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Health, Technology and Public Policy MPA

London, Bloomsbury

The Health, Technology and Public Policy MPA brings together critical concepts to broaden your understanding of the impact of health technologies and health innovations. This programme is taught by established health, technology and policy experts and practitioners, and you'll graduate with the skills and knowledge needed to influence public policy to make healthcare better for all.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£28,900
£14,450
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£39,200
£19,600
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university in a relevant discipline or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Students are encouraged (but are not required) to have work experience prior to enrolling on this programme.

The English language level for this course is: Level 4

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

Health technologies and public policy tools can protect, strengthen, and prepare countries to address emerging and persistent health challenges. However, successful implementation relies on understanding the ethical, scientific, policy, social, and economic implications of their development and use. 

This MPA programme focuses on the public policy and administration implications of health technologies, enabling you to navigate the dynamic interface between health technologies, health innovations, health systems, and public policy. 

You'll learn how to leverage science, technology, and engineering through policy, understand regulation options for rapidly evolving technologies, and explore technology's role in healthcare. You'll also develop the skills to address stakeholder concerns and engage with the health sector, as well as science, technology, engineering, and public audiences. 

This MPA stands out through its multidisciplinary, experiential learning approach and will enable you to shape health delivery systems in the current context of rapid technological and epidemiological change.

Who this course is for

This programme is for professionals at any stage of their career, who have an interest in working on issues that can impact health, health technologies and public policy. The MPA has relevance in the private sector, the public sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and development agencies.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The programme offers the following benefits:

  • Engage with real-world policy challenges that matter to you personally through practice-oriented classroom teaching methods with scenario-based learning.
  • You’ll develop the skills that science-policy practitioners need to cope with the complexities of governance today, understanding the challenges faced by policymakers in establishing, sustaining, and reconfiguring healthcare services.
  • Gain experience working with real-world clients on real policy issues on the week-long policymaking scenario and nine-month project offering invaluable hands-on experience, preparing you to be an influential policy actor.
  • Build career-enhancing relationships with our broad range of international partners. 
  • Develop your skills alongside renowned academics across UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP). 
  • Join a renowned institution, UCL is ranked 9th in the latest 2026 QS World University Rankings.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates are suited to work in health-related and allied international development organisations, government departments, supranational and global agencies, corporate regulatory affairs departments, advocacy groups, think tanks or consultancy firms.

The STEaPP MPA expanded my network within science and policy, particularly in science advice, which was the focus of my final project. Through the MPA, I gained a deeper understanding of the field, its institutions, mechanisms, and career pathways. 

Benedikt head shot

Benedikt Schmidt

Health, Technology and Public Policy

Hear more from Benedikt

Employability

As a graduate of the Health, Technology and Public Policy MPA, you’ll bring a unique breadth of in-demand and transferable skills to future employers like rigorous analytical, evaluation and communication skills. These skills will empower you to lead co-design processes, ensuring the development and implementation of optimal solutions for all stakeholders.

You’ll acquire the skills to execute policy appraisals and critically reflect on different analytical methods. You will also be able to digest and translate large quantities of scientific and technical research into public policy and decision-making contexts.

Graduates will be able to build effective networks, engage with diverse stakeholder groups and employ problem-solving skills to a range of real-world problems.

Networking

You’ll have access to various networking opportunities (subject to availability) that have previously included: 

  • participation in STEaPP's Health Research cluster.
  • participation in relevant departmental and faculty seminars.
  • leveraging our location to facilitate exposure visits to health facilities, policy organisations and industry.
  • opportunities for co-publishing with faculty and other cohort members.

Teaching and learning

This MPA programme is delivered through a mix of lectures, small-group seminars, and group projects working with real-life clients or individual projects.

Candidates will be assessed primarily through a series of problem-oriented projects (including both presentational components and submitted materials), complemented by short written assignments, scenarios and simulations. The final project will include a longer written report, often for or with a professional partner organisation.

As this a full-time course you are expected to dedicate approximately 40 hours per week on your studies. In Terms 1 and 2, students have on average 12 contact hours a week with staff. Modules have either two hours of lectures and one hour of tutorials or three hours of lectures. In addition to contact time, students are expected to undertake approximately 28 hours of independent and self-directed study each week. In addition to these hours students will have optional activities like integrative workshops, talks and UCL career opportunities.

Starting in January, students also undertake a major nine-month group project on a policy challenge with a real-world external partner organisation or they undertake their own independent individual project. In Term 3 the amount of contact time will be lower as students focus on these final projects, although there will be set times for MPA group project and MPA individual project supervision and support.

Modules

The programme consists of eight modules: three core modules common across the MPA suite of programmes; two route-specific; and three electives available from STEaPP or other departments, as available. Students may choose either an MPA Group Project or an Individual Project as their final module.

You will study four modules in Term 1 and four in Term 2. Additionally, the MPA Group and Individual Project modules span nine months, commencing in the Term 2 and completed during the Term 3 and the summer

The part-time version of the MPA follows the same structure as the full-time, but in Year 1, you will study four 15-credit modules: two modules in Term 1 and two in Term 2.

In Year 2, you will study a further four 15-credit modules (two in each of Terms 1 and 2) and complete a 60-credit Group Project or Individual Project in Term 3; though you will be encouraged to start conducting initial research on subject areas of interest in your year 1.

Compulsory modules







Optional modules












Research Ethics and Regulation





Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MPA in Health, Technology and Public Policy.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Where you'll study

Two students walking past UCL Engineering Roberts building smiling

Based in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, STEaPP is committed to mobilising science, technology, engineering and policy expertise to help change the world for the better. The Department brings together policymakers, industry and academia to design innovative solutions to society’s biggest challenges, from sustainable development to health innovation. The Department is located in Bloomsbury, in the heart of London, with some teaching also taking place at the new UCL East campus, on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. As a member of our university community, you will also have access to top-tier resources and study spaces, such as UCL’s award-winning Student Centre and 18 specialist libraries.

Find out more

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £28,900 £14,450
Tuition fees (2026/27) £39,200 £19,600

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There are no additional costs associated with the programme.

The costs associated with any exposure visits to health facilities, or policy and industry organisations are covered by the department.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Sparck AI Scholarship

Deadline: 1 May 2026
Value: Full tuition fees plus £22,780 stipend (1 year)
Criteria Based on academic merit
Eligibility: UK, EU, Overseas

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When assessing your application, the MPA Admissions Panel are particularly looking to understand:

  • why you want to study health, technology and public policy at graduate level.
  • what particularly attracts you to the programme at UCL's Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy. 
  • how your academic and professional background and interests meet the demands of this challenging programme.
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree and how the MPA fits with your career goals.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy
Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy

steapp.admissions@ucl.ac.uk

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