Subject guides / Health Economics
Health Economics
Also appears in programme titles as: Health Economics and Policy · Health Economics, Policy and Management
What a health economics degree actually is
Every health system faces the same brutal arithmetic — infinite demand, finite budgets — and health economics is the discipline that rations rationally: which treatments to fund, how to price them, how to measure value in health. It is where economics meets medicine, and it decides who gets what care.
York is the UK's and arguably the world's health-economics specialist (its Centre for Health Economics is the field's reference institution); LSE's International Health Policy stream and the LSE–LSHTM joint MSc add the policy-and-financing angle; Erasmus Rotterdam and Oslo anchor the strong European schools.
What you study — and the quantitative bar
Microeconomics of health and health care, econometrics and health-outcomes measurement, economic evaluation (cost-effectiveness, QALYs — the HTA toolkit), and health-financing systems. The bar is a genuine economics one: intermediate micro and econometrics are assumed, especially at York and Erasmus. Clinicians and quantitative social scientists convert well; the innumerate do not.
Where it leads
Health-technology-assessment agencies (NICE and its global equivalents — a career track York effectively created), pharmaceutical market-access and health-economics teams, health ministries and insurers, the health units of the World Bank and WHO, and academic and consultancy health economics. HTA and market access specifically are a large, well-paid and chronically under-supplied job market.
Who it suits — and who it does not
A good fit if you are…
- Economics graduates specialising into the best-paid corner of applied health
- Clinicians and public-health professionals adding the economic-evaluation toolkit
- Ministry and insurer staff building health-financing and HTA capacity — a priority funded profile
Probably not the right degree if…
- Applicants avoiding econometrics — the methods core genuinely gatekeeps
- Those who want health-systems management broadly — see that guide
- Anyone uncomfortable putting a price on health outcomes — that is the daily work
Where to study it: the programme map
Five verified programmes: York (the field's reference specialist), LSE's International Health Policy (health economics) stream, the LSE–LSHTM joint MSc (shared with the health systems map), and the European schools (Erasmus Rotterdam, Oslo).
| University | Official programme title | Length | Tuition (intl) | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erasmus University RotterdamNetherlands | MSc Health Economics | 12 mo | — | — |
| Karolinska InstitutetSweden | Master's Programme in Health Economics, Policy and Management | 24 mo | — | — |
| London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom | MSc International Health Policy (Health Economics) | 12 mo | — | — |
| London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineUnited Kingdom | MSc Health Policy, Planning & Financing | 12 mo | — | — |
| University of YorkUnited Kingdom | MSc Health Economics | 12 mo | GBP 27,250 | — |
Every row verified against the official programme page; oldest verification 16 Jul 2026. Nothing here is a paid placement.
Application strategy and funding routes
York (£27,250, one-year, Chevening-compatible) is the specialist gold standard — its name in health economics outweighs almost any general ranking; LSE's International Health Policy stream the London policy-flavoured route; Erasmus Rotterdam and Oslo the strong European options at continental fees. An HTA-or-health-financing-capacity narrative — naming the coverage or pricing decisions your country makes without the tools to make them well — is concrete and central to health-scholarship priorities.
Which scholarship funds which programme
Computed from each scheme's published rules (destination, level, course length) — not a guarantee; list-based schemes still require checking the official list.
- Erasmus University Rotterdam — study destination outside the scheme
- Karolinska Institutet — study destination outside the scheme
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
- University of York
- Erasmus University Rotterdam — study destination outside the scheme
- Karolinska Institutet — study destination outside the scheme
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
- University of York
Frequently asked questions
Why is York so dominant in this field?
Its Centre for Health Economics effectively built the modern discipline of economic evaluation and HTA — the QALY-based methods that agencies like NICE use worldwide trace back to it. In health economics its name is the field's reference point, ranking tables notwithstanding.
Health economics vs health systems management?
Health economics is the quantitative discipline of value, pricing and evaluation; health-systems management is the broader field of running and financing care. If cost-effectiveness analysis and HTA excite you, stay here; if organisation and reform do, see the health systems guide.
Which scholarships fit?
Chevening/Commonwealth for York and the LSE rows; Dutch and Norwegian routes for Erasmus and Oslo. Health-financing and HTA capacity narratives fit health and good-governance scholarship priorities well.
Related fields
Sources
Official programme pages (linked per row above) · official scholarship rules and participating-programme lists · university admission regulations. Every data row records its source URL and verification date; stale rows are re-checked or removed.
Global Study Prep is independent and not affiliated with any university or scholarship programme. Programme details change — always confirm on the official page before applying.