PgProfDev Data Science for Health and Social Care at University of Edinburgh

Programme overview

Standalone online courses from the Data Science for Health and Social Care programme, teaching how to use data to improve lives, strengthen systems and shape policy in health and social care.

Faculty: College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine | Department: Edinburgh Medical School | Duration: Up to 2 years (maximum 50 credits), part-time intermittent online study | Intake: Multiple start dates | Study mode: online | Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

What you will study

Students take up to 50 credits of individual courses over two years, transferable towards the PgCert, PgDip or MSc. The full programme moves from core concepts and R programming (Year 1) to methods for designing data science projects with options such as machine learning and natural language processing (Year 2) and an MSc dissertation, including a work-based project route (Year 3).

Career pathways

Graduates work across healthcare, academia, government, charities and the private sector in roles involving statistical analysis, machine learning and health informatics.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Programme (2027-28 entry): UK 2:1 honours degree, or international equivalent, in a health-related degree or a relevant subject such as life sciences, social sciences, mathematics, statistics, engineering or computer science. Applicants with at least 3 years' relevant work experience may be considered (contact the team first) and may be admitted to certificate level only at first. English language (all applicants, including UK nationals): IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component; TOEFL iBT (from 21 January 2026) 4.5 overall with at least 4.5 in each component; C1 Advanced/C2 Proficiency 176 overall with at least 169 in each component.

Intake: Multiple start dates

Duration: up to 2 years part-time (intermittent study)

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