Medical Statistics

MSc

  • Entry year 2026 or 2025
  • Duration Full time 1 year

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 100% of our research impact is ranked outstanding (joint 1st in the UK) (Research Excellence Framework 2021)

  • Our research directly impacts public health policy

  • Provides essential knowledge and skills to meet the industry standard for a graduate medical statistician

Medical statisticians are pivotal to the success of medical and health research. They design and analyse clinical trials, evaluate public health initiatives, and identify the causes and risk factors of diseases. Here at Lancaster, our world-leading researchers provide you with a firm foundation in statistical theory alongside modern analytical computational skills. With a growing demand for medical statisticians and evidence-based health research, you have the opportunity to shape the future of these fields with advanced statistical expertise.

Who is this programme for?

Are you interested in understanding how statistics can be used to design efficient clinical trials as part of the drug discovery process? Are you curious about how the outcomes of patients on different treatment plans can be compared? Have you ever paused to think about how you might evaluate the effectiveness of a new vaccine in the middle of a pandemic? The MSc Medical Statistics will develop your expertise in statistical methods for the medical and pharmaceutical industries, with the intention of progressing your career in these fields.

Looking ahead to employability

Our world-leading medical statistics researchers actively collaborate with external partners, ensuring that what we teach brings insights to the classroom that cannot be obtained from a textbook. We deliver a hands-on data approach, blending theory with practical applications to real-world challenges. You will graduate with a comprehensive skill set, including design of clinical trials, analysis of health data, logical thinking, problem-solving and quantitative reasoning. We also develop your:

  • Confidence in computing through application to data analysis and manipulation
  • Critical thinking and statistical modelling skills through individual and group project work
  • Communication and collaboration skills through oral and written exercises
  • Ability to devise appropriate designs for medical studies to ensure the research question can be answered in a definitive and efficient manner, avoiding sources of bias
  • Awareness of ethical issues in the design and analysis of medical studies and the responsibilities of medical statisticians within a research team

What to expect

There are three phases to your learning. You will begin by developing and strengthening your core knowledge and skills in statistical methods and inference. Topics covered include frequentist and Bayesian inference, data analysis, generalised linear models, statistical computing and communication.

In phase two you will study three medical statistics modules. This provides you with the essential training required by the medical and pharmaceutical industries, although the methods have been used in other areas including social and environmental statistics.

In phase three you will complete your dissertation. Working under the guidance of an experienced statistical researcher, you will complete an extended project that is tailored to your interests. You might progress your understanding of a topic covered in a taught module, investigate a methodological topic not covered by one of the taught modules, or undertake an extended data analysis.

Three things we would like you to know

  • Many of our statistics graduates are now leaders in their fields, securing employment shortly after completing their MSc
  • We maintain small class sizes allowing you to get to know your lecturers, tutors and classmates
  • Our research directly influenced the UK government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic and contributed to the search for effective treatments for the disease

Careers

As a graduate of our MSc Medical Statistics, you will be highly employable thanks to your in-depth specialist knowledge and wealth of technical and transferable skills. The importance of our Medical Statistics degree is captured by its visibility as a vocational training scheme with a clear career pathway on exit.

The starting salary for many graduate statistical roles is highly competitive, and popular career options include:

  • Statistician
  • Medical statistician
  • Biostatistician
  • Epidemiologist
  • Health data scientist
  • Medical statistical consultant
  • University lecturer (contingent on first successfully completing a PhD)

This master’s also serves as good preparation for further study at PhD level.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

2:2 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in Mathematics or Statistics.

We may also consider non-standard applications where you have studied a degree in other quantitative subjects that include courses in probability, statistics, linear algebra, and calculus.

You should clearly be able to demonstrate how your skills have prepared you for relevant discussions and assessments during postgraduate study.

English language requirements

We require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test.

We also consider other English language qualifications and if your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Help from our Admissions team

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.

We also have more details on our website about:

Pre-master's programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master's pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master's degrees. Visit INTO Lancaster University for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Course structure

We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future. The University will make every reasonable effort to offer programmes and modules as advertised. In some cases, changes may be necessary and may result in new modules or some modules and combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Core

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Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

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Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for 2026-entry study are not yet available, but you can use our opportunities for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Check our current list of scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to the stated entry year and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. Find out more about our  Charter and student policies.