Medical Statistics MSc, 1-3 years, full- or part-time

Course information

UK/EU fee £8,190

International fee £16,825

Taught by Health Sciences

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Contact
Stephanie Hubbard
MSc Admissions Tutor
+44 (0)116 229 7264
mscmedstats@le.ac.uk

Department of Health Sciences

This is for you if... you want a vocational course that will focus on the application of statistical methods to real-life problems in medicine and healthcare, giving you excellent prospects in securing a career or further study.

Course description

Course description

This postgraduate degree will give you all the expertise you need to become a practising medical statistician. You will cover all relevant theory but with an emphasis on understanding, applying and adapting it to real-life circumstances. Your analysis skills will be developed on real medical data sets, using statistical software such as Stata, R, SAS and WinBUGS.

An important factor in the success of a practising statistician is the ability to communicate with others. To develop these skills, you will work on two mini-projects and will be introduced to consultancy skills throughout the course. The mini-projects involve analysing data arising from real problems and data sets and presenting a report on the findings.

Your choice of option module allows you to specialise in one particular area:

  • If you choose to study the 'Genetic Epidemiology' option module, your degree will be an MSc in Medical Statistics with specialisation in Genetic Epidemiology
  • If you choose to study the 'Health Technology Assessment' option module, your degree will be an MSc in Medical Statistics with specialisation in Health Technology Assessment
  • If you choose to study the 'Further Topics in Medical Statistics' option module, your degree will be an MSc in Medical Statistics

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

The course is intended mainly for students with a good honours degree of which mathematics/statistics is the main subject, and with a working knowledge of basic probability and statistics. However, applicants with other suitable backgrounds will be considered by the course team. If you wish to discuss your background please contact the Admissions Tutor at mscmedstats@le.ac.uk

English Language Requirements

IELTS 6.5 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.

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Fees and funding

Fees and funding

UK and EU Students

This is the total course fee.

Starting in September 2021

  • MSc: £8,190

If you are resident outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland, you will need to pay a deposit of £2,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.

Scholarships

  • We have been awarded three Medical Research Council studentships through the IMPACT Doctoral Training Partnership for students starting on this course in 2021. These cover the course fee plus a stipend of around £15,300 (figure not yet released).

When you apply for the MSc we will let you know whether you are potentially eligible for one of these scholarships.

We would also be keen to support applicants who wish to apply for an NIHR Pre-doctoral Fellowship which includes the MSc Medical Statistics at Leicester as the training component.  Please contact the course team via mscmedstats@le.ac.uk and we will discuss with you the areas of research we are interested in and can support your application. 

Find out more about scholarships and funding.

Did you know you can apply for a Government Postgraduate Loan? Find out if you're eligible.

Additional costs

You will have the option to purchase Stata software for this programme, currently costing £80 + VAT.

International Students

This is the total course fee.

Starting in September 2021

  • MSc: £16,825

You will need to pay a deposit of £2,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.

Find out more about scholarships and funding.

Additional costs

You will have the option to purchase Stata software for this programme, costing £70 + VAT.

Accreditation

Accreditation

This course has been accredited by the Royal Statistical Society 2017/18 up to 2020/21. On graduation you will be able to apply for the professional award of Graduate Statistician.

Careers and employability

Careers and employability

The demand for medical statisticians is high and many employers contact us with job opportunities and to give careers talks to try to recruit graduates. For further information about a career in medical/pharmaceutical statistics please look at:

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.

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Flexible learning
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Course structure

Full-time

Full-time

Core modules

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

Plus your Medical Statistics Project

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.

Part-time

Part-time

Core modules

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

Plus your Medical Statistics Project

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.

Project

Project

You will undertake a Medical Statistics Project during the summer, usually based on analysis of real medical data or methodology in the area of medical statistics.

Examples of previous projects

  • Analysis and modelling of road traffic accident data
  • The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of hot water temperature controls for the prevention of scalds in children aged 0-4 years
  • Individual patient data meta-analysis in diabetes
  • Predictors of GP consultation in older people with joint pain
  • Survival of women with endometrial cancer
  • Meta-analysis of the toxicological evidence concerning the health effects of fluoride
  • Odds ratios vs relative risks in a study of 30 day mortality after myocardial infarction
  • Hierarchical modelling of measurement errors in banked biosamples
  • Measurement of psychological health among adolescents in south-west England
  • Quality of diabetes care in high and low socio-economic groups in a multi-ethnic population

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 Health Sciences has approximately 140 academic, research, teaching, and support staff meaning that you will get all the support you need.

The University of Leicester Department of 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.

Teaching and learning

Each module is taught in a week-long blocks using a variety of lectures, seminars and computer practicals, including sessions delivered by external practising medical statisticians. In between these teaching weeks you will complete the course work from the previous teaching weeks and start your preliminary reading for the next one.

Assessment is by coursework and exam. Many modules have an assessed coursework element involving the analysis of a real medical data set and the production of a concise written report. There are also mathematical and statistical computing-based courseworks.

On the full-time course, you will study the core modules from September to April and your chosen option module in April and May, then complete your project between June and September.

Alternatively, it is possible to study for this MSc part-time. As a part-time student you would complete the taught modules over two academic years, attending approximately seven one-week blocks per year. You would then complete your project over the next six months.

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Course Qualification Duration Start Dates Availability
Course Medical Statistics Qualification MSc Duration 1 year full-time Start Dates September each year Availability Apply Now
Course Medical Statistics Qualification MSc Duration 2-3 years part-time Start Dates September each year Availability Apply Now