Fast-track your career in healthcare with a Masters in Applied Health Sciences.
Our MSc in Applied Health Sciences is a uniquely flexible programme.
Choose from a wide range of online and on-campus courses to build an MSc, Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) or Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) at your own pace.
Tailor your qualification to your research interests and career goals. And choose to study 100% online or via a mix of online and on-campus courses.
You can focus on applied health disciplines including:
- Global Health
- Health Data Science
- Health Economics
- Human Nutrition
- Public Health.
Choose your entry route
This programme has been designed with flexibility in mind. It gives you a choice of entry routes:
- Enter directly to the MSc, PgDip, or PgCert.
- Use our online short courses to earn an MSc, PgDip, or PgCert one or two short courses at a time.
- Transfer from other relevant programmes delivered by our Institute of Applied Health Sciences. For example, if you’re studying for our PgCert in Research Methods for Health, you can use your credits towards a PgDip or MSc in Applied Health Sciences.
Who can join our MSc in Applied Health Sciences?
Our flexible MSc is open to anyone looking to build a certified postgraduate qualification in this area.
Excellent training will be provided to enhance your skills and career prospects in public health policy, healthcare delivery, healthcare management or research.
Choose an online Applied Health MSc with an award-winning UK university
Train with healthcare experts
Be part of a university leading the way in nutrition, women’s health, infection control and clinical scanning, transforming lives and medical practice around the world.
Award-winning research
We’re proud winners of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, the highest national honour for a UK university, for sustained excellence in health research over the last 40 years.
Why we were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize
Real-world impact
Our work has changed clinical practice, policy, legislation and academic method, directly impacting the lives of millions of people.
Our research impact
Join one of the UK’s best medical schools
We’re ranked first in the UK for Medicine by the Guardian University Guide 2025.
Outstanding research quality
We’re rated 1st in Scotland for Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care research in the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).
What you’ll study
You can choose to study for a:
- Masters (180 credits)
- Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits)
- Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits)
- or start with one of the short courses that make up this degree (15 credits).
Coordinators will work with you to guide your selection of courses at an early stage, helping you align your qualification to your research interests and career aspirations.
Try our degree scheduler
Choose your courses
See all the courses that are part of this degree and choose what you want to study.
Manage your study schedule
Control the pace and cost of your degree. Decide how much you want to study each term.
Save to your wishlist
Save your schedule to your wishlist so you can view and edit anytime.
How you’ll study
This Masters in Applied Health Sciences is delivered flexibly, so you can manage your study hours to suit you.
You can earn your qualification:
- 100% online, studying anywhere in the world, without a study visa, or
- via a mix of online and on-campus courses delivered at our Foresterhill Health Campus in Aberdeen.
Online learning
Online courses are delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your online studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.
You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You do not need to purchase any books at all. You’ll find a range of resources at your fingertips, including:
- online lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops
- projects
- videos, podcasts and audio clips
- reading materials
- discussion boards with colleagues and tutors
- online access to our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library.
On-campus learning
On-campus courses are delivered via a mix of on-campus and online learning. You’ll study at our Foresterhill Health Campus in Aberdeen, one of the largest clinical complexes in Europe. It’s home to one of the leading medical schools in the UK, a large teaching hospital, maternity and children’s hospitals, and the Rowett Institute. Find out about our Health Campus.
On-campus activities include formal lectures, seminars, small group work, student presentations and discussion groups.
Your tutors
Whether you study online or on campus, you’ll learn from the same leading academics, active researchers, and health professionals in our Institute of Applied Health Sciences (IAHS). IAHS is a multidisciplinary grouping of University and NHS researchers who have been training healthcare professionals for decades.
For nutrition courses, you’ll learn with academics and researchers from our Rowett Institute. The Rowett is one of the leading and oldest nutrition research institutes in Europe. It’s been informing government health policy and establishing links between diet and health for over 100 years.
Working with the NHS
The University has excellent links with NHS Grampian. The NHS jointly owns the Foresterhill Health Campus with us, and NHS staff, clinicians and researchers input into your teaching.
Assessments
You’ll be assessed online for both online and on-campus courses. We use a variety of methods to assess your understanding, progress and performance throughout the programme, including:
- essays or reports
- online tests
- presentations.
Your support team
Our friendly team are here to answer any queries you have before, during and after your studies.
Dr Leone Craig
Leone is the degree coordinator. She’s here to answer questions about study options, course choices or degree content before you start, and to help you throughout your studies.
Clare McHattie
Clare is part of the School’s postgraduate teaching support team. She’ll be there throughout your studies to answer any of your non-academic queries.
Get in touch
The online education team is here to answer any questions you have right now about this qualification, or about studying online.
Ask us a questionWhere this will take you
Your MSc qualification
You’ll graduate with a respected MSc in Applied Health Sciences from one of the UK’s six ancient universities.
You’ll receive exactly the same degree qualification online as you would on campus. Your degree title will not mention online or distance learning.
Your MSc qualification will be recognised by employers and educational institutions around the world.
Careers
MSc Applied Health Sciences will help you progress your career in healthcare. Your MSc qualification will be recognised by employers and educational institutions around the world.
This uniquely flexible degree allows you to develop your knowledge, experience, and a portfolio of work relating to your interests, strengths, previous training, and career aspirations.
Whatever your professional goals, a qualification tailored this closely to your strengths and areas of interest will help you unlock a rewarding career.
Lifelong career support
Our career support doesn’t stop when you graduate.
You have access to our free careers service while you study, and beyond.
- 1:1 appointments
- CV checks
- Interview prep
- Job opportunities
Fees and funding
Master of Science
180 credits
£16,820
This indicative cost is based on 180 credits of study over two years, starting in September 2025.
Postgraduate Diploma
120 credits
£11,120
This indicative cost is based on 120 credits of study over two years, starting in September 2025.
Postgraduate Certificate
60 credits
£5,420
This indicative cost is based on 30 credits of study per term, starting in September 2025.
The fees quoted above are based on you starting your studies with us in the 2025/26 academic year.
Our indicative costs include a 5% fee rise each year.
Pay as you go
This is a pay-as-you-go qualification.
You do not have to pay the full tuition fee upfront.
You can spread the cost and pay as you go, term by term.
How it works
- You decide how many credits to study for each term.
- At the start of term, you pay only for the credits you’re taking that term.
- This gives you control over your costs and workload for each term of your qualification.
Your personalised cost breakdown
Use the degree scheduler to plan your studies and see your cost breakdown, term by term.
Choose the University of Aberdeen for MSc Applied Health Sciences
Leaders in health teaching
We’ve been training health professionals for decades and delivering online teaching for over 20 years.
Over 525 years of excellence
Study with the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world, founded in 1495.
NHS and alumni discounts
NHS staff receive a 10% discount on a range of our online courses and degrees, and our alumni receive 20% off.
Entry requirements
MSc, PgDip, PgCert
- A health-related honours degree (a 2:2 or at least 60%), or
- equivalent experience in healthcare practice or research.
We also consider applications from students with a pure science, social science or a humanities degree who have a keen interest in health.
These are our minimum requirements for direct entry to the MSc, PgDip or PgCert. They are given as a guide and do not guarantee entry.
Short course route to online MSc Applied Health Science
If you do not meet these entry requirements, or are not ready to commit to a full MSc, you may be able to use our online short courses as a route into this degree.
Find out about our short course route to entryApply for this programme
- Start month
- September or January
- INDICATIVE COST
- £16,820
This indicative cost is based on 180 credits of study over two years, starting in September 2025.
Apply via our Applicant Portal
