MSc in Global Health Science and Epidemiology
About the course
The MSc in Global Health Science and Epidemiology is a one-year, full-time course that provides intensive training in epidemiology and statistics to enable students to conduct and interpret research studies in important areas of population health.
The MSc is designed for students who would like to develop knowledge and skills to understand the global burden and major determinants of disease through the application of epidemiology and quantitative research methods. It provides opportunities for students to develop and enhance their critical appraisal and epidemiological research skills and prepares students for a major piece of population health research in a world-class environment.
The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to:
- understand the global burden and major determinants of disease;
- describe and discuss the role and contribution of epidemiology to health;
- critically appraise, analyse and interpret epidemiological studies;
- select, devise and develop appropriate study designs for epidemiological research; and
- conduct appropriate statistical analyses of epidemiological and health-related data.
The MSc Global Health Science and Epidemiology is hosted by the Nuffield Department of Population Health. Teaching takes place in the Richard Doll Building at the Old Road Campus in Headington.
Teaching is delivered during the whole of the first two terms. Teaching is delivered through a range of methods, including lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, student presentations, self- directed learning and study. You will receive 15-20 hours of supported learning per week, and will be expected to undertake 20-25 hours of self-directed learning per week.
You will also have access to the weekly seminar held on the Old Road Campus and will be made aware of any other seminars taking place across the Medical Sciences Division. You will be welcome to attend the Medical Sciences Skills Training programmes if you wish.
Course Structure
Core modules
The first term will consist of an overview of the global burden of disease and the fundamental concepts and considerations in research methods and practice related to population health:
- Introduction to Global Health Science
- Principles of Epidemiology
- Principles of Statistics
- International Research Ethics
Option modules
During the second term and up to two weeks in the third term, in addition to some continued content of the compulsory modules, you will select four of the following eight module options for further study:
- Clinical Trials and Meta-analysis
- Communicable Disease Epidemiology
- Genetic Epidemiology
- Health Economics
- Maternal and Child Health
- Non-communicable Diseases
- Nutritional Epidemiology
- Principles and Applications of Data Science
Placement Project and Dissertation
The third term will involve a 12-week research placement with a project representing the range of subjects covered in the course. The department will have a series of projects to choose from each year, hosted by academics within and outside the department but you will also have the option to propose your own project. The research project will form the basis of a 10,000-word dissertation to be submitted in mid-August.
Masterclasses
A series of 'master-classes' are scheduled in which internationally-recognised senior scientists in population health from Oxford, and elsewhere, will give seminars on selected topics. These sessions will be outside of the structure of the core modules, and are intended to provide the students with stimulating materials to integrate population health thinking and perspectives.
Attendance
The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.
Provision exists for students on some courses to undertake their research in a ‘well-founded laboratory’ outside of the University. This may require travel to and attendance at a site that is not located in Oxford. Where known, existing collaborations will be outlined on this page. Please read the course information carefully, including the additional information about course fees and costs.
Resources to support your study
As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.
The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.
You will have access to the department's IT support services and the University’s library services, such as the Radcliffe Science Library, the Cairns Library at the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Knowledge Centre based in the Old Road Campus Research Building.
Supervision
The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Nuffield Department of Population Health and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Nuffield Department of Population Health.
You will be assigned an academic supervisor who will support you through the duration of the course. You will also have a placement supervisor related to your chosen placement who you will have the opportunity to meet with individually during your placement.
Assessment
During the first two terms there are a series of formative assessments designed to enable teaching staff to monitor student progress. These assessments are compulsory but the marks do not contribute to the final degree. You will be provided with detailed feedback that will improve your learning by helping to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
There are eight summative assessments in total. During the second term a data analysis and report (10%) is submitted. Four global health reports (7.5% each) are submitted by the beginning of the third term. At the beginning of the third term, there are two written examinations – one on the Principles of Epidemiology and the other on the Principles of Statistics (10% each), comprising multi-component questions. Following submission of all other summative assessments, students will undertake a research placement, leading to a dissertation (40%) to be submitted in August.
Graduate destinations
The MSc Global Health Science and Epidemiology prepares students to establish careers in academia (by pursuing doctoral studies), major national and international health organisations, government agencies, or in industry.
Changes to this course and your supervision
The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.
Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.
For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.
Entry requirements for entry in 2025-26
Proven and potential academic excellence
The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
We know that factors such as socio-economic circumstances and school performance can make it difficult for students to demonstrate their full potential. This course is taking part in an initiative to use contextual data to help us to better understand your achievements in the context of your individual background. For further details, please refer to the information about improving access to graduate study in the How to apply section of this page.
Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. Contextual data may also be used in the assessment of studentships.
Degree-level qualifications
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
- a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in medicine, a quantitative degree (eg statistics, economics) or a health-related degree.
However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree or equivalent.
For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.5 out of 4.0. However, most successful applicants have a GPA of 3.7 or higher.
If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.
GRE General Test scores
No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
- Preference will be given to applicants with professional or research experience in a health-related field.
- Preference will also be given to those who have previously studied mathematics or statistics as a module in their undergraduate degree or at A-level, or equivalent.
- Publications are not essential, but will be viewed favourably.
English language proficiency
This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.
| Test | Minimum overall score | Minimum score per component |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) | 7.5 | 7.0 |
TOEFL iBT, including the 'Home Edition' (Institution code: 0490) | 110 | Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24 |
| C1 Advanced* | 191 | 185 |
| C2 Proficiency† | 191 | 185 |
*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
†Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.
Declaring extenuating circumstances
If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.
References
You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Supporting documents
You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Performance at interview
Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions process.
Applicants will be shortlisted for interview based solely on the criteria given above. The interview panel will comprise a minimum of two senior academics and interviews will normally last around 15 to 20 minutes. Interviews will be conducted via video link and are expected to be held in mid-late January.
Applicants may be asked about their reasons for applying and to demonstrate their preliminary knowledge of the subject area.
Offer conditions for successful applications
If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our 'After you apply' pages provide more information about offers and conditions.
In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:
Financial Declaration
If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a Financial Declaration in order to meet your financial condition of admission.
Disclosure of criminal convictions
In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any relevant, unspent criminal convictions before you can take up a place at Oxford.
Other factors governing whether places can be offered
The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:
- the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the About section of this page;
- the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
- minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.
Nuffield Department of Population Health
The Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) brings together over 600 staff and 200 students from a number of world-leading research groups with the aim of reducing premature death and disability from human disease.
A number of world-renowned research groups and disciplines are part of the NDPH, including the Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), Cancer Epidemiology Unit (CEU), National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU), Health Economics Research Centre (HERC), Demographic Science Unit (DSU) and Ethox Centre. These groups are responsible for some of the world’s largest population cohorts and randomised trials, and produce highly-cited practice-changing research, which continues to have a major impact on international clinical management guidelines (eg on statins, aspirin, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, heart failure, serious childhood illness and infections).
Funding
For entry in the 2025-26 academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.
If you apply by the December deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships. For the majority of Oxford scholarships, your application will automatically be assessed against the eligibility criteria, without needing to make a separate application. There are further Oxford scholarships available which have additional eligibility criteria and where you are required to submit a separate application. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential.
To ensure that you are considered for Oxford scholarships that require a separate application, for which you may be eligible, use our fees, funding and scholarship search tool to identify these opportunities and find out how to apply. Alongside Oxford scholarships, you should also consider other opportunities for which you may be eligible including a range of external funding, loan schemes for postgraduate study and any other scholarships which may also still be available after the December deadline as listed on our fees, funding and scholarship search tool.
Details of college-specific funding opportunities can also be found on individual college websites:
Please refer to the College preference section of this page to identify which of the colleges listed above accept students for this course.
For the majority of college scholarships, it doesn’t matter which college, if any, you state a preference for in your application. If another college is able to offer you a scholarship, your application can be moved to that college if you accept the scholarship. Some college scholarships may require you to state a preference for that college when you apply, so check the eligibility requirements carefully.
Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the department's website.
Costs
Annual fees for entry in 2025-26
The annual course fee will depend on whether you enter this MSc directly, or whether you enter immediately after completing the PGCert in Statistics and Epidemiology without a break in your studies.
Annual fees for students entering the MSc directly
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home | £14,670 |
| Overseas | £32,850 |
Annual fees for students entering the MSc immediately upon completion of the PGCert in Statistics and Epidemiology
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home | £11,380 |
| Overseas | £25,600 |
Information about course fees
Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.
Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.
Where can I find further information about fees?
The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.
Additional information
Direct entry to the MSc
All graduate students in the department are expected to provide their own laptop. This is estimated to cost approximately £600. No bursaries are available from the department for this, however, a loan laptop may be available if it is not possible for students to provide their own equipment. As part of your course requirements, you may need to choose a dissertation, a project or a thesis topic. Please note that, depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.
Entry after completion of the PGCert in Statistics and Epidemiology without a break in study
Each MSc student is expected to provide their own laptop, which is estimated to cost £600. No bursaries are available from the department for this, though we may provide a loan laptop if it is not possible for the student to provide their own.
Living costs
In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.
Living costs for full-time study
For the 2025-26 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (assuming that dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).
Further information about living costs
The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2025-26 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. For further information, please consult our more detailed information about living costs, which includes a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs.
College preference
Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs).
If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference.
If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide.
The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Global Health Science and Epidemiology:
Before you apply
Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under the December deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance. Check the deadlines on this page and the information about deadlines and when to apply in our Application Guide.
Application fee waivers
An application fee of £75 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
- applicants from low-income countries;
- refugees and displaced persons;
- UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and
- applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.
You are encouraged to check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver before you apply.
Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?
Improving access to graduate study
This course is taking part in initiatives to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.
Socio-economic data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used as part of an initiative to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process.
Completing your application
You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.
For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application.
If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.
Referees:
Three overall, academic preferred
Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.
References should generally be academic though one professional reference is acceptable.
Your references will support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, ability to work in a group.
Official transcript(s)
Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.
More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.
Statement of purpose/personal statement:
A maximum of 1,000 words
Your statement must be written in English and describe why you are applying to this course, how your past studies and work are relevant to the course, what specific aspects of the course interest you and how the MSc will be important for your future career. Read the University's how-to guide on writing a personal statement.
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
Your personal statement must include the following sections and you must state clearly the word count for each section:
Motivation for applying: What is your motivation for applying to the MSc Global Health Science and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford? Please also illustrate why you have specifically applied to this course to study population health and epidemiology. (Up to 400 words)
Past academic or professional training: Summarise your past academic or professional training and describe how this would be relevant to and prepare you for this rigorous MSc course. (Up to 400 words)Future plans: What are you hoping to achieve with the training from this MSc course? Please also identify and explain the benefits of the course to your future prospects. (Up to 200 words)
Your statement will be assessed for:
- a demonstrable interest in and commitment to population health and epidemiology
- the motivation for selecting the department and the course
- your capacity to complete the course
- a clear and well-argued understanding of the benefits of the course to your future prospects
- any relevant academic or professional training or experience
- your ability to present a reasoned and coherent case in proficient English.
Start or continue your application
You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please refer to the requirements above and consult our Application Guide for advice.
After you've submitted your application
Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.
Find out how to manage your application after submission, using our Applicant Self-Service tool.