Why study MSc Healthcare Leadership and Management (Online) at Exeter?
Study contemporary approaches to leadership and management in healthcare, including resource management, quality improvement, leading change and health and care policy
Fully online, part-time study designed to fit around demanding healthcare roles, with flexible asynchronous delivery.
Learn alongside clinical and managerial professionals working in the NHS and wider healthcare systems.
Apply theory to real-world challenges drawn from your own experience and using NHS, global healthcare and commercial sector case studies.
Top 10 in the UK for our world-leading and internationally excellent Clinical Medicine research
Based on 4* + 3* research in REF 2021
Our Public Health research is 11th in the UK for research power
Submitted to UoA2 Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care. REF 2021
Top 150 in the world for Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities 2025-26
Course content
Contemporary healthcare requires skilled leadership and management to address complexity, resource constraints and rapid change. This online MSc in Healthcare Leadership and Management develops the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become an effective and compassionate leader of evolving healthcare services.
You will evaluate and apply theory in healthcare leadership, resource management, policy, resourcing, quality improvement and implementation science to real-world challenges. Learning is grounded in comparative case studies from the NHS, global healthcare systems and the commercial sector, enabling you to critically assess different models and their relevance to the UK healthcare context.
With a strong focus on future healthcare needs, you will explore complex systems, digital health and data analytics to improve care quality, health equity and public health outcomes. Flexible online delivery allows you to study part-time alongside professional practice.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
180 credits of compulsory modules. The modules are offered on a carousel model where you may join the programme at one of three points each year.
Compulsory modules
Code
Module
Credits
Compulsory 1
Resourcing in Healthcare
30
Leading Change in Healthcare
30
Future Health
30
Researching Professional Practice
30
Strategic Business Project for Healthcare
30
Management and Leadership in Healthcare
30
HPDM214Z: Resourcing in Healthcare
This module explores productivity in healthcare, focusing on finance,?activity?and people. You will develop key skills in financial aspects: ?accounting, budgeting, information systems, health economics principles, supply and demand, and their integration into healthcare policy.?This builds?understanding of decision-making and service improvements which maximise impact on health outcomes.?
Additionally, you will study behavioural influences on productivity, including staff morale, social?capital?and leadership models.?Resource allocation and financial decision-making studies are underpinned by medical ethics considerations, applying individual patient and population perspectives.?Sustainable finance practices to support Sustainable Development Goals are examined, including sustainability ratings and environmental,?social?and?governance risks.?
HPDM215Z: Leading Change in Healthcare
This module will develop critical insights into diverse approaches to leading and sustaining change, implementing?innovation?and improving health and care services. You will?acquire?skills in quality improvement?methodology, emphasising the use of continuous process and outcome data to support sustainable improvement. The module critically appraises implementation science, examining core theories, models, and practices within contemporary health and care contexts. The role of psychological safety as a foundation for effective change will be explored. Students will analyse behaviour change and sociological models of implementation, evaluating how these frameworks inform strategies to increase the uptake, application, and sustainability of evidence-based practices.?
You will develop the skills to use Quality Improvement tools and techniques as well as identifying and appraising the leadership skills and personal qualities required to do so. The module will enable you to strategize for achieving change in an area of healthcare practice. You will critically consider how research evidence, learning from reflection, and locally generated data can be integrated to achieve evidence-based change in practice.
HPDM216Z: Future Health
With a focus on outcomes-based healthcare, epidemiology, public health and prevention of disease, you will consider the possibilities and effects of different healthcare systems, going beyond data analytics and artificial intelligence to look at societies’ expectations and the way systems will adapt and evolve. You will consider the role of digital health, and how to manage and evaluate telehealth/digital health/IT related change.
You will explore future healthcare needs and investigate how complex healthcare systems and data analytics using real time metrics can be harnessed to bring about sustainable, equitable improvements in care and public health across the world. You will take an explicit and in-depth view of epidemiological principles, disease surveillance, and health promotion strategies to consider public health responses for global disasters (such as the pandemic; Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]). You will appraise the potential of data analytics to transform the quality and value of healthcare “from bedside to board” through patient-centred and consumer-led approaches, identify drivers to transform existing linear healthcare structures into complex systems, and consider the changing role of the human professional by exploring where humans add value to healthcare and where smart devices know patients better than their carers.
In this module you will:
HPDM217Z: Researching Professional Practice
In this module you will?evaluate your practice as a professional through the lens of research and scholarship in healthcare professions education and leadership.??You will be supported to appraise a variety of literature,?identifying?your own areas of interest and potential gaps in what is known.??You will learn about data collection and analysis, ethics, the positionality of the researcher and potential career pathways for scholarship in healthcare professions education.??You will complete a literature review of your own, design a small-scale research project and write a proposal for funding.??
This module aims to support healthcare professionals to undertake scholarship and/or research with the potential to inform policy and practice. You will learn about research design and methods, including a range of literature review methodologies and approaches to qualitative and quantitative research.
HPDM218Z: Strategic Business Project for Healthcare
Healthcare leaders?are responsible for?developing and implementing major projects that contribute towards organisational strategic?objectives. This module?consolidates your?learning across the programme and applies new knowledge to a real-world situation. You will complete a situational analysis of your organisational context to?identify?an area for improvement, with a focus either on enabling one of the three shifts from “Fit for the Future: 10-year health plan for England” or one of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) strategic priorities. Consulting with stakeholders, you will use this analysis to propose an innovation or improvement project, which you may start to implement during the programme.
The module aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct a successful strategic management project, including project scoping, systems thinking and research design. Students will reflect on the organisational impact of such a piece of strategic work and apply a range of frameworks to structure analytical thinking, apply techniques to complete the required research, and demonstrate personal effectiveness. Identifying barriers and understanding the principles of effective project management will be introduced to ensure successful implementation.
HPDM219Z: Management and Leadership in Healthcare
This module explores theoretical knowledge and practical standards and competencies contributing to the effective management and leadership of sustainable health and care systems. You will?apply this to your professional context to add value to self, team,?community?and organisational settings.?
You will?examine human behaviour in health and care environments to support sustainable practices.?This includes?evaluation?of?factors that influence?team dynamics, team management, organisational interdependencies and their integration and impact on employee relations.?
You will appraise theory and evidence,?drawing on?multi-disciplinary perspectives?on?integrated governance, communication,?safety culture, speaking up,?self-management, decision-making?and?project management.
The aim of the module is to provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge, behaviours and attitudes to enable you to manage and lead multi-professional teams within complex systems of care.
Entry requirements
2:2 in a healthcare related degree or 2 years professional experience in healthcare.
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course.
To make it easier to budget, you don’t need to pay the total fee upfront. Instead, you can pay for each module as you are about to start studying it. You can pay for the whole year if you prefer, but the minimum payment is at least the cost of the module you are taking that term.
Find out more about the funding opportunities available to you, including the UK government postgraduate loan scheme.
What opportunities does an online Masters in Healthcare Leadership and Management lead to?
Employer-valued skills this course develops
You will develop skills in strategic management and change leadership, financial decision-making, systems-thinking and digital transformation relevant to senior roles in healthcare.
Career paths
The programme is aimed at clinical and managerial professionals working in the NHS and prepares you to lead service improvement, innovation and organisational change from bedside to board level.
Further study
This programme is designed to be studied as a full MSc, with the flexibility to exit earlier with a PGCert or PGDip if your circumstances change. You can also study individual modules, with one topic available each term, allowing you to build your learning over time.
Complete the form to speak with our team about the best pathway for you.
Teaching and learning
How you'll learn
Online lectures & masterclasses
Interactive online resources
Discussion forums
Guided independent study
Learning from experts
The programme is delivered by experienced academics, lecturer practitioners and researchers with expertise in healthcare leadership & management, finance and NHS-focused education.
Applying research to practice
Teaching is informed by 91天堂色情片 health services research strengths including health economics, implementation science and health professions workforce wellbeing. You will apply research evidence to real-world healthcare challenges through case studies, quality improvement approaches and implementation science frameworks with a strong emphasis on theory-to-practice translation.
Course-specific learning activities
Learning focuses on analysing complex systems, evaluating policy and developing strategic improvement proposals grounded in your professional context, including a strategic business project aligned with NHS or WHO priorities.
Sarah is Associate Professor of Medical Education. Her career began as a registered nurse in the NHS, and she has more than two decades of experience in leading and delivering undergraduate and postgraduate health professions education. Sarah’s interests lie in supporting healthcare professionals to develop as clinicians, leaders, educators and researchers. She is Director of Education and Student Experience for postgraduate programmes in the Department of Health and Community Sciences in the Medical School, Programme Lead for the MSc Healthcare Leadership & Management, and Admissions Lead for the Medicine programme.
Mr Rob Bethune
Rob Bethune is a colorectal consultant surgeon and the clinical lead of the Quality Improvement team at the Royal Devon University Trust. His clinical practice focuses on surgical care for inflammatory bowel disease. He has held leadership roles in service improvement, including a year at the Southwest Strategic Health Authority working on a 17 hospital collaborative to raise perioperative standards. He later led an NIHR funded programme evaluating quality improvement collaboratives across the English NHS. He has published widely on quality improvement, patient safety, and human factors.
Dr Susanne Smith
Susanna is a Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Leadership & Management in the 91天堂色情片's Faculty of Health & Life Sciences (Education & Scholarship). I have around sixteen years experience teaching at postgraduate level in healthcare and have a particular interest in leading change at a systems-level and equipping students to manage the complexities of real clinical systems to improve safety, patient outcomes and staff well-being.
Dr Tracey Rosell
Tracey is a Lecturer in Healthcare Leadership & Management in the 91天堂色情片's Faculty of Health & Life Sciences (Education & Scholarship). She has around twenty years experience teaching at postgraduate level and in executive education. This includes experience with organisations in diverse industries, particularly healthcare, and as a lawyer specializing in Human Resources and Employment Law. Tracey’s particular interest is in leading change at a systems-level and equipping students to manage the complexities of real clinical systems to improve speaking up, safety, patient outcomes and staff well-being.
Dr Nermin Hamza
Originally a dentist, Nermin has a passion for Quality and Leadership which she has pursued by completing a Masters and PhD in the field. Before joining academia, she worked as a Healthcare Quality Manager in Egypt. Her teaching experience commenced in Saudi Arabia and over the past 10 years has taught in several UK universities before joining Exeter.
Dr Alistair Hellewell
Alistair is a consultant anaesthetist working in the NHS with a special interest in anaesthesia for ENT, transfer medicine, non-technical skills and leadership. He has been actively involved in medical education throughout his career working locally, regionally and nationally. He is a co-lead for the Simulation Unplugged course at the Royal College of Anaesthetists and faculty member of the Anaesthetists as Educators portfolio of courses. In 2015 Alistair founded the Philosophical Breakfast Club, a cross industry collaborative learning organisation and platform that creates connections through conferences and events to improve outcomes in safety critical industries.
Study a 100% online Masters degree in Healthcare Leadership and Management at a Top 15 University*
* 14th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026
The majority of students are based at our Streatham Campus in Exeter. The campus is one of the most beautiful in the country and offers a unique environment in which to study, with lakes, parkland, woodland and gardens as well as modern and historical buildings.
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