MSc in Health Service Improvement and Evaluation
The MSc in Health Service Improvement and Evaluation (HSIE) is a full-time face-to-face course across one year of study. This unique MSc is led by the Health Systems Collaborative research group in collaboration with the Nuffield Department of Medicine’s Centre for Global Health Research at Oxford. This MSc is distinct from other global health or public health courses, providing you with theory alongside practical skills to implement health service improvement and evaluation in today’s complex healthcare and service environments.
This course is now open to applications for entry in 2026-2027
Apply for the course
MSc in Health Service Improvement and Evaluation (HSIE) is led by the Health Systems Collaborative research group in collaboration with the NDM Centre for Global Health Research.
Employability is at the heart of the HSIE MSc
Health systems strengthening is a growing priority for both high-income and lower-resource settings. This has led to increased demand for professionals with technical expertise in health systems improvement and programme evaluation.
Our students are trained to meet this demand. You will learn to diagnose system problems, assess the quality of interventions, implement improvements to increase uptake and sustainability and understand the value of different disciplinary approaches to evaluation. We also provide training in skills that make candidates stand out: leadership and effective teamworking, academic and technical writing and public presentation. The skills and practical experience you will gain in this MSc will enable you to excel in sectors ranging from ministries of health, policymaking, academic, multi-lateral, bilateral and non-governmental organisations.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes
As an HSIE MSc graduate, you will be able to:
- Identify and analyse health system challenges and areas for improvement
- Apply strategies to design interventions addressing different health service challenges
- Design plans for the evaluation of interventions in health services
- Create a health service improvement and evaluation project plan
- Communicate plans and outputs clearly through oral and written communication, both individually and in teams.
What to expect
This course is intensive and immersive, pairing lectures with active learning to reinforce your knowledge and skills. Sessions are delivered by experts with rich experience across a variety of contexts. A combination of lectures, small class discussions and teamwork projects will allow you to apply knowledge to practise from the start of the course.
While the course is intensive, there is plenty of support: you will be assigned an academic advisor to provide support throughout the course, as well as a tutor to support team projects and a thesis supervisor to support your dissertation. We also offer a workshop on how to write a funding proposal; a retreat to improve your academic writing; and a student conference to gain experience in communicating your work.
Course structure and assessment
The course is delivered as a mixture of interactive lectures and activities. Lectures are not didactic and provide an opportunity to explore complex ideas and frameworks as a class. Team projects and an individual dissertation allow these ideas to be applied to real-world problems. The course is structured in 6 modules.
- Module 1: Health Systems and HSIE Foundations
- Module 2: The Methods Toolbox: Gathering and Assessing Evidence
- Module 3: Investigating Context: Safety, Quality and Health System Performance
- Module 4: Designing Interventions and Planning Interventions
- Module 5: Programme Implementation and Evaluation
- Module 6: Core Skills in Health Systems Research and Practice
This master's programme is tailored for individuals eager to drive change in health systems and services, focusing on practical, real-world problem-solving skills. Instead of traditional written exams, assessments include practical projects like funding proposals. Teamwork is crucial, and team projects emphasise interdisciplinary collaboration and leadership skills to implement and evaluate interventions, reflecting real-world healthcare challenges. The MSc is assessed in three parts as described below, with the goal of students becoming more independent over the course of the year.
- Portfolio 1: The foundational content from modules 1, 2 and 6 are examined through submission of two pieces of written work, assessed at the start of the second term.
- Portfolio 2: A team project runs over modules 3, 4 and 5 to explore a specific context, design a theory-based intervention to address a challenge, plan the implementation, and design an evaluation. This project is assigned by the course team and assessed with an oral team presentation at the end of the second term and three individual written submissions due at the start of the third term.
- Dissertation: The dissertation requires the application of knowledge and skills from all six modules to develop a mock funding proposal for the evaluation of a complex intervention, due mid-August of the same academic year. The course team provides options for students’ dissertation project topic; however, students can propose their own topic. This replaces the traditional research component of an MSc.
Are you interested?
Any questions about your application? Email: msc-hsie@ndm.ox.ac.uk
Frequently asked questions
Applications are currently open for the 2026-2027 cycle. The first deadline is in December, and you need to apply by then to be considered for Oxford scholarships. There are further deadlines in early 2026, but we strongly encourage applications before December to be eligible for more funding opportunities, and to be considered in the first round of shortlisting. There are limited places available, and we will close applications once these have been filled.
Application requirements can be found on the course page. The application consists of providing references, official transcripts, a statement of purpose, a written work sample, and supporting documents. After submission, your application will be assessed according to criteria you can find on the Assessment page and you may be invited for an interview.
The interview panel will comprise three academics and the interview is expected to last 30 minutes. All shortlisted applicants will be interviewed via Teams and questions will be framed around your experience (academic and professional) and suitability for the course. The interviews are competency based but also based on your potential to learn and grow, and do not include any tests or tasks. Interviews take place in January-April, with places allocated as soon as possible after interviews. Your application is reviewed holistically.
Your statement of purpose should be written in academic English and detail your previous academic achievements as well as your research and work experience. It should explain how the skills and experiences you have gained during your studies and professional career relate to the course. You should also focus on your motivation behind applying for this course specifically and how it aligns with your future career aspirations.
A good personal statement highlights your strengths and describes how they would help you to be successful on the course, as well as what you can bring to the cohort. The statement should also demonstrate clear interest in the field of health service improvement and/or evaluation, either through study or work experience (including unpaid, formal employment, internships). Please note that the word count for the personal statement must not exceed 500 words.
A piece of academic writing (written in English) is required for your application.
Examples of this include an excerpt from a published paper (that you have first authored), a grant proposal, an academic essay, or a writing sample from a recent qualification. Your written work will be assessed for a comprehensive understanding of the subject area, including problems and developments in the subject, ability to construct and defend an argument, aptitude for analysis and expression, and ability to present a reasoned case in proficient academic English.
The word count must be ≤1000 words (not including bibliography, brief footnotes, captions, titles, or legends that are applied to images, tables, or charts). Extracts from the requisite length from longer work are also permitted if prefaced by a brief note (2-3 sentences) that puts it in context (not included in the word count). Longer work that is truncated to meet the word count but is not understandable as a stand-alone piece of work is not likely to be marked favourably.
Oxford offers multiple sources of support for pastoral care (and sometimes additional hardship funds). These can be accessed through different places, such as your college and department. Colleges offer academic advisors as well as support regarding living in Oxford. Colleges are a good place to look for additional hardship funds if needed.
You will also be supported by your peers and the course staff. Academically, you will have a supervisor for support with your dissertation. For the team project, a project tutor is assigned to each team to provide support for the project work and for individual students to work constructively within their team.
This course is aimed at all people who want to improve health services and evaluate their impact. The skills and practical experience gained in this MSc will enable students to excel in sectors ranging from ministries of health, policymaking, and academia, to multi-lateral, bilateral and non-governmental organisations.
Potential next steps include applying for a DPhil, such as the HSC/ NDM Centre for Global Health Research’s DPhil in Clinical Medicine (which is more broad than just clinical medicine), internships (we can help facilitate these, but are unable to guarantee an internship), and jobs working in a variety of industries.
This course focuses on building a specific skillset for employability, including grant-writing, teamwork, communication, and conference organisation and presentation. This course focuses on a particular set of knowledge and skills to identify and understand health service challenges and design robust interventions in response, while providing practical skills in implementing programmes and a nuanced approach to evaluation. The narrower scope, deeper dive into the content, and a focus on building skills to specifically improve and evaluate health services make this course different from a broader degree like an MPH and provides added value for those already working in health services or the field of improvement and evaluation.