Course details

The MSc in Health Economics is designed to prepare you for a career applying economic methods to health analysis in the public, private and non-profit sectors. The emphasis is on the understanding and application of the fundamental concepts, theories and empirical techniques of health economics. The course will include:

  • economic evaluation techniques in healthcare
  • the role of health in economic development
  • assessment of systems of healthcare financing and provision, and applied research

You will develop advanced analytical and technical capabilities to address the issues involved in allocating resources in the health sector.

The MSc in Health Economics will also provide you with a foundation for further postgraduate study at PhD or DBA and professional development levels.

Course Details

You will take taught modules (60 credits) during the year and you will also complete a minor thesis (30 credits) during the summer term.

  • EC6021 Health Care Systems and Organisation

This module, at the core of the course, provides the conceptual, theoretical and empirical analysis for understanding healthcare systems and their performance. Resourcing and financing of healthcare, decision-making criteria and processes relating to health, the structure of the health sector and the role of interest groups will be examined.

  • EC6022 Health Care Economic Evaluation

This module provides an understanding of economic appraisal techniques and the methodological issues encountered in healthcare economic evaluation. You will study cost minimisation, cost effectiveness, cost utility and cost benefit, as well as decision-tree modelling.

  • EC6023 Health, Economy and Society

This module shows how economic analysis can assist policy formulation through the identification of different options for consumers and providers and the consequences for major stakeholders.

  • EC6024 Applied Health Survey Methods

The focus of this module is on the practical application of the survey approach to the design of research projects and the collection of original data in relation to topics covered in the course.

  • EC6025 Applied Health Econometrics

The focus of this module is on the practical application of the econometric approach to the design of research projects. Econometric methods are examined using datasets and the appropriate statistical software. The approach taken is applied with a focus on understanding techniques and interpreting results in quantitative economic research.

  • EH6024 Public Health and Health Services Research
  • EC6020 Research (Minor) Thesis in Health Economics

This module enables you to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in the MSc in Health Economics modules to a research project. The ability to perform independent research on either primary or secondary data is a key learning outcome of the course as a whole.

Detailed Entry Requirements

To be eligible for consideration you must have either:

  • a BComm with a major in Economics
  • a BSc (Hons) Finance
  • a BA (Hons) Economics
  • a BSc (Computer Science and Economics)
  • a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Economics
  • a Postgraduate Diploma in Health and Evaluation Economics
  • a Higher Diploma in the Economics of Competition, Governance and Society, or the equivalent
  • at least a 2.2 on the aggregate of all economics modules in the primary degree or diploma award.

Course Practicalities

There are 12 lecture hours per week. For full-time students these will be spread across the week while for part-time students they will generally be on one day per week. Some modules may require an additional practical session per week in the computer lab.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a combination of continuous assessment and end-of-year exams. The end-of-year exams will count for 50% of the overall mark in most modules. The continuous assessment will be a mix of essays, reports, presentations and computer-based assignments. One-third of the marks for the course are based on your thesis which is completed during the summer after the May exam session.

Updated on 08 November, 2015

About University College Cork

UCC was established in 1845 as one of three Queen’s Colleges - at Cork, Galway and Belfast. These new colleges theyre established in the reign of Queen Victoria, and named after her.

Queen's College, Cork (QCC) was established to provide access to higher education in the Irish province of Munster. Cork was chosen for the new college due to its place at the centre of transatlantic trade at the time and the presence of existing educational initiatives such as the Royal Cork Institution and a number of private medical schools.

The site chosen for the new college was dramatic and picturesque, on the edge of a limestone bluff overlooking the River Lee. It is associated with the educational activities of a local early Christian saint, Finbarr. It is believed that his monastery and school stood nearby, and his legend inspired UCC’s motto: ‘Where Finbarr Taught, let Munster Learn.’

On 7 November 1849, QCC opened its doors to a small group of students (only 115 students in that first session, 1849-1850) after a glittering inaugural ceremony in the Aula Maxima (Great Hall), which is still the symbolic and ceremonial heart of the University.

The limestone buildings of the Main Quadrangle (as it is now known) are built in a style inspired by the great universities of the Middle Ages, and theyre designed by the gifted architectural partnership of Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward. The iconic image of UCC, it is set in landscaped gardens and surrounds the green lawn known to all as the Quad.

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