Health sciences
Health sciences apply the methodologies of science to the study of human health in a bid to improve health outcomes for individuals, communities and the world at large. Health science is diverse in scale and scope, from a deeper understanding of brain chemistry and its influence over our behaviour, to investigating alternative forms of pain relief, to the cellular, and even cultural, underpinnings of heart disease.
RNA technology is an emerging frontier of health science, a suite of tools that poses the solution to cancers, arthritis, genetic disorders and even Alzheimer’s. UNSW has recently become a hub of such technologies with the establishment of the UNSW RNA Institute, the state’s first RNA pilot manufacturing facility, which sees the development of RNA therapeutics from the lab to pre-clinical trials.
UNSW Science offers undergraduate courses, and masters and PhD research degrees in some of health sciences’ most exciting and varied applications.
Our research strengths
UNSW Science excels in the study of human health sciences. Among our varied disciplines, we specialise in psychology, ageing, mental health, and biological and medicinal sciences. Our biomedical researchers are experts in the biochemistry of disease and the development of sensors to measure and predict the onset of illness, such as obesity, its precedents and technology for its management.
We’re also leaders in the mathematical, statistical and systems specialisations that complement health science to bring about the deepest and most systemic change.
Research impacts
Our researchers are exploring the complexity of human biology and behaviour with an aim to mitigate disease, improve human health and increase social harmony. Learn how our scientists are putting knowledge into practice with our collaborative research projects into human health and wellbeing.
Study
For students interested in the Health Sciences, the options for research are manifold, from undergrad opportunities through to postgrad and beyond.
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For students with exceptionally high ATARs, research opportunities are available from the very beginning of your degree with the Talented Students Program. The Talented Students Program gives invitations to certain students, matching them with PhD students or Postdocs based on mutual interests, resulting in an advance taste of research life. This program is available from your first year and is by invitation only.
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Help push the frontiers of health science with a Masters by Research. Working alongside some of the field’s most innovative and lauded thinkers, you’ll conduct original research that will later be developed into a written thesis. The work you do here can also help you apply for a PhD.
Degree options include:
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By choosing a PhD in health sciences, you are choosing to embark on research of your own, contributing unique insights and knowledge to the world and advancing the health and wellbeing of us all. As well as providing original insights, a PhD in health sciences demands a written thesis, conferring in you the writing skills needed for a flourishing research career.
PhD options include:
We also offer two combined PhD and Masters of Psychology postgraduate research degrees:
Perhaps the most crucial step in any PhD is the selection of both study area and supervisor, the academic who will help and guide you to fulfill the potential of your research and thesis.