Dr Grace Lordan OLDM2.26, Dr Irene Papanicolas COW G.04 and Prof Alistair Mcguire COW 4.05

Dr C Rudisill COW 3.05

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Health Economics, Policy and Management. This course is not available as an outside option.

The aim of the dissertation is for students to pursue an independent piece of research that will contribute to the field of health economics, health policy or health management.

The dissertation is a quantitative or qualitative investigation in one of these fields. It may be either a theoretical or empirical piece of research. The contribution of the work to the chosen field must be made clear. The output will be a piece of work of 5000 words or less that is written in an article format that is suitable for submission to a peer reviewed journal. Students must obtain the approval of their supervisor before embarking on any research.

Arrangements for supervision

Students' tutors will act as their dissertation supervisor in the first instance. If the specific topic a student wishes to cover for his/her dissertation requires a different supervisor, a MSc programme director can arrange this change. The dissertation supervisor will advise the student, help provide information and bibliography and identify likely problems with the proposed research.

Dissertation (95%, 5000 words) in September.
Research proposal (5%) in the MT.

5% of the mark will be based on a dissertation proposal due in the December of the first year of study.

The paper copies must be handled in to the Department on a specified date in December of the second year of the MSc programme. An electronic version of the dissertation must be also submitted. Penalties will be applied to any late submission. The world limit for the dissertation is 5,000 words (including references) and it must be in a journal article format.