Master in Health Economics, Policy & Law

Erasmus University Rotterdam's master's programme Health Economics, Policy & Law is intended for motivated students who wish to understand healthcare systems and health issues from different disciplinary perspectives. The program is open to students with a bachelor's degree in a related subject and/or with a sufficient background in economics or policy, on their way to a promising career in health economics and policy.

The program takes 12 months of intensive full-time study:

• The study load of the program is 60 credits according to the European Credit (EC).
• The master consists of 6 compulsory courses and 2 elective courses, each with a course load of 5 credits, and an individual master thesis of 20 credits. Courses are organized in 5 blocks of 6 weeks, with 2 simultaneous courses in each block.
• We do not offer a part-time program.

Compulsory courses

The Master in Health Economics, Policy & Law consists of the compulsory courses listed below.

Elective courses

In Blocks 4 and 5, students should choose elective courses with a total minimum of 10 EC. Within the program, the electives listed below are offered.

Compulsory courses

Block 1-6 (including thesis)

Block 1

• Economics and Financing of Health Care Systems

• Advanced Research Methods

Block 2

• Economics of Health and Health Care

• Health Technology Assessment

Block 3

• International Health Law

• Comparative Health Policy

Blocks 3/4/5/6

Thesis

To complete the Master of HEPL, with a specialization in Health Economics, students are required to write a scientific Master thesis on a topic that is related to one of the subjects covered in the HEPL Master. The combined workload of the Thesis Plan and Thesis is 16 ECTS (or 448 hours) and thus constitutes a major part of the curriculum. Students write their Master's thesis under the supervision of a member of the HEPL staff. The evaluation of the thesis and defense for the final grade is conducted by the student's thesis reading committee, which includes the supervisor and one co-evaluator. The co-evaluator must be someone from the ESHPM or ESE staff.

Elective courses

Block 4-5

Block 4

• Competition in Health Care Markets

• Global Health Economics

• Measurement of Patient Preferences Using Discrete Choice Experiments

• Healthcare Ethics

• Advanced Health Economic Modeling

Block 5

• Behavioral Decision Theory in Health

• Governing Healthy Cities

• Health, Economic Development & Policy

• Pharmaceutical Pricing and Market Access

This MSc program, the only one of its kind in Europe, offers you:

• The opportunity to acquire the skills that are required to solve the challenges facing healthcare systems. You will use your knowledge of economics, policy science, and law to analyze and understand health policy issues.
• The chance to work with some of the world’s leading research groups and examine actual developments.
• Career opportunities: jobs in government, health insurers, consultancy firms, the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare organizations, and international organizations like the World Bank, the World Health Organisation, the European Commission, or universities.

The master's program Health Economics, Policy & Law offers excellent career opportunities:

• Government;
• Health insurers;
• Consultancy firms;
• The pharmaceutical industry;
• Healthcare organizations;
• International organizations like the World Bank, the World Health Organisation or the European Commission;
• Universities.