MSc in Healthcare Quality, Leadership and Innovation
Programme Overview
The programme addresses five key gaps in the Nigerian healthcare system:
1. Improving Healthcare Quality — trains professionals to enhance patient care, reduce medical errors, strengthen clinical governance, and implement evidence-based practices.
2. Leadership Development — equips healthcare workers with management and leadership skills to drive systemic improvements in resource-constrained environments.
3. Fostering Innovation — encourages creative problem-solving and adoption of new technologies to tackle local healthcare challenges.
4. Capacity Building — strengthens the workforce to meet growing demand for skilled healthcare leaders and improve health system resilience.
5. Global Competitiveness — aligns local healthcare systems with global standards, attracting investment and collaboration.
The programme targets health practitioners — doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, administrators, and allied health professionals — and focuses on the principles and practice of healthcare quality improvement, patient safety, leadership development, translational science, and innovation.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this programme will be able to: • Apply evidence-based practice in administration and clinical decision-making in healthcare. • Conduct health systems and services research using qualitative and quantitative methods. • Use statistical methods to quantify variance in health products and services and establish process control. • Apply ICT for research, intervention, and innovation in healthcare. • Develop health policies, strategies, and plans at national and sub-national levels. • Lead healthcare quality improvement initiatives using methodologies such as PDSA, Lean, and Six Sigma. • Design and implement healthcare innovations using implementation science frameworks. • Identify and reduce patient safety risks and lead safety improvement in healthcare organisations. Admission Requirements • A first degree in a health-related field (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, laboratory science, administration, allied health) with a CGPA of at least 3.00 on a 5-point scale; OR • A postgraduate diploma in public health or a health-related field with a CGPA of at least 3.50 — for candidates from non-health disciplines or with CGPA below 3.00. • Nigerian applicants must hold an NYSC discharge certificate or exemption. Total credit units: 36 credits.
Course Modules
Contemporary Healthcare (History, Ethics, Rights, Policies, Politics and Law)
Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Decision-Making
Health Systems
Biostatistics and Statistical Process Control
ICT & Research Methodology
Management and Entrepreneurship
Healthcare Leadership and Team Management
Healthcare Innovation and Implementation Science
Patient Safety Science and Practice
Healthcare Quality Improvement
Internship / Practicum
Seminar
Dissertation
About University of Port Harcourt
The University of Port Harcourt — popularly known as "Unique UniPort" — is one of Nigeria's avant-garde tertiary institutions with a mandate to empower the Niger Delta region and the country academically. Established in 1975 as a College of the University of Lagos, the university gained full autonomous status in 1977 and is located about 18 kilometres northwest of Port Harcourt — Nigeria's Garden City, home to the country's second largest seaport and the hub of the petroleum and gas industry. UniPort is uniquely situated at the intersection of West Africa's tropical rainforest and the wetlands, swamps, and mangrove forests of the Niger Delta. Recognised by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the university offers programmes across the arts, engineering, social sciences, and sciences, and runs effective extension services through specialised research institutes and centres. As of 2022, UNIPORT hosts 72 bachelor's, 125 master's-level, and 106 doctoral-level programmes, with a total student population of 33,501, a teaching staff strength of 1,456, and administrative staff of 2,008. The Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health and Toxicological Research (ACE-PUTOR, www.aceputoruniport.edu.ng) — the EXCEL-PHARM managing centre — is a World Bank-funded regional hub for interdisciplinary postgraduate training and research in public health, toxicology, nutrition, and nursing sciences.