University College London (UCL)
Health Informatics MSc
London, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
5 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
The MSc in Health Informatics is designed to give students a strong grounding in how technology can improve healthcare. It covers key areas like data management, health information systems, and digital health tools, helping students understand how these innovations shape patient care and health services. The program combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, preparing students to work in roles that develop, evaluate, or manage health technologies. Practical exercises and projects are included to give real-world experience, making sure students leave ready for today’s evolving healthcare environment.
Students will also explore topics like clinical decision support, data analysis, and privacy issues, providing a well-rounded view of the digital health landscape. The course emphasizes critical thinking about how new tools can be effectively implemented and used ethically. Throughout the program, there’s a focus on developing both technical skills and an understanding of healthcare contexts, helping students become confident in navigating complex health data systems. This approach ensures that graduates are well-prepared to contribute to improving health outcomes through innovative informatics solutions.
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 taught modules are delivered online over eight or nine weeks with a short block of intensive face-to-face teaching.
The online element includes video lectures, podcasts, written material as well as exercises and discussions. The face-to-face teaching includes lectures, seminars and experiential learning.
Students will typically be required to spend three days per module on campus. The rest of the learning will be delivered online. For half the modules, the face-to-face teaching will be at UCL, for the other half it will be at the University of Manchester. Students will also be asked to attend a separate induction day based at UCL at the start of the year.
Through this combination of online learning and, face-to-face lectures, seminars and workshops students acquire a knowledge of the policy and regulatory framework governing the use of patient’s confidential information, an understanding of the systems used to record and protect patient records and develop skills in the analysis of healthcare systems and healthcare data.
The types of assessment on this programme may include coursework, examination, presentations and a research project. Assessments may require attendance on campus.
A typical student taking the programme in a modular flexible mode will take four modules spread out over the academic year. They might spend around ten to twelve hours a week working through course materials and formative assignments in addition to attending campus for three days of face to face teaching and completing an assignment that will take twenty to thirty hours. Each 15-credit module equates to around 150 learning hours. This is spread out over the whole period of the module which typically runs over nine weeks. This includes the time you spend in taught sessions, independent study, group work and assessment. The attendance requirements of the dissertation module will vary depending on the project. We organise face to face teaching for dissertation students which takes place at the University of Manchester and UCL.
Modules
Full-time
Full-time students take four compulsory modules and four optional modules chosen from a list of options offered in the department. Students registered for the MSc will also complete a dissertation.
Further information on these modules will become available later in the current academic year.
Part-time
The choice of modules for part-time students is the same as for full-time students, but taken over two years. We recommend that the dissertation is taken in the second year.
Flexible
The choice of modules for part-time students is the same as for full-time students but taken over two to five years. Most modular/flexible students take the programme over three years, completing the compulsory modules in year one, the optional in year two and the dissertation in year three.
Compulsory modules
- University of Manchester: Health Information Systems and Technologies
- Principles of Health Data Analytics
- Dissertation in Health Informatics
- Essentials of Informatics for Healthcare Systems
- University of Manchester: Modern Information Engineering
Optional modules
- Learning Health Systems
- Digital Transformation Project
- Personal Health Informatics
- University of Manchester: Standards and Interoperability
- University of Manchester: Decision Support Systems
- Machine Learning in Health Care (Blended Learning)
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 Health Informatics. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Health Informatics. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Health Informatics.
What this course will give you
- Benefit from studying at two leading research institutes dedicated to health informatics, giving you access to a wider variety of health content than on many other programmes.
- The teaching is research-led and includes content related to AI, machine learning and other current topics of interest.
- Benefit from our close links with health informatics partners including University of Manchester and NHS England.
- Study with students from a diverse mix of educational and technical backgrounds.
- Programme delivered through a blend of face-to-face teaching and online learning.
- The content is designed by academics working at the forefront of change and reflects the latest thinking on healthcare.
- A strong emphasis on applying knowledge and developing in-demand skills for your career.
The foundation of your career
The skills you gain in health informatics are highly sought after in technical and management roles involved in leading the digital transformation of healthcare.
Having knowledge of this subject area is also highly relevant for leadership positions in the NHS or other healthcare organisations in the UK and overseas.
Graduates have moved into careers in pharmaceutical companies or consulting organisations, gone onto further study, taking on PhDs or fellowships, or launched their own businesses.
They have gone onto work at organisations such as IQVIA, Synlab, the NHS and universities in the UK and abroad.*
*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
The programme encourages intellectual curiosity and critical thinking, teaches transferable skills and cultivates reflective practice. Armed with these skills, you’ll rapidly have an impact in your workplace. You’ll be learning from academics who are helping to shape health informatics globally, and benefit from our close links with healthcare organisations and other employers.
Networking
This programme works closely with NHS organisations in Manchester and London, and with companies that are active in digital health. These well-established relationships provide opportunities for students to build their professional network as well as undertake projects with these organisations.