Health Policy

The course is aimed at those working in the health sector, including government officials, clinicians, and employees of health insurance and consulting companies, as well as the healthcare industries. Through intensive blocks of teaching coupled with personal study, the course allows students to obtain a Master’s qualification without the need to take time out from their careers, from one of the top universities in the world.

The teaching element of the course consists of four sessions, each of two weeks’ teaching during the course.  Each session has two modules – one a week.  Six of the modules are core, and two are elective modules.

The research dissertation element is one extended project that will be completed outside the teaching blocks.

Core Modules

Module 1 Health Systems and Policy in developed and developing countries

Introductory model considering what health policy and systems are, how to compare health systems and the international and national influences on health policy.

Module 2 Health Economics for Health Policy

Looks at how macro and micro economics affect healthcare.  Explains concepts of behaviour economics and their utility in health policy.

Module 3 Financing Healthcare

Considers how healthcare is funded from the raising of revenue, to allocation of revenue to payers, to the paying of providers.

Module 4 Health and Society

Focuses on the impact of public health and its importance for health policy-makers and also considers issues of inequalities.

Modules 5 Management and Leadership in Healthcare

Covers the need for effective management and leadership in healthcare and allows participants to consider their own skills in this area.

Module 7 Health Service Delivery

Utilises Imperial College’s position as an Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) to look at how policy is delivered, with time spent in Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust.

Optional modules

Optional Modules – chosen during Session 1.

Module 6 (Choose one from)

Measuring and Improving Performance in Health Systems

Looks at the different ways of measuring health performance and also how these data can be used to improve effectiveness.

Communicating Health Policy

Effectively communicating health policy is as important as getting the initial policy right and this module looks at techniques and the impact of different media.

Module 8 (Choose one from)

Innovation in Healthcare

What enables or prevents successful innovation, the role of different sectors and the impact of innovation on health policy will be considered in this module.

Ageing and Social Care

What should be the policy response to an ageing society and how does healthcare interact with other service providers is the focus of this module.

Year one Part time Modules 1 – 5 Year Two Part time – Modules 6 - 8

A Second Class Honours degree, in either arts or sciences, from a UK university or an overseas qualification of equivalent standard.  Exceptional applicants who do not hold a first degree, but have appropriate professional diplomas and highly relevant experience, will be considered on an individual basis and interviewed at the discretion of the Course Director. They must also pass a Special Qualifying Examination.  Relevant Experience could be that they have worked in a public or private sector organisation developing health policy.  All applicants must satisfy the College’s English proficiency requirement.
 Applicants who meet the above criteria are selected on the basis of their application form and references
 Exceptional applicants who do not hold a first degree, but have appropriate professional diplomas and highly relevant experience, will be considered on an individual basis and interviewed at the discretion of the Course Director. They must also pass a Special Qualifying Examination.

Dean's Master's Scholarships

Home/EU Students

• Full tuition fees and a stipend of £17,000

• 5 places are available

Overseas Students

• Full tuition fees and a stipend of £17,000

• 4 places are available

Stipends will be paid in monthly instalments, subject to satisfactory progression. Awardees on courses which last more than a year will have their £17,000 stipend spread over the full lengh of the degree. 

The Faculty offers a wide range of Master's degree courses, as well as PG Certificates and Diplomas, and all students will belong to the Graduate School, which provides a comprehensive Transferable Skills Programme. 

 For any queries not covered here, please email James Osborne (PGT Administrator, Faculty of Medicine) at james.osborne@imperial.ac.uk.

Please note that there may be other scholarships offered by Schools, Institutes and Departments that make up the Faculty of Medicine. These are separate from the Dean's and Faculty Master's Scholarships described here and entail a different application process. 

Eligibility

General Eligibility

These awards are open to all students who have made an application to the Faculty of Medicine by 30 April 2015 for admission to study for a full time or part time Master's course* at Imperial College London, starting in October 2015 (*or PG Cert for a course where that is the only route to the higher degree).

Please note that these awards can only be given to students who are studying a course run by the Faculty of Medicine. For a full list of these courses, please see our Master's Degree page. 

It is not essential for applicants to have already received an offer of a place on a course, but the initial course application must be made before applying for a scholarship.

Residence Eligibility

Applications are accepted from talented candidates from Imperial College London, the UK and worldwide. There are no restrictions on nationality.

Academic Eligibility

• Candidates are expected to be able to provide evidence of outstanding academic ability. This will usually mean being among the highest achievers in their undergraduate cohort and in receipt of, or due to receive, a first class UK Honours degree or equivalent.

• An applicant who does not meet this requirement (e.g. holds a second class undergraduate degree, is a health professional who did not undertake a degree course, or is from a non-traditional background*), will be considered if they are able to demonstrate that they have outstanding academic potential and substantial experience relevant to their chosen subject area. This should be included in the Personal Statement section of the application form. (*Those applicants without a degree will be required, where available, to pass a Special Qualifying Examination to gain entry to the chosen course).

• Candidates with degrees from overseas institutions are strongly urged to determine if their scores/grades are equivalent to the relevant eligibility criteria.

• Candidates who already have a postgraduate qualification should justify their request to have an additional postgraduate course funded by the faculty. This should be included in the Personal Statement section of the application form.

• Candidates who wish to apply for a Master's course which starts as a PG Cert or PG Dip will only be considered if they are committed to completing the course to Master's level.

• Scholarships awarded based on predicted grades will be conditional upon final results.

How to Apply
In order to be considered for the Dean's Master's Scholarships, potential candidates will need to have first applied for a place on a Master's course in the Faculty of Medicine. It is not essential to wait for an offer of a place to be made, but the initial course application must be made before submitting a scholarship application. To apply for a Master's course, please use our online admission system. 

Once the application for the course has been submitted, those who wish to apply for a scholarship should complete our online form (Note: the Scholarship award panel will assess candidates on their scholarship application form NOT their course application, so make sure all key information is included in your scholarship application). The form will need to be completed in a single session, so please have the following information prepared:

• Personal statement (not more than 1000 words).
• Details of qualifications, achievements, awards, relevant experience and publications.
• The title/s of the course/s which you have applied for.

Shortlisting will take place in May 2015. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interviews which are currently scheduled for the week commencing Monday 8 June 2015. All interviews will take place via Skype between 9.00 and 17.00 BST. The scholarship application form includes a question regarding your country of residence in June 2015. We will use this information to identify your time zone and try to tailor your interview time accordingly, although we cannot guarantee that the slot allocated to you will be convenient for your time zone. 

All candidates will be informed of the decision by the end of June 2015.

References

We will use the references that you provide as part of your course application process. Please do not send references to us directly as we will be unable to accept them. It is not essential that we receive your references in time to consider your scholarship application, although their absence may weaken your application. It is therefore recommended that you contact your referees directly to ask that they respond to your course application reference request before Friday 8 May 2015 (one week after scholarship applications close).

Terms and conditions

When applying for Faculty of Medicine Master's Degree Scholarships, candidates must agree to Imperial's terms and conditions regarding scholarships and bursaries. 

Please note, the following conditions override the standard Imperial terms and conditions:

• Both part time and full time students are eligible to apply.

• An offer of a place is not required before applying, but candidates must first apply for a Master's course run by the Faculty of Medicine before applying for a scholarship.

• Candidates who do not apply through the online form will not be considered for the Dean's Master's Scholarships.

• Successful applicants who receive a Dean's Master's Scholarship will not be allowed to accept any other form of scholarship or bursary provided by Imperial College London for study during the 2015/16 academic year.

• Scholarship stipends will be paid in monthly instalments over the length of the course, subject to satisfactory progress. Students on courses which are part time or start as a PG Cert will have their stipend paid in equal monthly instalments over the full length of the course.

• Awardees will be required to participate in a small number of promotional activities during the course of their studies and allow their image to be used by Imperial for publicity purposes. Such activities may include (but are not limited to) attending special events and producing occassional print or web copy.

​Deadline for applications is Midnight 30 April 2015

Applicants will be given a decision by 30 June 2015.

Applications are invited from outstanding candidates from Imperial College London, the UK and worldwide who have the potential to become leaders in their field.