University College London (UCL)
Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology MSc
London, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
5 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 33,000 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international students: full time £33,000 - part-time £16,500/year | UK students: full time £16,000 - part-time £8,000/year. Additional fees may apply
The MSc in Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology is designed to prepare students to understand and control infectious diseases through a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The program covers key areas like disease transmission, outbreak investigation, and the use of statistical methods to analyze epidemiological data. Students learn how to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions and develop strategies for disease prevention and control. Practical experience is emphasized, with opportunities for students to engage in projects and placements that simulate real-world challenges in infectious disease management.
Throughout the course, there’s a focus on current global health issues, including emerging infections and pandemic preparedness. Students gain insight into the role of vaccines, diagnostics, and policy in controlling infectious diseases. The curriculum also explores communication strategies for health promotion and the importance of multidisciplinary teamwork. This program aims to equip students with the skills needed to work in public health organizations, research institutions, or government agencies dedicated to infectious disease control. It offers a broad foundation for those interested in advancing their careers in epidemiology and infectious disease management.
UCL Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships available to postgraduate students, including our UCL Masters Bursary for UK students and our UCL Global Masters Scholarship for international students. You can click the link below to search via the scholarships finder for awards that you might be eligible for. Your academic department will also be able to provide you with more information about funding.
External Scholarships
Online aggregators like Postgraduate Studentships, Scholarship Search, Postgraduate Funding and International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search contain information on a variety of external schemes.
If you have specific circumstances or ethnic or religious background it is worth searching for scholarships/bursaries/grants that relate to those things. Some schemes are very specific.
Funding for disabled students
Master's students who have a disability may be able to get extra funding for additional costs they incur to study.
Teaching and learning
The programme will be delivered through a mixture of lectures, tutorials and practical sessions that build your learning throughout the year. Practical sessions include critical appraisal, data analysis, interpretation of data, application of evidence to scenarios, presentations, and discussion forums.
UCL academics with wide-ranging and international expertise in epidemiology, medicine, public health, social science, and basic science research of infectious diseases will deliver lectures, facilitate practical sessions and act as your supervisors and tutors.
Your learning will culminate in an independent dissertation project, supervised by one of the UCL IGH’s world-class research staff and supported through skills sessions and milestones throughout the year.
Classes take place during business hours. Modules are delivered as blocks of study. The duration of modules ranges from one to ten weeks. This course can be taken full-time, part-time or flexibly.
Core modules and most optional modules are largely assessed by coursework rather than timed exams. Examples of coursework tasks include investigating an outbreak, developing a funding proposal to tackle an infectious disease problem, critically appraising papers, and conducting and presenting statistical analyses. You will build skills in presenting your work orally and in a variety of written formats including short reports, responses to questions, data visualisations, and a dissertation.
Each 15-credit core module typically includes four to five hours of contact time (e.g. lectures, practical sessions) per week during the First and Second Term, with the 30-credit module including 8-10 hours of contact time per week. You are also expected to dedicate independent study time to reading, reviewing materials, and practising methods to consolidate your learning, as well as to prepare formative and summative assessments.
During the Third Term, you will continue with one or two optional modules but will have proportionately more independent study time working towards your dissertation, which you will submit at the end of the summer. You will have approximately 10 hours of dissertation supervision time, in additional to dissertation skills sessions throughout the year.
Students taking the course full-time should expect to spend approximately 40 hours per week total on their course throughout the year.
Modules
Full-time
You will be introduced to the key concepts in infection and population health in the First Term. You will synthesise understanding about microbiology, immunology, and epidemiology of pathogens to inform infection control and public health interventions. You will also acquire basic statistical skills and a good understanding of infectious disease epidemiology.
In the Second and Third Term you will extend your understanding of molecular epidemiology and statistics and choose optional modules from a selection offered by the UCL IGH, the UCL Department of Infection and Immunity, and elsewhere.
You will be supported to choose two optional modules fitting with your own interests and career aspirations from a selection including those aimed at developing more advanced or specialised knowledge in implementation and research methods, the basic science of infectious diseases, or quantitative skills in epidemiological data analysis.
You will also write a research project that you will present as a dissertation in the format of a journal article of up to 7,500 words and an oral presentation. The research can include data analysis or a literature review on a topic related to infectious disease epidemiology.
Part-time
The programme can be taken part-time (over two years). We have experience supporting students with this mode of study. Part-time students take 90 credits in Year One (not including the dissertation) and 90 credits, including the dissertation in Year Two. Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases is a prerequisite for taking Molecular Epidemiology for Infectious Diseases. Applied Statistics for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 1 is a prerequisite for Applied Statistics for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 2.
Flexible
The programme can be taken flexibly (over more than two years). We have experience supporting students with this mode of study. Modular/flexible students should discuss their plans with one of the course directors before making any module selection. Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases is a prerequisite for taking Molecular Epidemiology for Infectious Diseases. Applied Statistics for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 1 is a prerequisite for Applied Statistics for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 2.
Compulsory modules
- Molecular Epidemiology for Infectious Diseases
- Fundamental Principles of Infection and Population Health
- Dissertation in Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases
- Applied Statistics for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 1
- Applied Statistics for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 2
Optional modules
- Key Principles of Health Economics
- Research in Action: the Qualitative Approach
- Climate Change and Health
- Economic Evaluation in Health Care
- Urban Health
- Evaluating Interventions
- Digital Health for Infectious Diseases - Diagnostics, Management, Prevention and Surveillance
- Introduction to Disease Modelling
- Immunisation and Communicable Diseases
- Public Health Data Science
- Global Eradication of Viruses
- Infectious Diseases in Resource-Poor Settings
- Frontiers in Tuberculosis
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology.
What this course will give you
- UCL is ranked 6th in the world for public health (ShanghaiRankings 2023), 9th in the world as a university (QS World Rankings 2025) and is rated number one for research power and impact in medicine, health and life sciences (REF 2021).
- Explore infectious disease epidemiology from an interdisciplinary perspective, with basic and clinical science, bioinformatics and molecular epidemiology taught alongside essential epidemiological, statistical and critical appraisal skills.
- Gain a firm grounding in core principles of infectious disease epidemiology such as transmission dynamics and study design and analysis.
- Assess the quality of evidence in infectious disease research and public health policy, construct research questions, work with quantitative data, choose and apply methods, and interpret findings.
- Learn about important scientific advances, including pathogen genomics and other molecular technologies, big data opportunities and the microbiota, which have changed the way we can measure host-pathogen relationships and understand infectious disease epidemiology.
- Teaching will draw on examples from high, middle, and low-income settings, across a range of conditions, including HIV, influenza and other airborne viruses, STIs, TB, and emerging, vaccine-preventable, vertically transmitted, and vector-borne diseases.
- Benefit from a cohort of between 25 and 35 students – small enough to form strong connections, and large enough to support vibrant discussion in class.
The foundation of your career
This Master’s degree will set up you up for building a career as an infectious disease epidemiologist within interdisciplinary teams.
Graduates have gone on to a variety of roles as epidemiologists, analysts and data scientists in research, public health, healthcare, and private sector organisations, both in the UK and internationally. Many have been successful in securing places in funded PhD programmes at UCL and at other universities.
Alumni from the UCL Institute for Global Health (UCL IGH) have gone onto work at organisations such as IQVIA, the NHS, the Ministry of Health, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, and universities in the UK and abroad. Others have gone onto PhDs and academic research.*
*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 cohorts.
Employability
Tackling infectious diseases effectively calls for professionals in this area to have a diverse range of skills which will allow you to approach complex infectious disease problems, relevant for a wide range of careers within epidemiology and public health.
You’ll learn about everything from study design, and planning, conducting and interpreting statistical analyses – to critical appraisal, oral presentations, teamwork, project management, and writing for scientific and lay audiences.
These skills are highly relevant for careers in epidemiology and public health (not limited to infection), including research and evaluation, policy formulation, and programme planning and implementation.
Networking
UCL IGH students have priority access to academic events held throughout the year. This includes UCL's prestigious Lancet Lecture series which showcases leading global health scholars working on key public health issues. Students also have access to internal events, such as meetings that bring together research being done across our three sites and lunchtime lectures featuring the research of UCL Institute for Global Health staff and doctoral candidates. Academic staff also host a series of events for students to provide informal spaces to discuss ideas, research, and provide career advice.