Programme Specification – 2015/16
1. Awarding Body University of Surrey
2. Teaching Institution (if different) N/A
3. Final Award MSc
4. Programme title/route/pathway MSc in Health Economics
5. Subsidiary award(s) and title(s) Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics Postgraduate Certificate in Health Economics
6. FHEQ Level 7
7. Credits and ECTS credits 180 credits, 90 ECTS credits 8. Name of Professional, Statutory or
Regulatory Body (PSRB)
N/A 9. Date of last accreditation (if
applicable)
N/A new programme
10. Mode of study Taught full-time and taught part-time
11. Language of study English
12. UCAS Code N/A
13. QAA Subject Benchmark Statement (if applicable)
N/A 14. Other internal and / or external
reference points
N/A
15. Faculty / Department Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Economics
16. Programme Director Professor Graham Cookson 17. Date of Production / Revision of the
specification
5th November 2014 18. Educational aims of the Programme
The primary aims of the programme are to:
• Enable and encourage students to develop their capacity for learning and communication within an open, scholarly, environment;
• Develop an appreciation of economics, both as an intellectual discipline and as an important tool in analysing health, health care and health policy;
• Prepare students for a range of careers in health economics whether in industry, government or research;
• Enable better performing students completing an MSc programme to progress either to further postgraduate research or to a career as a professional health economist;
• Provide an opportunity for students to apply and demonstrate a range of skills, including the capacity for independent study, through the completion of an MSc dissertation.
19. Programme learning outcomes – the programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the
following areas:
Knowledge and Understanding
• An advanced understanding of the core principles in microeconomics, quantitative methods and econometrics (all awards) • An understanding of the techniques which
have been used in contemporary economic research (PGDip and MSc)
• An ability to select appropriately between
Teaching and learning strategies
Core knowledge outcomes are acquired
through lectures, workshops, classes, seminars, team-working and project supervision.
Assessment
alternative analytical techniques and
research methodologies which can be used in health economics (PGDip and MSc) • An appreciation of how microeconomic
analysis can help us to understand health, health care and health policy (all awards)
presentations, problem solving exercises, case studies, project work and report writing.
Skills and other attributes - Intellectual / cognitive skills
• An ability to combine relevant theory and analytical techniques with insightful data analysis to produce convincing explanations of economic phenomena;
• The skills necessary to comprehend
published economic research papers, and to integrate the implications of published research in their own studies
Teaching and learning strategies
Cognitive skills are developed through lectures, workshops, classes, seminars, team-working and project supervision.
Assessment
Cognitive skills are assessed by seen and/or unseen examinations, essays, oral presentations, problem solving exercises, case studies, project work and report writing.
Skills and other attributes - Professional practical skills
• An ability to select appropriate techniques to evaluate health interventions and/or policies; • The ability to formulate a plan for specific
individual research which would further existing knowledge;
• The ability to communicate the results of independent research in the form of a dissertation.
Teaching and learning strategies
Practical skills are developed through essay writing, individual and team project work, oral presentations in class, quantitative and data related modules
Assessment
Practical skills are assessed by examination and essay writing, through oral presentation, problem solving exercises, case studies, individual and team reports
Skills and other attributes - Key / transferable skills
• General skills, such as literacy, numeracy, IT and computing (all awards)
• Interpersonal skills, such as communication (all awards)
Teaching and Learning strategies
Proficiency in skills is achieved through lectures and hands-on experience in seminars, classes, workshops, group work and individual study.
Assessment
Assessment of key skills is embedded throughout all assessment modalities but may be most overt in assessments of oral presentations and project work (team and individual).
20. Programme structure – including the route / pathway / field requirements, levels modules, credits, awards and further information on the mode of study.
mode over one academic year.
The Programme is divided into modules. All taught modules are worth 15 credits, which is indicative of 150 hours of learning, comprised of student contact, private study and assessment. In order to achieve the MSc in Health Economics students must complete 180 credits (including the dissertation module) at FHEQ Level 7. This includes 6 compulsory modules and 2 optional modules from a choice of 5 modules. Half of the taught modules are specific to this programme. The remainder of the compulsory modules are common across all School of Economics masters programmes. The Dissertation module is 60 credits. It begins in semester 1 with sessions in Research Methods, includes a dissertation proposal which is submitted in March and is completed with a dissertation which is handed in in September.
If students have insufficient credits to be awarded the M.Sc. in Health Economics, they may be eligible to receive one of the nested exit awards: either the Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma if they have 60 or 120 credits respectively from the taught modules only.
Programme adjustments (if applicable) N/A
Programme pathways and variants N/A
In the case of joint honours (equally weighted subjects) or a major/minor combination programme, please provide a rationale for the particular subject combination and details on how the combination will operate.
- Who is the lead faculty, department or school?
The MSc in Health Economics is a joint programme between the School of Economics and the
Department of Health Care Management & Policy, both within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The programme relies heavily on the existing taught masters modules from the highly successful and well respected School of Economics. It combines these with new, specialised modules in health economics provided by leading researchers in this field who are split between the Department of Health Care Management & Policy and the School of Economics.
The School of Economics is the lead department. FHEQ Level 7: Potential awards – MSc, PGDip, PGCert Module
code
Module title Core /compulsory /optional Credit volume Semester (1 / 2) Award requirements ECOM020 Microeconomics Compulsory 15 1 On completion of the
year students will have 180 credits to receive M.Sc. in Health Economics (principal award).
Nested exit awards are also available for students failing to obtain enough credits for the M.Sc. including PGDip (120 credits – all taught modules ECOM042 Econometrics 1 Compulsory 15 1
MANM*** Microeconomics of Health
Compulsory 15 1
MANM*** Methods for Health Services Research Compulsory 15 1 ECOM*** Economic Evaluation in Health Care Compulsory 15 2
ECOM*** Advanced Topics in Health Economics
Compulsory
15
2 ECOM*** Policy Evaluation
Techniques and Applications
ECOM025 Economics of the Firm
Optional 15 2 including 2 options) and PGCert (60 credits – any 4 taught modules).
ECOM*** Microeconomics of the Public Sector
Optional 15 2
ECOM043 Econometrics 2 Optional 15 2
ECOM*** Workshop in
Advanced Economic Evaluation in Health Care
Optional 15 2
ECOM027 Research Methods and Dissertation
Compulsory 60 2
Note that all students take one week of preliminary quantitative methods as part of their first semester modules.
How many optional modules must a student choose in order to achieve the necessary amount of credits to achieve this level?
Choose 2 from 5 optional modules
21. Opportunities for placements / work-related learning / collaborative activity – please indicate if any of the following apply to your programme
Data supplied by an external source for student analysis which contributes to an assessment
No Guest / external / associate lecturer (please detail the extent of their contribution, i.e. do
they mark?)
No
Professional Training Year (PTY) No
Placement, study or work placement outside of the PTY(please indicate if this is one day, one month, six months, a year etc.)
8-12 weeks Clinical Placements (that are not part of the PTY Scheme) No
ERASMUS Study (that is not taken during Level P) No
Study exchanges (that are not part of the ERASMUS Scheme) No
Dual Degree No
Joint Degree No
Further information
During the dissertation module, students will have the opportunity to undertake their dissertation through a work placement with partner organisations including, inter alia, Johnson & Johnson, Cerner, GSK, and Fujitsu, as well as with university researchers. The applied dissertation will provide an opportunity for relevant work experience and also a study context for their dissertation. For instance, the partner may provide access to a dataset or have problems or issues amenable to becoming a research question. The topics/partners available would be advertised at the start of semester 2 and the Programme Leader will be responsible for co-ordinating placements. The placement itself will not be assessed and merely provides sector experience and access to interesting research questions and/or data for the dissertation. The dissertations will be assessed the same irrespective of whether students choose to undertake a work placement.
22. Criteria for admission
Bachelor’s Degree, minimum of good 2:2 (55%) or equivalent qualification in Economics.
Or a 2:1 in or equivalent qualification in Maths, Statistics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering or Chemistry.
Or another degree subject at 2:1 or equivalent
Plus at least one module from economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics at +60% (UK or equivalent)
Modules to be referred to Faculty Recruitment & Admissions team for assessment as necessary. Applicants with significant relevant economics/policy or similar work experience to be referred on a case by case basis to the faculty for consideration
International English Language Testing System (ILETS) should be 6.5, with no component less than 6.0.
23. Assessment regulations
Please click on the following links for University Regulations and Guidance on Assessment http://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality_enhancement/regulations/index.htm
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality_enhancement/standards/index.htm
All programmes within the University of Surrey adhere to the Assessment Regulations. All taught programmes also reference and follow the Code of practice for assessment and feedback. 24. Support for students and their learning
Sources of help and advice include: Induction, handbooks, personal tutors, project supervisors, central support services, careers service, SurreyLearn, lecturers’ office hours.
25. Quality management – indications of quality and the methods for evaluating and improving quality
The quality management of this programme is monitored through: • Periodic programme review
• Annual Programme Review Reports • Module Evaluation Questionnaires
• The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey • Joint Staff Student Liaison Committees • Personal Tutoring
• Board of Study meetings • Board of Examiners
• School-designed and implemented Module Review Forms 26. Further information
Further information can be found on our webpages at
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/economics and within the Programme Handbook, which is provided on entry to the Programme.
The Regulations and Codes of Practice for taught programmes can be found at http://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality_enhancement/regulations/index.htm
