Master's Degree in Health Research and Innovation
Academic year 2024-25
- New student profile and admission criteria
- Academic and professional goals
- Structure of the study programme
- Final Exam
- Evaluation criteria and exams
- Credit Recognition and Transfer Committee for MIIS
New student profile and admission criteria
A specific list of personal and academic characteristics has been established for the most suitable entry profiles in order for new students to better adapt to the proposed curriculum and ensure appropriate skill development:
- Graduates or equivalent in any Health Sciences discipline, such as Nursing, Physiotherapy, Medicine, Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
In any event, the personal and academic circumstances deemed advisable for admission to the master’s programme are:
- Motivation and interest in individual and community health issues
- Interest in research
- An ability for initiative, dynamism and leadership in finding solutions
- An ability for information analysis and synthesis
- Mastery of English as a tool for researching, reading and expressing written information.
Admission Requirements
Students interested in applying for a place on the master's programme need to submit their pre-registration application within the deadline for each academic year, as set by the UIB Centre for Postgraduate Studies (CEP).
The CEP will analyse and verify that applicants meet the admission requirements, i.e. their degree(s) grant them access to official master’s programmes in accordance with current regulations, and notify the applicants about its decision.
Admission Criteria
Once an applicant’s right to admission for the official master’s course is verified, the CEP will pass on their application to the Master's Academic Commission for assessment and decision regarding admission. The CEP will then send applicants a notification of their admission with the dates for students to formally enrol on the programme.
In order to issue the master’s admission decision, the Academic Commission will take into account the following criteria.
- An undergraduate degree in a Health Sciences discipline
- Students’ degree transcripts, or equivalent, and CVs will be assessed on merit for candidate admission.
The merit point scale for candidates will be as follows:
- Average mark from their degree transcript or equivalent for master’s admission - 85%
- Curriculum vitae (postgraduate training, participation in competitive research projects, health-related scientific publications, professional experience in the area of health, other merits) - 15%
The Academic Commission will establish, where applicable, a list of alternates by order of merit with a view to covering the possible withdrawal of initially selected candidates.
The commission will comprise the master’s coordinator, the coordinators of the relevant bodies involved (faculty, department and research institute), and two lecturers from the master’s programme, representing each of the proposed degree specialisations.
Academic and professional goals
The Master’s in Health Research and Innovation at the University of the Balearic Islands has an applied health research profile and offers 105 ECTS credits in total.
Its main aim is advanced, specialised, multidisciplinary training designed as a gateway to health research activities, specifically in the area of global public health and improving health organisations.
Structure of the study programme
The ECTS credits on the master’s degree are split across five modules: 1) Research Methodology (21 ECTS) 2) Global Public Health Specialisation (27 ECTS) 3) Transfer and Improvement at Health Organisations Specialisation (24 ECTS) 4) Cross-cutting Elective (21 ECTS) 5) Master’s Thesis (12 ECTS).
In order to be awarded the master’s degree, students must take at least 60 ECTS credits, including those for mandatory training for all students on the Research Methodology Module (21 ECTS) and the Master’s Thesis (12 ECTS). The remainder (a minimum of 27 ECTS) will come from the specialisation or cross-cutting elective modules.
1) The core mandatory Research Methodology module (21 ECTS) combines subjects that provide advanced training in the foundations of health research. There is also a ‘Research Seminars’ subject where researchers from different groups in the Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy at the University of the Balearic Islands, research groups linked to the master’s topic from the UIB, the University Institute for Research into Health Sciences (IUNICS) at the UIB, the Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IDISBA), or expert guest lecturers from other universities will offer conferences, practical seminars or work sessions setting out their areas of research, current or design-stage studies and the main results from research undertaken. As a whole, this module comprises the theoretical basis for research, hones students’ skills to undertake specific designs for thesis and/or research projects, and introduces students first-hand to the work undertaken by research groups, particularly with regard to interpreting results, as well as cross-cutting aspects such as project applications, scientific communication and the essential ethical requirements to undertake research projects.
2) Secondly, there are specialisation modules. Two different specialities are offered: one in ‘Global Public Health’ worth 27 ECTS and one in ‘Transfer and Improvement at Health Organisations’ worth 24 ECTS. The subjects in these specialisations include the most up-to-date evidence in the field of global public health, knowledge transfer and improving practice at health organisations.
3) Thirdly, there is a supplementary module on both specialisations offering advanced training linked to analysing research results. This module is worth 21 ECTS credits.
4) Lastly, the mandatory Master’s Thesis module for all students comprises either a systematic literature review of a topic or submission of a research design in a similar format to competitive project applications. This work will be tutored by lecturers on the master’s programme and may be jointly tutored by lecturers or researchers from research groups in the Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy at the UIB, research groups from the UIB linked to the master’s topic, research groups at the University Institute for Research into Health Sciences (IUNICS) at the UIB and/or the Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IDISBA).
Teaching on the master’s programme is face-to-face.
In short, the Master’s Degree in Health Research and Innovation is run annually and the teaching period lasts for a full academic year. Programme graduates will have taken at least 60 ECTS credits, 33 of which are mandatory and common to all students: the mandatory research module has 21 ECTS credits split across four subjects, in addition to the research seminars, and the mandatory master’s thesis is worth 12 ECTS.
Each specialisation (E1: Global Public Health or E2: Transfer and Improvement at Health Organisations) is worth sufficient credits to ensure the set minimum (21 ECTS credits). Moreover, students must take six elective credits that they may select from the subjects in their own specialisation or from a cross-cutting module.
Students who do not wish to take a specialisation (e0) may take these 27 ECTS credits (21+6) from any of the specialisation or cross-cutting modules.
The teaching load will be equally split across the first and second semesters since all students need to take over half of the mandatory research module in the first semester and half of the specialisation credits. In this sense, the highest workload is concentrated in the second semester—supplementing the specialisation and elective credits, and producing the master’s thesis.
Final Exam
The master’s programme ends with the submission and public defence of the master’s thesis. This will take place after all other required subjects have been passed to attain the degree.
Evaluation criteria and exams
The assessment criteria are set out in the course guide for each subject. These guides are published every year before the start of the enrolment period.