MSc Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £15,800
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £36,200
• MSc (part-time)
  UK students (per annum): £7,900
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £18,100

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

The University permits applicants with comparable previous experience to submit an application for consideration of AP(E)L - Accreditation Prior (Experiential) Learning. The maximum AP(E)L is 15 credits to a Certificate, 45 credits to a Diploma and 60 credits to a Masters.

If an AP(E)L application is successful, the University charges £30 for every 15 credits of AP(E)L. The overall tuition fee is adjusted and then the administrative charge is applied.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Epidemiology is the core scientific skill for the practice of quantitative public health, that has been adopted by clinicians as the scientific basis on which quantitative evidence-based practice is built. This course is therefore relevant to current or future professionals involved with either conducting quantitative health-related research or interpreting the findings of quantitative research studies.

In this course students will learn about the discipline of epidemiology, and its applications to public health. Students will be introduced to common types of observational study designs including ecological studies, cross-sectional surveys, case-control studies, cohort studies and intervention studies. The course covers the appropriate methods of measuring and comparing risk in each type of study as well as the limitations of epidemiological studies and how to minimise systematic errors and biases when conducting epidemiological studies.

This is an interactive online course. Students must work through the online course material. Students are expected to engage in weekly exercises via discussion boards with their peers and tutors 

The aim of this course is for students to acquire an understanding of basic epidemiological methods for the purpose of participating in the design of epidemiological studies and critically appraising the medical literature.

Topic 1: Understanding Causation and Defining a Research Question  

Topic 2: Measures of Morbidity and Mortality (including standardisation)

Topic 3: Descriptive Studies

Topic 4: Case-Control Studies

Topic 5: Cohort Studies

Topic 6: Intervention Studies  

Topic 7: Selecting Populations and Samples: Sampling Methods

Topic 8: Measurement Error: Validity and Reliability

Topic 9: Bias, Confounding and Effect Modification

Topic 10: Practical Study Design and Ethical Issues, Dissemination and Implementation. 

All materials are online and require the students to work through teaching on the virtual learning platform including self-tests, discussion board activities and quizzes. The course consists of 10 weekly topics with links to external web materials and reference to reading materials. There are also tasks that require students to participate in weekly exercises  - these exercises will be discussed and supported on the online discussion boards and moderated by the course unit leaders and teaching assistants.  

At the end of most topics there is also a self-test which provides a more in-depth test of students’ understanding of the course material . Automated feedback is provided for the self-tests.

There will be 10 webinars that will be recorded to allow asynchronous learning.

For all students in line with guidance from the Office for Students and Quality Assurance Agency, the programme will be augmented by the Programme Director Seminar Series to deliver study skills, written English, academic writing, research skills, critical thinking and understanding arguments, careers and employability skills, revision/assessment/examination skills including time management.

There will be regular interaction with the tutors through scheduled webinars (which will be recorded and made available) and through the online discussion boards. Students will be encouraged to use self-reflection to think about the ideas discussed, and take part in discussion board activities. Students should work through the unit in a logical sequence. The individual course unit timetables will guide what should be done and when. Participation in the discussion boards is greatly encouraged, and can help enhance your learning experience and prepare you for your assessment.

In line with guidance from the Office for Students and Quality Assurance Agency, the programme will be augmented by the Programme Director Seminar Series to deliver study skills, written English, academic writing, research skills, critical thinking and understanding arguments, careers and employability skills, revision/assessment/examination skills including time management. 

Design and interpret epidemiological studies.

Understand the methods used in the commonly used epidemiological studies, including their advantages and disadvantages.

Understand the selection of appropriate samples and populations in epidemiological studies.

Calculate and interpret the common measures of morbidity and mortality of diseases within a population, including age standardisation.  

Calculate and interpret the different effect measures of risk, and how this relates to understanding disease causation.

Identify sources of bias and measurement error, and methods to address them in epidemiological studies.

Understand the concepts of confounding and effect modification, and the methods to identify and account for them in epidemiological studies. 

Apply epidemiological thinking when conducting or reviewing research in professional practice. 

Perform calculation of key epidemiological measures. 

Manage time and work to deadlines.

Develop a critical approach to conducting and interpreting epidemiological studies. 

As a mid-term formative assessment, students will have the opportunity to present an outline of their proposed study and receive formative feedback on their proposal to provide support for the final summative assignment.  

Students will be provided with feedback and model solutions to each weekly exercise. For the final summative assignment  personalised feedback will be provided within 20 working days of submission.

Further opportunities for formative feedback (on non-assessed work) will also be provided during the course unit in the weekly exercises via discussion boards and the online material (self-tests).

Raj S. Bhopal. Concepts of Epidemiology: Integrating the Ideas, Theories, Principles, and Methods of Epidemiology. Publisher:Oxford University Press (15 Nov. 2016); 1520. (available as an e-book via Koretext)

Lash, T.L. (2021). Modern epidemiology. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Coggon D (David). Epidemiology for the Uninitiated . 5th ed. (Rose G, Barker DJP (David JP, eds.). BMJ Publishing; 2003

Bonita R. Basic Epidemiology. 2nd ed. (Beaglehole R, Kjellström T, eds.). World Health Organization; 2006. OVP