Healthcare Operational Management MSc

Find out more about our Healthcare Operational Management taught Master's degree at Warwick

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P-H1S5

MSc

1 year full-time

29 September 2025

WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group)

University of Warwick

Developed collaboratively by WMG's Institute of Digital Healthcare, Warwick Medical School and The National Health Service, this Healthcare Operational Management MSc drives the implementation of innovative digital technologies and services to facilitate improvement in the complex healthcare service sector.

This course has been designed to fulfil the specific needs of graduates interested in a management or leadership role within the complex distributed health service sector. Healthcare organisations share many commonalities with production facilities, including the need for efficient process flow, harnessing the advantages of data and technologies for decision-making, change management, and quality standards.  

You will explore the principles, approaches, strategies and techniques to understand, model, analyse and manage complex healthcare systems. You will learn to measure efficiency and improve effectiveness and productivity, without compromising quality or safety. Ultimately, you will gain the essential knowledge to manage the integration of people, processes, systems, and technologies to ensure the delivery of consistent, cost-effective, high quality, person centric care.  

The course is suitable for graduates from a broad range of academic disciplines across technical, scientific, medical, management, and social sciences. Strong quantitative skills are encouraged.

This course was developed in collaboration with Warwick Medical School and with NHS partners.

This course has two components – a taught component accounting for two thirds of your time and effort, and a research component accounting for one-third.

For the taught component, we blend lectures with seminars, syndicate exercises, simulations, and case studies. Modules are taught in small classes to facilitate and encourage interaction.

Our module leaders have extensive industry experience. Guest speakers from the healthcare sector also contribute regularly, bringing real-world insight into your learning experience.

In addition to your taught modules, you will undertake a major project as part of your Master's degree. which will develop your research and analytical skills and enable you to specialise. This is nominally 600 hours (60 CATS points) of learning, mainly taking place during the Spring and Summer terms. You will be expected to engage regularly with your Project Supervisor and to provide progress updates and drafts of your work to an agreed schedule.

This course can accommodate 25-30 students.

Module delivery patterns vary, but most will be delivered in a short learning block of up to 4 weeks, allowing your focus to be on one module at a time. Each module nominally accounts for 150 hours, which includes scheduled classroom time and online sessions as well as your independent study and assessments.

WMG runs a SPA module (Study, Professional and Analytical Skills) designed to meet the complex learning and professional needs of postgraduate students. This is a blended module delivered throughout the year alongside your modules. Whilst it is an unaccredited module for HOM students, your participation in the lectures, workshops and online sessions is strongly encouraged. There may be occasions where you will be required to attend evening or weekend sessions.

This course uses a variety of assessment methods across modules. These may include reports (both topic based and reflective), essays, individual and group presentations, critical evaluation or commentary pieces, case study exercises, simulation reports, business or consultancy reports, online tests, and video presentations.

Assessments have been designed not only to assess your achievement in meeting the course learning outcomes in an academically sound manner, but also contribute to preparing you with the requisite competencies required for employment.

For the research component, you will undertake a major project. Project submission is likely to include both a written and a presentation element, accounting for 33% of your overall academic grade.

Reading lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.  

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department. 

Your timetable

Core modules will be allocated to students at the end of the first week of term - you will then be able to view your individual module schedule for the rest of the year via the WMG module selection system.

Modules will include scheduled classroom time and online sessions as well as your independent study and assessments, and will usually be delivered within a 4 week timeframe. Occasional classes and study skills sessions may be held at weekends or in the evenings.

As a Master's student, you are expected to manage your own time appropriately. On average, you are expected to commit 38-40 hours of study each week, in order to successfully achieve your Master’s degree.

This is a full-time postgraduate course - undergraduate term dates do not apply. Whilst there are no holidays as such, there will be no teaching scheduled when the University is officially closed for staff, during the two weeks over Christmas and New Year.

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a range of disciplines across technical, medical, scientific, management and social sciences.

Candidates with a UK 2:2 (or equivalent) may be accepted upon demonstration of relevant professional experience.

• Band A
• IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0

Candidates with professional experience should include their CV with their application.

Core modules are required modules that all students will complete whilst on this programme. For Healthcare Operational Management (HOM), your core modules are:

Read the module descriptions for this course on WMG's website.Link opens in a new window