Course information
UK fee £9,550
International fee £24,500
Taught by Population Health Sciences
Contact
MRes Course Administrator
clspgt@le.ac.uk
Course description
Course description
Research into health and healthcare is essential for:
- understanding the causes, presentation and management of health conditions
- informing the development and evaluation of innovative health technologies, treatments, care pathways and services
- informing health policy decision making
Our course will equip you with knowledge and skills needed for evidence-based health and healthcare research. You will be based within the Department of Population Health Sciences which has an international reputation for innovative research in public health, biostatistics, epidemiology and healthcare improvement.
You will learn from globally leading researchers actively involved in tackling current health challenges and develop as an effective change agent for current and future health policies and clinical practices.
Our teaching portfolio is informed by the Department’s world-leading research, which means that the curriculum and all your course materials will be based on the latest insights and understanding into current health and healthcare challenges.
You will receive a comprehensive grounding in both quantitate and qualitative research methods, while developing key transferable, highly in-demand skills in research practice, critical appraisal, academic writing for grant proposals and peer-reviewed journals, group and independent working, public and patient engagement, communication and presentation of research, and research management, policy, governance and ethics.
We offer different options for your study: the Masters in Research (MRes) can be taken full-time over one year or part-time over two years. You also have the option for a Postgraduate Certificate, which includes the modules but not the dissertation, which is available part-time over one year.
The teaching is arranged in blocks to give you the flexibility to fit study around your existing work commitments. This flexible course is ideal for social scientists, health researchers and those preparing for a PhD as well as intercalating medical students, clinical allied health professionals (nurses, midwives, dietitians, etc), healthcare improvement and laboratory scientists.
Modules on this degree are also available as stand-alone CPD courses.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Relevant 2:1 degree (or equivalent).
English Language Requirements
IELTS 7.0 or equivalent. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. If you do not yet meet our requirements, our English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) offers a range of courses to help you to improve your English to the necessary standard.
International Qualifications
Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.
Countries listFees and funding
Fees and funding
UK Students
Starting in September 2025
- MRes: £9,550
- PGCert: £3,325
If you are resident outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland, you will need to pay a deposit of £3,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.
Specialist Registrars may be able to offset the cost of fees from their study leave budget. Please discuss this with your Clinical Tutor before applying.
Find out more about fees and funding.
Did you know you can apply for a Government Postgraduate Loan? Find out if you’re eligible. (MRes only. Not available for PGCert.)
International Students
Starting in September 2025
- MRes: £24,500
- PGCert: Part-time only - not available to international students
You will need to pay a deposit of £3,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.
Please note that part-time study is not available to international students.
Find out more about fees and funding.
Careers and employability
Careers and employability
The research training you receive and the research project you conduct will provide a training that PhD supervisors and employers value highly when recruiting their postgraduate research students from around the world.
For many graduates our course has been a gateway to a research-based career or a means of advancing their career in health or social care using the transferable skills they have obtained. For example, career opportunities include research nurse, research/scientific manager, data analyst, health policy analyst, university researcher, systematic reviewer, and research advisor.
Others graduates have found that the course is an excellent foundation for doctoral research and increases their chances in obtaining highly competitive PhD scholarships. In addition to comprehensive academic knowledge, this course provides important transferable skills including critical thinking, research design, quantitate and qualitative data analysis, research communication and governance. These skills are highly valued when applying for a PhD scholarship around the world.
International students who study at the University of Leicester may be eligible for a Graduate Visa which grants permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years after successful completion of their course.
Our Career Development Service is here to support you, with advice on interviews, CVs, work experience, volunteering and more. From Freshers’ Week to Graduation and beyond, they are here to help you reach your professional goals.
Related courses
Related courses
Testimonials
"I’m Mariam and I am a medical doctor from Italy. Thinking about a career in research, I applied for the MRes in Applied Health Research. During this year, I was able to discover and learn skills necessary for a good researcher. I was also encouraged to apply for a PhD programme and this was something I really appreciated. Fundamentals of Applied Health Research was my favourite module as it gave me the opportunity to think about my own research project and to create one from the beginning. After graduation, I hope to start a PhD in Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of Leicester."Mariam Mourabi, medical doctor
Course structure
Modules
Modules
Core modules
- Fundamentals of Applied Health Research
- Quantitative Methods in Applied Health Research
- Qualitative Methods in Applied Health Research
Option modules
Choose one option module from:
- Measuring and Monitoring in Healthcare
- Leading, Managing and Organising Quality and Safety in Healthcare
- Science, Society and Responsible Research
Plus your Dissertation (Applied Health Research) (MRes only)
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Dissertation
Dissertation
A Dissertation (Applied Health Research) is a substantial piece of written work that offers a detailed, sustained and critical treatment of a chosen topic. It gives you an opportunity to complete a project under expert supervision, demonstrating the knowledge and experience you have acquired during the taught modules. Your dissertation counts for 120 of the 180 credits that make up the MRes. (You will not do a dissertation if you choose to study for a PGCert.)
Examples of previous dissertations
- Participation in the UK bowel cancer screening programme: the importance of gender
- The barriers and drivers to recording of chronic kidney disease in primary care: a qualitative study of the experience of general practitioners
- Effect of electrotherapy on pain in patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy; a comparison between electrotherapy and control (sham) a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Exploring and understanding patients' experiences of attending a diabetes education course, facilitated by a lay educator and health care professional and their acceptability of lay people as educators
- Mental health nurses' perceptions of barriers to research utilisation: A mixed methods study
- Clinical inertia in the management of T2DM in primary care. Retrospective analysis of Wandsworth data: 1998-2007
- Facing up to violence against doctors in china - A systematic review of its prevalence, causes, and actions to reduce the problem
- Pay for performance and the unintended consequences for patient-centred care: a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature
- A meta-ethnographic study exploring the perspectives of Canadian Aboriginal persons with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: What socioeconomic factors promote or impede access to and engagement with healthcare services
- Overcoming the barriers: An exploration of the experiences of practising clinicians who engage in research within an NHS Foundation Trust
- A comparison of myocardial strain and strain rates assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in asymptomatic patients with aortic stenosis
- A qualitative study of the health and social benefits associated with the provision of community based outdoor gyms
- Do outdoor gyms significantly increase physical activity levels and is this sustained?
- In-centre nocturnal haemodialysis: Three months of extended night time haemodialysis on physical performance and quality of life in prevalent haemodialysis patients
- An exploration of the relationship between the lunar cycle and admissions to the psychiatric wards of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- What makes managing physical health challenging, from the perspective of staff working in an Early Intervention for Psychosis team?
- Interventions for improving fertility in women with tubal occlusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Why Leicester?
The Department of Population Health Sciences has approximately 140 academic, research, teaching, and support staff meaning that you will get all the support you need. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 96% of our research outputs in Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care were judged to be ‘world-leading’ (4*) or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*), ranking the Department 12th place nationally.
The Department of Population Health Sciences is engaged in internationally competitive research across a wide range of topics, including epidemiology, medical statistics, public health, primary care, health services research, and psychiatry. We are also a strong research force locally, with many of our academic staff are affiliated with NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre to lead novel patient-centred research to improve health and healthcare.
The University of Leicester is ranked 2nd in the UK for its world leading research in clinical Medicine (2021 Research Excellent Framework - REF) . The 2024 Times Higher World University ranking also places Leicester joint 14th in the UK as well as in the top 125 in the world for Clinical and Health Sciences.
Teaching and learning
Our topical curriculum draws on the latest research into health and healthcare. You will learn from world leading researchers involved with translating scientific advances into improvements in health and health policy.
Option modules will allow you to specialise in areas that are relevant to you and your practice. Each module is taught in blocks of two to three teaching days a week for a total of five or six days per module. Assessment is a mix of oral presentations, and written assignments.
We will help match a project for your dissertation to your interests. You will be allocated a personal tutor as well as a supervisor for your dissertation, which will be assessed by written submission and an oral viva exam.
Previous projects have included:
- Feasibility study of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme
- Secondary analysis of survey and interview data on body image and exercise
- Development of a taxonomy for coding healthcare complaints
- Systematic review on blood based markers in pancreatic cancer
Key dates
September 2025 start
- Application deadline: 8 September 2025 (Please note if you require a visa to study you will be required to submit your course application by 25 July 2025)
- Deposit payment deadline: 8 August 2025
- CAS request deadline: 5 September 2025
- 70% tuition payment deadline: 5 September 2025
Apply now
| Course | Qualification | Duration | Start Dates | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course Applied Health Research | Qualification MRes | Duration 1 year full-time | Start Dates September each year | Availability Apply Now |
| Course Applied Health Research | Qualification MRes | Duration 2 years part-time | Start Dates September each year | Availability Apply Now |
| Course Applied Health Research | Qualification PGCert | Duration 1 year, part-time | Start Dates September each year | Availability Apply Now |
The course was insightful and the staff were really supportive and approachable. The course has opened a lot of opportunities for me and I would not be where I am in my career without the MRes. I am now employed as a Research Nurse for a large 20-year cohort study. For those with an interest in research I would definitely recommend it.