• Studies
• Programmes
• Health Economics, Policy, and Management (master's - 2 years)
  • Why choose this programme?
  • Learning outcomes
  • How to apply?
  • Structure and accomplishment
  • A semester abroad
  • After completion / career opportunities
  • Teaching and examinations
  • Quality assurance
  • Contact us

Health Economics, Policy, and Management (master's - 2 years)

• Why choose this programme?
• Learning outcomes
• How to apply?
• Structure and accomplishment
• Teaching and examinations
• A semester abroad
• Quality assurance
• After completion / career opportunities
• Contact us

Why choose this programme?

The programme focuses on economic, political, and organizational analysis, health care policy evaluation and health care management in an international perspective. The approach is multidisciplinary, and the large number of elective courses allows the students to choose between either specializing in a single field, such as Health Care, Economics, Policy or Management, or taking a broader approach by combining courses from several of these fields. Students who do not have a background in medicine or the health professions are required to take a course in the concepts and mechanisms of health and disease as part of the programme.

The programme is taught in connection with the two main research areas at the Department of Health Management and Health Economics. Both areas combine academic research with applied approaches, often in connection with projects commissioned by health organizations and public authorities, or by the Norwegian Research Council.

Research in the field of health economics focuses on such areas as the economic analysis of health policies, economic incentives, normative issues such as cost-benefit analysis, determinants of hospital efficiency, factors behind the demand for health services and the labour markets for health personnel.

Research in the field of health management focuses on the organisation, management, and politics of health care, and covers such topics as hospital performance evaluation, bargaining institutions and procedures, quality of health care, benchmarking procedures, changes in leadership and organizational culture, the implementation of innovative technological solutions within healthcare and the recent re-centralization of hospital ownership in Norway.

At present there is no similar Master’s Degree programme being offered at other institutions at the university level in Norway.

Learning outcomes

This Master’s Degree Programme aims at providing analytical and applied knowledge on the organisation of health care in Norway and in other countries. An important feature of the programme is its multidisciplinary approach. Such an approach is essential in order to adequately address the complexity and multidimensionality of health care.

Students on the programme will develop an ability to analyse and evaluate complex policy and organizational challenges at both the micro level and at higher levels within health care systems. Such challenges may include managing organizational processes, implementing policy reforms and providing advice to health care decision-makers. In the course of the programme students will acquire a broad range of specific competencies within such topics as political and organizational analysis, demand for health care services, communication, medical ethics, advanced methodologies of statistics, economics, technology assessment and details of national and international health care law. These competencies equip students to successfully meet challenges on a multitude of levels within health care systems.

How to apply?

Admission is once a year. Application deadlines:

1 December:

• International applicants.

15 April:

• Extended deadline for citizens from
  the EU/EEA area + citizens from Switzerland.
• Nordic citizens and applicants with a
  permanent residence in Norway.

Application process for international applicants:

• How to apply for a master's degree programme

Application process for Nordic citizens and applicants with a permanent residence in Norway:

• Apply through SøknadsWeb. NB: Only for applicants holding an 11 digit Norwegian ID-number. Other applicants, please contact the department for application procedures.

Applicants who are not already registered at the University of Oslo, must fill out the Basic Qualification Form

Available places: 30

Admission requirements

Admission to master s degree studies
requires:

• Higher Education Entrance Qualification (generell studiekompetanse ). Applicants with foreign education, please refer to the
  GSU-list (pdf file).
• a completed bachelor s degree
  comparable to a Norwegian bachelor s degree.
• a specialization defined by the
  programme.
• a minimum grade point average (GPA) of
  C (in Norwegian scale) or equivalent from the specialization in your
  degree.
• a language requirement documented by
  one of the tests/exams below:
  a) Passed examination in
  English foundation course (140 hours/5 periods per week) in
  Norwegian upper secondary school with a minimum grade of 4 (or an
  equivalent grade from a Nordic upper secondary school) or
  alternatively passed examination in English from second and/or
  third school year, or
  b) An
  internationally recognised English language proficiency test .

Specialization requirements defined by the programme
Admission to the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Economics, Policy, and Management requires a Bachelor’s Degree in either Health Management and Health Economics, Social Sciences, Economics, Public Administration or Health Sciences. Norwegian students with a Cand. mag. Degree may also be admitted, provided they fulfil the general admission requirements.

Applicants with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences must have at least 60 ECTS credits within Social Sciences or Economics.

Ranking of applicants

Applicants are ranked according to their grade point average (GPA). Applicants who can not be estimated according to their grade point average, will be ranked based on individual assessment.

Admission to 1-2 years' Master's programmes is subject to Regulations governing admission to 1- to 2-year master's degree programmes at the University of Oslo .

Recognition of prior education

If you have previous higher education, you may apply for specific recognition of this education as part of your degree. Education from both Norwegian and foreign higher education institutions may be recognised. Recognition depends upon whether the education meets the specific requirements of your degree. Read more about recognition of prior education at the Faculty of Medicine.

The deadline for applying for recognition of previous education is on the 1st of September, 1st of December and 1st of May. Your application has to specify which course(s) within your previous education you wish to implement in the masters degree. Further, you have to specify which course(s) within the master programme you wish to replace. Also a transcript of grades, a course description and a list of syllabus from your previous education shall be attached to the application.

Structure and accomplishment

The master programme is a full –time programme for two years, and it includes 120 credits.

The programme consists of

• 4 to 6 mandatory courses (40-60 credits) depending on the your background,

• 3-5 elective courses (or any number of courses equivalent to 30-50 credits)

• a Master’s thesis (30 credits)

4. semester

HMM4501 - Master thesis

Elective course

3. semester

HMM4501 - Master thesis

Elective course

Elective course or HMM4101 - Research methods and statistics*

2. semester

HMM4301 - Optimal allocation of health care resources and economic evaluation of health care technologies

HMM4104A - Research design

HMM4104B - Qualitative methods

Elective course

1. semester

HMM4101 - Research methods and statistics or HMM4100 - Introduction to statistics *

HMM4401 - Health and medicine or elective

HMM4202 - Structure, organization and financing of health care systems

10 ECTS credits

10 ECTS credits

10 ECTS credits

Old study plan

• HMM indicates mandatory courses
• HME indicates elective courses

Mandatory courses

* HMM4100- Statistics is mandatory if you do not have 10 credits of statistics from a bachelor's Degree. In this case, you must take the course HMM4101- Research methods and statistics in the third semester.

* HMM4401- Health and Medicine is mandatory if you do not have a background within health sciences from your bachelor degree.

Elective courses (HME):

The elective courses varies from semester to semester. You may also take up to 30 credits of your elective courses at other Departments.

Elective courses autumn 2012:

HME4205- Internship

HME4206- Topics in Health Policy

HME4309- Advanced course in economic evaluation of health care

HME4310- Medical Informatics and Logistics

HME4405- Epidemiology and public health

Elective courses at other departments

Teaching and examinations

Time and location

You will find time and place for teaching and examinations at the semester pages for each course. Please see the list of courses offered at the University of Oslo.

Teaching and learning methods

Supervised professional training

In the second semester the master programme offers an elective internship course

Compulsory attendance

Please see information for each course.

Some of the courses have compulsory excercises which one needs to pass in order to be allowed to attend the final exam.

Language

All lectures in this programme are held in English.

Location

Universitetet i Oslo

Forms of examination and assessment

Language of examination

In the courses comprising the programme, the exam question papers are given in English, and the answer papers are normally supposed to be delivered in English. The course descriptions provide more information about requirements concerning the language of examination

Grading scale

The programme contains both courses using the pass/fail scale and courses using the grading scale with five steps from A to E for pass and F for fail, cf. § 6.1 i Forskrift om studier og eksamener ved Universitetet i Oslo (Norwegian only). Each course description provides more information about the grading scale in use.

Diploma

The diploma is issued when you have completed the combination of courses which fulfill the degree requirements. The diploma is issued in English. With the diploma you also receive a Diploma Supplement, providing more information about the degree and about the Norwegian system of higher education.

A semester abroad

Parts of the study programme may be taken abroad. Some students will do field work abroad, others will take courses at a partner institution. Please contact the programme administration for further details about the possibilities of a period abroad.

The main reason for offering this programme in English is to enable student and teacher exchange and thereby give the curriculum an international perspective and context. The international profile of the programme also enhances the candidates’ career opportunities.

Please see the web pages for Student exchange at the Master of Health Economics, Politics and Management programme

The Department has signed ERASMUS agreements with the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Management Center, Innsbruck, and the Technical University of Berlin. This cooperation will expand teaching resources and research opportunities for our Master's Degree students by facilitating student and teacher exchange. Close cooperation with other institutions will make it possible for students to both take mandatory and elective courses and do supervised thesis-work in other countries.

Erasmus is a European Commission exchange programme that enables students to study for part of their degree in another country. Read more about the application process at the UIO's pages for exchange (Norwegian only).

Quality assurance

The University of Oslo aims at offering an innovative and relevant education with the best teaching and tuition possible. It is therefore important that you as a student give us feedback and contribute to evaluations of your programme and courses.

The programme of study is regularly evaluated to ensure and develop the quality of the programme:

• Each year, the programme management conducts a review to assess whether the objectives of the programme have been met. External programme supervisors monitor examinations and assessment.

• At least every fourth year, the faculty conducts a more thorough evaluation of the programme. External representatives take part in the evaluation panel.

• Courses in the programme are evaluated regularly, according to a schedule decided by the faculty.

Read more about the quality assurance system at the University of Oslo.

Procedures of Quality Assurance

• Evaluation of current courses: The Programme Coordinator has a meeting in the middle of every semester with representatives of all classes.
• Periodic evaluation of courses: Every other year. All students are invited to fill in a questionnaire at the end of the semester.
• Periodic evaluation of the Programme: Every fourth year.
• Programme auditor: The department has a programme auditor for each of the 3 disciplines in the department: medicine, management and economics.
• Annual report to the Faculty of medicine

Quality Assurance of the programme

Periodic evaluation 2009:
Internal report (pdf - in English)
Attachments to the internal report (pdf - in English)
External report (pdf - in Norwegian)

Annual report to the Faculty of medicine
2008

2009

2010

2011

Contact information

Institute of Health Management and Health Economics

Quality Assurance at the Faculty of Medicine

After completion / career opportunities

The health care sector constitutes a significant share of every economy. Most countries are confronted with growing challenges within this sector, due to an increasing demand for health care services and technological changes and innovation. In response to these challenges, many countries have implemented various types of reforms, such as new health care financing systems, the restructuring of health organisations, the use of strategic planning and attempts to devise more customized incentive systems. The need for personnel with the competencies acquired through this programme is evident.

The opportunities for other types of careers within the health care sector than that of the traditional health professional may be an interesting prospect for many students. This programme prepares students for positions in a variety of settings, both public and private, including hospitals and health centres, international organizations, consultancy firms, pharmaceutical and insurance companies, technology assessment agencies, advisory boards and health authorities at municipal, regional and national levels, as well as within government institutions. It also gives students a solid foundation for entering a PhD programme or for further research.

Interview with former students

Economic Modeling and Statistical Analyses

Search term "Health Economics" on international job agencies on the web pointed Kun Kim to an interesting and relevant job in Stockholm

Kun Kim

Forsker på selvhjelp

Gudrun Waaler er i en stipendiatstilling ved Nasjonalt Folkehelseintstitutt (FHI). FHI er en nasjonal kompetanseinstitusjon for myndigheter, helsetjeneste, media og publikum.

Gudrun Waaler

Managing Quality in Patient Care

"I don't just do things, but analyze how they can be done more effectively" is how Nadine Nölte describes her tasks in a private Rehabilitation Company.

Nadine Nölte

Learning Global Health Economy

The purpose of the Junior Professional Associates program of the World Bank is to provide advanced students and recent graduates with the opportunity to gain entry-level professional experience, on a two-year, non-renewable contract with benefits.

Geir Sølve Sande Lie

Reseach and Health Policy in China

Back in his own country Yinhe Li has found a position as a young researcher in Health Policy

Yinhe Li

Med en hånd på rattet

Som rådgiver i Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet steller Iselin Syversen med sentrale spørsmål som oppfølging av budsjett for spesialisthelsetjenesten og utvikling av finansieringssystemet

Iselin Syversen

En start med forskning og undervisning

Forskning på diabetes og undervisning av bachelorstudenter er kanskje første skritt i en akademisk karriere ved Avdeling for helseledelse og helseøkonomi

Ragnhild Flingtorp

Stipendiat i konsulentbransjen

Accenture har ikke noe trainee program, men som nyansatt får man de første årene prøve seg innenfor mange ulike felt. Det har gitt Ida Iren Eriksen mulighet til å gjøre seg opp en mening om hva hun ønsker å spesialisere seg innenfor

Ida Iren Eriksen

Minoritetshelse i EU og Norge

Erfaring fra sykepleien og samfunnsvitenskapelig kunnskap fra masterstudiet er et godt utgangspunkt når Ragnhild Storstein Spilker kombinerer studiet med deltidsjobb i Nasjonal kompetanseenhet for minoritetshelse

Ragnhild Storstein Spilker

Researcher at the Norwegian Medicines Agency (Statens Legemiddelverk)

Since most of my work revolves around assessing the cost effectiveness of different pharmaceuticals, all the courses on economic evaluation, economic modelling, statistics and decision making have been extremely important, David Ngaruiya Mwaura says.

David Ngaruiya Mwaura

Contact us

Other points of contact	Office/adress	Consultation hours/opening hours	Phone	E-mail	Comment
The Student Advisors at the Department of Health Management and Health Economics	Forskningsveien 3A, 2nd floor.	Monday-Thursday: 10:00-11:30 and 12:30-14:00. Friday: 09:30-11:30 og 13:00-14:00		heled-studieinfo@helsam.uio.no

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