MSc Clinical Trials (Online Learning) MSc, PgDip, PgCert, PgProfDev

These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, biological sciences, life sciences, biomedicine, statistics or other related discipline.

We may also consider your application if you have 3-5 years' relevant work experience; please contact the programme team to check before you apply. You may be admitted to certificate level only in the first instance.

International qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

See our website for destinations

Year 1 (Postgraduate Certificate)
You will start with the following foundational compulsory courses:

Introduction to Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) and Medical Statistics
Ethical and Regulatory Considerations in Clinical Trials
You may choose a further option course.

After you successfully complete all three courses in Year 1, giving you a total of 60 credits, you can exit and apply for a Postgraduate Certificate, or continue to the second year.

Year 2 (Postgraduate Diploma)
You will deepen your expertise with three option courses.

You pick and choose your option courses to tailor your studies to your intended outcome.

After you successfully complete all six courses from Years 1 and 2, giving you a total of 120 credits, you can exit and apply for a Postgraduate Diploma, or continue to the third year.

Year 3 (Master of Science)
You will culminate your learning with a comprehensive MSc dissertation project focused on a specific area of clinical trials, or choose to complete your masters through a taught route incorporating a student-led individually created course (SLICC).

Once you have started your dissertation project, you must submit it within one academic year.

Option courses
You can tailor your educational experience by choosing from a variety of option courses that cover advanced topics and specialised areas within clinical trials. These include:

Clinical Trial Designs
Data Enabled Clinical Trials
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)
Principles of Clinical Trial Management
Clinical Trials in Special Populations
Monitoring and Audit
Fundamentals of Health Economics
Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods
Systematic Reviews