MSc Health Care Management
The programme aims to provide a high quality, vocational education, which is intellectually rigorous and up-to-date as well as relevant to the needs of existing and future managers, executives and clinicians in the health care sector.
The programme has a business management orientation and draws on a broad base of management theory and examples to explain and analyse the sector. It is designed to provide participants with concepts, models, techniques and examples, which will enable them to improve the provision of care to patients.
It based on a specially designed modules to give students a thorough grounding in the basic management disciplines, followed by specialist modules in particular aspects of health care management.
Entry standards
Applicants should usually hold a Bachelors degree (UK Lower Second/2.2 or above) or equivalent qualification from a recognised British/overseas university. Every applicant is assessed individually on their own merit. Higher level professional qualifications may also be accepted. Relevant work experience could be an additional benefit where applicants have not reached the standard entry requirements, although it is not an admissions requirement for this particular degree programme.
Applications to our programmes should be submitted by 30th April 2012. Applications received after this date will only be considered subject to availability of places and on a rolling basis.
English language requirements
Candidates for whom English is not their first language will normally be required to have taken an English language test and achieved a score of either TOEFL 575 or above, IELTS 6.5 or above, or Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English Grade B or above. This test must have been taken within two years of the programme start date.
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
MSc Health Care Management - structure and modules
Module Titles
Compulsory Modules
- Operational Management in Health Care
- Financial Management
- Health Care Quality Management
- Health Care Systems, Structures and Functions
- Organisational Behaviour
- Professionals in Health Care
- Health Economics
- Research Methods
- 20,000-word dissertation
Module Overview
This programme comprises eight taught modules and a research-based dissertation.
Compulsory Modules
Operational Management in Health Care
This module provides detailed insights into the concepts of managing people, information and services. These concepts are operationalised into the management challenges of running a successful health service unit.
Financial Management
This module provides the foundations for understanding, analysing and interpreting financial information, and enables you to apply accounting principles and financial theory across management disciplines and organisations.
Health Care Quality Management
This module develops the notion of delivery of a quality service in health care settings. It focuses on management as a means to achieve quality standards and patient satisfaction.
Health Care Systems, Structures and Functions
This module explores the complex management and administrative demands of a modern health system. Its role in the programme is to apply the general management principles, learned in other prescribed modules, to health care.
Organisational Behaviour
This module integrates the study of forms, structures and processes of organisations with the human aspects of psychology at work. The module provides an insight into the fundamentals on which organisations are built and provides analytical processes for understanding behaviour at work and managerial processes.
Professionals in Health Care
An issue in all health care systems is that of working with, managing and developing professionals. This module explores a wide range of issues associated with professionals, professionalism and professional bodies in health care organisations.
Health Economics
This module will introduce health economics and explore the notion of scarcity, which is as relevant in the health sector as it is in others. Whatever the level of expenditure on health care, there will always be unmet demand and it is important that these resources are applied in the best ways possible. It covers the use of markets as an allocation mechanism and looks at a range of economic evaluation methods for decision making by managers and policy makers.
Research Methods
Introducing the process of research project formulation and the key elements of research design, this module will prepare you to design and execute their research study for their dissertation in a systematic and scientific manner.
Programme Structure and Modules
Module Matrix 1 – Full-time Study
| Semester 1 | Credits |
| Health Care Systems, Structures and Functions | 15 |
| Health Care Quality Management | 15 |
| Organisational Behaviour | 15 |
| Research Methods | 15 |
| Semester 2 | Credits |
| Operational Management in Health Care | 15 |
| Financial Management | 15 |
| Health Economics | 15 |
| Professionals in Health Care | 15 |
| Dissertation | 60 |
Module Matrix 2 – Part-time Day Release Study
| Year 1 (Semester 1) | Credits |
| Health Care Systems, Structures and Functions | 15 |
| Organisational Behaviour | 15 |
| Year 1 (Semester 2) | Credits |
| Operational Management in Health Care | 15 |
| Financial Management | 15 |
| Year 2 (Semester 1) | Credits |
| Health Care Quality Management | 15 |
| Research Methods | 15 |
| Year 2 (Semester 2) | Credits |
| Health Economics | 15 |
| Professionals in Health Care | 15 |
| Dissertation | 60 |
MSc Health Care Management - entry standards
Entry standards
Applicants should usually hold a Bachelors degree (UK Lower Second/2.2 or above) or equivalent qualification from a recognised British/overseas university. Every applicant is assessed individually on their own merit. Higher level professional qualifications may also be accepted. Relevant work experience could be an additional benefit where applicants have not reached the standard entry requirements, although it is not an admissions requirement for this particular degree programme.
Applications to our programmes should be submitted by 30th April 2012. Applications received after this date will only be considered subject to availability of places and on a rolling basis.
English language requirements
Candidates for whom English is not their first language will normally be required to have taken an English language test and achieved a score of either TOEFL 575 or above, IELTS 6.5 or above, or Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English Grade B or above. This test must have been taken within two years of the programme start date.
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
Planned intake
Up to 75
Start date
SeptemberMSc Health Care Management - fees and funding
Fees
Health Care Management (full time):
UK/EU - £7,570
Overseas - £14,830
Health Care Management (part time):
UK/EU - £3,785
Overseas - £7,415
MSc Health Care Management - professional context
Industry Links
The Surrey Business School and its academic staff have a number of strong links with the health care sector industry. We have four visiting academic staff with strong health service delivery links including Professor Matthew Swindells, former chief policy adviser to the Secretary of State for Health and Colonel John Burgess, Assistant Director Clinical Services at the Army Primary Health Care Service. From time to time we invite managers from industry to come to talk to students about their experiences of managing health services.
International Relevance
There is little doubt that globalisation brings many challenges for organisations. It is highly likely that after graduating with the MSc Health Care Management, you may spend at least part of your career interfacing with different health services. You will encounter management problems which are largely created by the cross-cultural nature of the modern health care organisation. To prepare you for this environment we have deliberately designed a programme which is truly global in terms of its content and focus and we have recruited staff with considerable international experience.
Professional recognition
The Surrey Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
MSc Health Care Management - teaching
Teaching
Our teaching strategy provides a combination of lectures, seminars, discussion groups, video and case study analysis. We believe that a variety of teaching methods allows us to satisfy most individual learning styles and preferences at some point in the programme. The programme is specifically designed to provide a balanced assessment strategy because different people have different strengths and weaknesses in the various assessment options that are available. Consequently we try to ensure that you and your fellow students are exposed to a range of assessment techniques, and that you are not penalised if one particular approach does not suit your particular style.
You will tackle written assignments in the essay style, which test your ability to synthesise information and to compare and contrast theory with practical examples, as well as traditional examinations which provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate how well you can take information and solve problems under time-constrained conditions, just as you might be asked to do in the workplace.
We also recognise that in modern health care organisations, people rarely work independently; therefore some of the written and oral assessments are in pairs or groups. This allows you to develop the ‘soft’ skills of communication, coordination, teamworking, time management, and project management, all of which are increasingly important in high-performance organisations.
Staff perspective
Professor Terry Desombre
I feel that this programme is unique because it has been specifically designed to develop the management skills of health care clinicians, professionals and managers. It draws on theory and practical examples from the UK and overseas health systems. It has the benefit of being grounded in a Faculty of Management and Law, which has a strong tradition in health care management. My colleagues and I, who teach on the programme, are all active researchers and have an in-depth background in health systems in the UK and abroad.
We are interested in important areas such as leadership development and talent management in health care; health informatics; patient safety; doctor-patient relationships and trust; and the use of routinely collected data in the implementation of new services. We hope that our research enriches the way that we teach on the programme.
What I like about this programme is the diverse nature of our students. Half of our students come from the UK and the rest from other countries around the world. They have a range of experience of different health care systems, which we try to share. I enjoy working with students from diverse professional backgrounds: nurses, managers, doctors, therapists, bio-medical scientists and recent graduates. This ensures a stimulating debate during the lectures.
MSc Health Care Management - learning
MSc Health Care Management - graduate profile
Student Profile: Dr Olubunmi Aregbesola
MSc Health Care Management
As a physician working in a bustling hospital in Nigeria, I had come to realise that I would benefit from gaining experience in management and administration, as those skills were very valid in my practice.
It was my belief that it would be difficult to find an MSc that would help me develop those skills within the context of health care and health care organisations, but I was wrong. The University of Surrey had just the right course.
I chose the University of Surrey because it offered me all that I was looking for and more in a single package. Its ranking on the UK university league tables, as well as the reputation of its School of Management, were also decisive factors. Of course, the beauty and quiet of Guildford and its proximity to London did everything to help.
I have been amazed at the quality of the teaching, the extent to which your abilities for critical thinking and analysis are stretched, as well as the guidance given to you by the lecturers, who are genuinely interested in helping you achieve your potential.
Enjoying all this while being exposed to students from a wide variety of cultures has made my experience of the University of Surrey one that I will always treasure.
Student Profile: John Burgess
MSc Health Care Management
As a medical doctor and general practitioner in full time medical management in the UK Armed Forces I felt I needed to broaden my outlook and knowledge of how different health systems function in the NHS and overseas. The masters’ course at Surrey promised an international student base, with highly regarded specialist areas. The physical location was ideal, easily accessible with good road and rail links, and I was also impressed with the progressively increasing UK and international ranking of the University as a whole.
The dissertation was great fun and with my supervisor we published a paper in a peer reviewed journal. At Surrey the systems just seemed to work and the on-line resources were excellent. Since leaving I have had several members of my organisation come to Surrey for this and similar courses.
After graduation I was appointed to a more challenging job with greater responsibilities, looking outwards to the Department of Health and other government departments. The dissertation rekindled an interest in academic writing and I have just submitted another paper for publication. The University was always an exceptionally friendly place and has been keen to welcome graduates back to campus. I have attended several lectures with key international leaders.
I was very much a “mature” student, even for a postgraduate, and thus was not to be found propping up the bars in the evening. However, the University with its welcoming policy to the local community allowed my family to use the sports facilities and my sons particularly enjoyed the indoor climbing walls.
Student Profile: Brenda Laura Bazirake
MSc Health Care Management
I am from Uganda, East Africa. I chose Surrey mainly for two reasons – the content of the MSc Health Care Management and the weight of the subsequent qualification.
The course has a comprehensive syllabus, taught by world-class academics, that prepares you for the rigours and challenges of a twenty-first-century health system.
The School of Management at the University of Surrey is among the best in the UK, with professionally accredited courses and strong links with the industry. Also, the University has a beautiful campus and has built a strong global reputation, attracting students from over 140 countries. I am also impressed with ULearn, a very helpful online learning resource.
Surrey is an exciting place to study and a great place to enhance one’s employment prospects with plenty of resources. I am really enjoying my stay at Surrey, definitely the place to be.
MSc Health Care Management - more
Research Interests
Our research looks at three broad areas. First, we are interested in the uptake, spread and sustainability of innovations in a health care setting. Funded projects include an evaluation of the modernisation of stroke services (with Guy’s and St Thomas’s Charitable Trust funding), and the promotion of innovative approaches to workforce development within health care organisations. An NHS SDO-funded programme has contributed to the theory of disseminating and implementing complex, service-level innovation in health care. It involves a systematic approach to understanding the framework for spread of innovation and organisational change.
Second, we are interested in patient involvement in patient safety issues. Current projects include exploring ways of developing an active role for patients in challenging and educating health professionals’ actions, as well as exploring how patients make sense of the whole safety agenda within a hospital and community setting.
Third, we are interested in the role and development of managers in health care organisations. We currently have two NHS SDOfunded projects which are exploring the role of front line managers in health organisations and also the development of different approaches to talent management and succession planning in health systems.
This work has also directly influenced the work of government change agencies including the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (formerly the Modernisation Agency) in England, the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare in Wales, and the Chief Scientist’s Office in Scotland, as well as the Australian National Institute of Clinical Studies.
MSc Health Care Management - apply
You can apply for this programme online using the link(s) below. We recommend making an application as soon as you can, even if you do not have all the necessary supporting information ready at that time.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to enter a username and password. If you've used our application system before, please enter your details or click the forgotten password link.
If you are a new user, you will need to create a username and password by clicking the New User button.
Start date
SeptemberProgramme length
12 months full-time or 24 months part-time
For general enquiries
T: 0800 980 3200 or
+44 (0)1483 681681
E: pg-enquiries@surrey.ac.uk
For admissions enquiries
T: +44 (0)1483 686300
E: somadmissions@surrey.ac.uk