MSc Health Sciences University of Lucerne - Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine

The Master’s program in Health Sciences at the University of Lucerne offers students from a wide range of disciplines the necessary knowledge and skills towards a comprehensive understanding of health, functioning, and disability. The program provides a broad background in health sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective. It focuses on describing, understanding, and improving the health of individuals, and the optimal response of society and health systems to the health needs of the population.

The two-year Master’s program with 120 credits includes core courses in the principles of health sciences, advanced research methods, and academic and professional skills. Students will also have the opportunity to choose one of the following majors to get more in-depth knowledge depending on their professional interests and career direction.

• Health Communication
• Health and Social Behavior
• Health Economics and Policy
• Health Services Research
• Health Data Science (NEW)

During a mandatory research internship, students can apply the knowledge gained in the program, and possibly write their Master’s thesis based on the internship.

Content and Goal of the MSc Health Sciences

The health sciences are a scientific field that studies individuals’ health and lived experience of health in interaction with their environment, and society’s response to health needs. The program integrates different scientific disciplines rooted in the biological, clinical, and socio-humanistic meta-perspectives, offering a comprehensive approach to health. Our aim is to provide you with the essential skills to become competent actors in the health system, including critical thinking, methodological knowledge, and implementation strategies. The MSc Health Sciences provides students from a variety of backgrounds an ideal learning environment to start a career in health, foster innovation in our society, and ultimately contribute to the goal of improving the health of individuals and populations.

Study Program

The 2-year program with 120 ECTS consists of the following main modules:

• Principles of Health Sciences (30 ECTS)
• Advanced Research Methods (12 ECTS)
• Academic and Professional Skills (6 ECTS)
• Major (30 ECTS)
• Internship (18 ECTS)
• Master Thesis & Oral Examination (24 ECTS)

The module “Principles of Health Sciences” comprises the first semester. Starting from the second semester, you have a flexible study plan and can build your own curriculum by selecting a major and courses from a diverse course catalogue. You will also do a research internship as part of the curriculum, ideally leading to your master thesis.

Majors

• Health Communication: Studying the science of using communication to influence health and related decisions at the level of individuals, institutions, and in policy.
• Health and Social Behavior: Learning how health behaviors and health experiences can be addressed and changed with appropriate interventions.
• Health Economics and Policy: Providing the principles of economic thinking and theories of political science to understand and manage complex health systems.
• Health Services Research: Learning the methods to evaluate the effectiveness of health services, optimize service delivery, and assess the performance of health systems.
• Health Data Science: Developing the skills to analyze complex health data and derive actionable results using modern tools of data science and machine learning.

Language

The Master of Health Sciences is an English-speaking program. Our students also deal with international issues, and they take advantage of the opportunities at the University of Lucerne to expand their intercultural competence and skills. For this reason, we require our students to have a good command of English. The recommended level within the European Language Portfolio is C1. A language diploma is, however, not mandatory.

Internship and practice experience

The internship is a mandatory element of the study program. Students will have the chance to gain first-hand experience in applying their knowledge and skills in a health sciences environment, research and practice. Internships can be done within our own research groups at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine. In addition, students have the opportunity to apply for an internship with a partner organization, e.g.,

• Swiss Paraplegic Research
• Swiss Paraplegic Center
• Lucerne Cantonal Hospital
• Interface Politikstudien Forschung Beratung
• Partners in the public health sector
• Partners in the pharmaceutical industry
• Partners in the insurance sector
• Partners in health care provision

Internships are self-organized by students, but the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine maintains an internship platform with regular internship offers and can support students in the search of a suitable internship position.

The Master in Health Sciences offers the ideal preparation for students who aspire to have careers in the health sector, in a dynamic and interdisciplinary environment, or who aim at undertaking research in the broad field of health sciences.

In our program, we are dedicated to educating students, so that they are in an excellent position to further their career in health-related areas, including positions in:

• Health administration/public health
• Research/Academia
• Health education and health promotion
• Management in state and federal health agencies
• other health-related industries.

Our graduates are working as (inter alia):

• Marketing Communication Manager
• Supply Chain Specialist
• Patient Relations Manager
• Pricing and Reimbursement Associate
• Lean Hospital Promotor
• Research Assistant
• Clinical Application Specialist
• Project Manager
• Academic Associate
• and more