MSc Digital Health

Programme overview

Digital technologies are vital to the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and management of illnesses such as diabetes, depression and dementia with smartphone apps, wearable monitors and smart home systems now able to gather data on a person’s health condition within their community. Using this data in their decision-making, health and care professionals can help patients manage their own illness, support independent living and deliver therapies.

If you have a first degree in a Health Science, Computer Science, Life Science, Maths or Engineering subject and want to develop as a leader in this field, our MSc in Digital Health provides you with the necessary technological expertise and an understanding of the health landscape in order to maintain empathy with the patient’s needs and an eye to new business opportunities.

If you’re from an Engineering or Computer Sciences background, you’ll be introduced to relevant aspects of health. If you have a Health Science or Life Science background you will be introduced to coding, data analysis and e-health.

The course enables you to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new products and assess the ethical principles that guide the development of new health technologies. You’ll finally undertake a summer project, usually inspired by a real need in the NHS or industry.

Learning alongside graduates from different disciplines, you’ll become both a digital health expert and a strong team player - equipped with the skills to work in multidisciplinary environments within industry and state-provided health and social care services.

You’ll be based in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, one of the leading research-intensive departments in the UK and home to the nation’s only Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Health, benefiting from its strong connections to companies in this rapidly growing industrial sector. The MSc has also been awarded funding from Health Data Research UK (HDR-UK), one of only six UK universities to be supported by this national flagship organisation for health data science.

Careers

The Digital Health industry is one of the fastest growing, both internationally and in the UK, with official reports stating that the sector is increasing at a rate of 15% per year. Driven by the health needs of ageing populations in countries such as the UK, France, Germany, China, Singapore, Japan and the US, this growth is expected to continue for decades to come.

Exciting career opportunities to develop new digitally-enabled, personalised, health solutions therefore exist within academia, the charitable sector, and health providers in many different countries (e.g. the UK’s NHS), as well as myriad companies that have active health research and development programs (such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Sony, Microsoft, Samsung, Huawei, Arm amongst others).