Postgraduate Applied Health 2026-2027

This course in applied epidemiology gives an introduction to disease measurement at a population level, basic epidemiological study design and analysis, and provides an understanding of key methodological issues needed to apply when designing – or critically appraising – an epidemiological study.

This course will explore the challenges faced in women’s health and health care in a global setting. Students will gain knowledge of how gender differences, inequality, women’s family roles, community and society support, and approaches to healthcare systems all play a role in women’s health. It will also present how women’s health intersects with broader social and economic factors.

This course introduces you to health research methods, focusing on designing strong research proposals. You'll learn to formulate research questions, choose study designs, identify outcomes, and plan data collection.

We will explore key study designs, from experimental to observational, and master sampling and data collection for both qualitative and quantitative research. You'll also develop skills in critical appraisal and research ethics, equipping you to design rigorous and impactful research.

This course introduces students to key concepts in global health and develops skills to critically appraise organisations, actors, debates and data. Teaching material will cover: key definitions and terminology; institutions, practitioners and scholars in global health; and key drivers and challenges in the global health field. Students will learn about established and emerging topics, how these intersect with broader social, economic and political factors, and how research can make credible contributions in this context.

This course will focus on trials in the evaluation of real-world healthcare and public health settings. The course is run by staff from our world-leading Centre for Healthcare Randomised Trials (CHaRT) and the Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation - awarded the Queen's Anniversary Award for sustained excellence in health services research. Through studying this course, you will develop the knowledge and awareness of how to design a fair test, the appropriate use of trials and alternative trial designs, involving patients and the public, and sample size considerations.

This course provides a sound introduction to qualitative health research. You will consider the relevance and value of qualitative methodologies which respond to current health agendas. The course introduces planning to conduct relevant research and a range of methods to generate, handle and analyse qualitative data. You will gain insight into issues of rigour, quality and ethics, and understand the importance of engaging with relevant audiences. 

Machine learning has the potential to revolutionise healthcare. The aim of this course is to introduce machine learning for health data science with examples of real-life healthcare applications, using the popular data science language R.

This course will explore the challenges faced in women’s health and health care in a global setting. Students will gain knowledge of how gender differences, inequality, women’s family roles, community and society support, and approaches to healthcare systems all play a role in women’s health. It will also present how women’s health intersects with broader social and economic factors.

Resources available for the provision and payment for health care are limited. However, knowledge of economics helps ensure that available resources are used in the most effective way possible. Economics allows more informed decision making about a variety of issues: choosing between alternative treatments; setting priorities between patients; choosing between alternative new technologies; organising the provision of health care.

In this course students will acquire a knowledge and understanding of:

• Key themes of economic theory applied to health care
• Some of the main techniques of health care evaluation
• Main arguments concerning alternative systems for organising and financing health care

This course focuses on global disease burden patterns, associated risk factors, drivers and responses. Specific diseases and health issues will be discussed in the socio-economic, political, and environmental context, while considering the appropriateness and adequacy of global health responses. Topics include communicable and non-communicable diseases, injuries, and global health risk factors and drivers.

This work-based placement elective offers a professional placement with a civic, government, industrial, public, research or voluntary health and/or development sector organisation in the field of Health Data Science. You will undertake a ten-week placement with your host organisation, either within the organisation, remotely from Aberdeen, or using a combination of both. Placements are subject to availability and are offered on a best match basis.