MPhil/PhD in Health Policy and Health Economics

Programme Code: RPHPHE

Department: Health Policy

For students starting this programme of study in 2018/19

Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations

In addition to progressing with their research, students are expected to take training, research methodology, and transferable skills courses.

# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.

The Department encourages students throughout their PhD programme to attend, and where appropriate, present at conferences in relation to their particular research topic.

Progression rules

Students are initially registered as MPhil, and will be able to upgrade to PhD registration following their first year of full-time enrolment, subject to successful completion of the Major Review. Progress is assessed by the student’s Supervisors in consultation with the Doctoral Programme Director.

In the ST of every academic year, the progress of each student registered in the Department is discussed with the Supervisory Panel. The Panel decides whether to recommend to the School that students be permitted to proceed to the next year of study.

If progress is unsatisfactory, a course of action to assist students to reach performance standards deemed appropriate by Supervisors may be required, or a recommendation may be made that the student not be allowed to re-register.

Upgrade requirements

Each student is required to undergo Major Review (also known as Upgrade) at the end of their first year of full-time study. In order to earn the Upgrade, the candidate –
(1) Must have attended a minimum of 80% of the compulsory course in Advanced Health Policy and Health Economics (based on their time at LSE);
(2) Must have achieved a minimum average grade of 60% across the two taught MSc courses;
(3) Must have submitted a 5,000-word thesis proposal including a research question, literature review, description of methodology, plans for data collection, and a timetable through to completion. Where relevant, there will be assessment of any ethics review required for the student’s research undertaken in accordance with the School’s research ethics policies.

Candidates are subject to a viva voce and marking of their thesis proposal by two non-supervisory members of the Department, where students will be required to earn a minimum grade of 60%. Following Major Review, a decision is taken whether to upgrade the student from MPhil to the PhD programme.

Targets for progress

For students who successfully upgrade to PhD enrolment there will be another review in the second and third years of full-time study. Progression will be conditional upon fulfilling the requirements agreed and approved by the Supervisors and the Doctoral Programme Director.

Year 2
For a thesis as a monograph: submission of a thesis document, including an abstract of the whole thesis, a chapter synopsis, and a substantive first chapter (approx. 10,000 words), and an updated timetable through to completion.
For a thesis as a series of publishable papers: submission of an abstract for each of the three prospective papers, a full draft of the introduction or a full draft of one of the papers (approx. 10,000 words), and an updated timetable through to completion.

Year 3
For a thesis as a monograph: submission of full draft with all core chapters, and agreed timetable through to completion of the thesis.
For a thesis as a series of publishable papers: full drafts of all three papers and agreed timetable for the completion of the thesis.

Teaching opportunities
The Department employs Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) to teach and lead seminars on a number of postgraduate courses. First-year MPhil/PhD students are normally not permitted to teach. Research students are encouraged to undertake some teaching following successful Major Review. Students who undertake teaching are offered the opportunity to pursue a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education.

Note for prospective students:
For changes to graduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the graduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the graduate summary page for future students.