Evidence-Based Health Care

The MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care will position students to integrate the best available research evidence with their clinical expertise and patient values to make better informed decisions in their field of health care.

This is a joint programme between the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and the Department for Continuing Education's Continuing Professional Development Centre. The Programme works in collaboration with the renowned Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford.

This programme has teachers and contributors who are internationally recognised leaders in the field of evidence-based practice and teaching. The flexible structure of the course has been devised to fit with the structure of specialist training and to accommodate student choice.

The MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care is a part-time course. There are two compulsory modules, four option modules and a dissertation.

Compulsory Modules

• The Practice of Evidence-Based Health Care
• Introduction to Study Design and Research Methods

Option Modules (four must be chosen)

• Clinical Trial Management
• Ethics for Bioscience
• Mixed Methods in Health Research
• Knowledge into Action
• Evidence-based Diagnosis and Screening
• Introduction to Statistics for Health Care Research
• Systematic Reviews
• Randomized Controlled Trials
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Essential Medical Statistics
• History and Philosophy of Evidence-Based Health Care
• Teaching Evidence-Based Practice
• Realist Reviews and Realist Evaluation (new in 2017/18)
• Complex Reviews (new in 2017/18)
• Meta-analysis (new in 2017/18)
• Statistics for Clinical Trials (new in 2017/18)
• Big Data Epidemiology (new in 2017/18)

A module is run over an eight week cycle where the first week is spent working on introductory activities using a Virtual Learning Environment, the second week is spent in Oxford for the face to face teaching week (this takes place on the dates advertised), there are then four Post-Oxford activities (delivered through the VLE) which are designed to help you write your assignment. You then have a week of personal study and you will be required to submit your assignment electronically the following week (usually on a Tuesday at 14:00 UK Local Time).

Online modules are delivered entirely through a Virtual Learning Environment with the first week allocated to introductory activities. There are ten units to work through which are released week by week (starting on the dates advertised), you then have five weeks of personal study with use of a revision forum and then you will be required to submit your assignment electronically the following week (usually on a Tuesday at 14:00 UK Local Time).

Assessment methods

Assessment for each module will be based on a written assignment, which shall not be of more than 4,000 words. Students for the MSc will also be required to complete a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor and the Course Director. The dissertation should not normally exceed 15,000 words.

To complete the MSc students must:

• Attend and complete the 2 compulsory modules and 4 option modules
• Complete a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor and the Course Director. The dissertation should normally not exceed 15,000 words.
• Attend a viva voce examination at the end of the course of studies at the discretion of the examiners

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in any subject.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA normally sought is 3.6 out of 4.0.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

Successful completion of a professional training course or professional work experience in the health service or a health-related field may also be considered.

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Personal statement:One page
• References/letters of recommendation:Three overall, generally academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level