Tutor: Judy Jenkins
• Head of Health Data Science: Professor Mike Gravenor
• Dr Rowena Baily
• Dr Owen Bodger
• Professor Sinead Brophy
• Dr Marcos del Pozo Banos
• Professor Richard Fry
• Professor Mike Gravenor
• Dr Arron Lacey
• Dan Thayer
• Dr Vesna Vuksanovic
• Professor Alan Watkins

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

International students and part-time study: It may be possible for some students to study part-time under the Student Visa route. However, this is dependent on factors relating to the course and your individual situation. It may also be possible to study with us if you are already in the UK under a different visa category (e.g. Tier 1 or 2, PBS Dependant, ILR etc.). Please visit the University information on Visas and Immigration for further guidance and support.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.

If you're a UK or EU student starting a master’s degree at Swansea University, you may be eligible to apply for Government funding to help towards the cost of your studies. To find out more, please visit our postgraduate loans page.

To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offer a number of generous scholarships and bursaries for students who wish to study through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. For further information about the opportunities available to you, visit the Academi Hywel Teifi Scholarships and Bursaries page.

We also have a range of Taught Master's Scholarships available.

Access to your own digital device/the appropriate IT kit will be essential during your time studying at Swansea University. Access to wifi in your accommodation will also be essential to allow you to fully engage with your programme. See our dedicated webpages for further guidance on suitable devices to purchase, and for a full guide on getting your device set up.

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but not limited to):

• Travel to and from campus
• Printing, photocopying, binding, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
• Purchase of books or texts
• Gowns for graduation ceremonies

Swansea Employability Academy (SEA) will support you at each stage of your career journey helping you build a bright future.

Our career support services include:

• Employability workshops, employers’ talks, bespoke events and careers fairs
• Individual advice and guidance from professionally qualified Careers Advisers
• Help with finding jobs, internships, work placements and volunteering opportunities
• Access to information resources on a wide range of career management topics
• Funding to support student internship opportunities and Student Society/Club events.

We also provide help and advice for Swansea University Alumni up to two years after you graduate.

As well as subject specific support by college teaching staff and your personal tutor, the Centre for Academic Success provides courses, workshops and one-to-one support in areas such as:

• Academic writing
• Maths and statistics
• Critical thinking
• Time management
• Digital skills
• Presentation skills
• Note taking
• Revision, memory and exam techniques
• English language skills (if English is not your first language).

In addition, if you have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD), disability, mental health or medical condition, the Centre for Academic Success have Specialist Tutors to support your learning, working alongside the Disability Office and Wellbeing Service to support all your needs and requirements whilst studying at Swansea University.

Personal Tutor:

You will be assigned a Personal Tutor from a pool of trained personnel drawn from academic staff in the Medical School, or possibly clinical staff from Health Boards for GEM and PA. 

Personal Tutors are your first point of contact while studying at the Medical School and can provide assistance and guidance on a range of issues that may affect your wellbeing, attendance and educational progress. Personal Tutors may also help with your personal development planning and careers advice. Your tutor may also direct you to Welfare and other support services as appropriate.

 

Medical School Information Office:

Our team of administrators and student information co-ordinators are on hand to support with your academic queries and signpost you to additional services where required. 

Please apply through the University’s Application system.

For further guidance please visit our how to apply for postgraduate study pages.

EU students - visa and immigration information is available and will be regularly updated on our information for EU students page.

We recommend that you submit your application to our courses as early as you can in advance of our application deadlines. Courses will close earlier than the application deadlines listed if all available places are filled. You can find further information on our Application Deadlines webpage.

This course is suitable for computer scientists, physicist, statisticians or geographers with experience in working with data from the healthcare domain, as well as biomedical engineers and other similar professionals, and also for those who work in healthcare or epidemiology with roles involving the analysis of health data.

Health Data Scientists are those working in healthcare with roles involving the analysis of health data and also computer scientists working with data from the healthcare domain.

Typical tasks of health data scientists include:

• data preparation
• using SQL or programming languages
• using clinical coding such as ICD-10 or SNOMED
• data modelling & analysis
• statistics
• machine learning
• epidemiology
• health economics
• visualisation of data & reporting/publication

Here are some examples of typical data a data health data scientist works with:

• data collected in primary (GP practice) and secondary care (hospitals)
• health registries
• census data
• questionnaire data
• demographic data
• data from medical devices or fitness/health applications
• genomic data
• environmental data (e.g. temperature, precipitation, air pollution, pollen count)
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

This course can be studied as an intercalated masters degree. 

Intercalation is an extra year of study on top of your Medicine degree programme and an opportunity to explore a new area in greater depth, gain new knowledge and develop new skills. 

If you’re interested in intercalating this degree email study@swansea.ac.uk