Family and Personal Care Services Health Studies Medicine (General and Para-medical)
Medicine is a very broad area of study, and Postgraduate Programmes in Medicine could focus on general medicine, specific areas within this field, or be a para-medical programme. Many UK universities have Medical Schools attached to them, the University of Aberdeen, for examples has a School of Medicine offering three Medical postgraduate programmes, Surgery, General, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It also has a separate School of Medical Sciences offering course including Radiology and Epidemiology. Students wishing to pursue postgraduate study in this field have a great selection of programmes to choose from in the UK, which is internationally renowned for its groundbreaking medical and scientific research.
Postgraduate Programmes in Health cover a wide range of different aspects of health care, from mental health care to the needs of today's health care systems. If you are interested in entering the health care sector in a management capacity, a Master’s in Health Care Management like the one run by of Swansea University is a good idea as it will teach you organisational and planning skills as well as a thorough awareness of various elements of health care.
Most postgraduate programmes are ‘taught’ through formal lectures and group tutorials. While some programmes grade students by tests and exams, others offer continuous assessment through regular assignments and projects. Dissertations (ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 words) are often optional, but essay writing is part of every course. Increasingly, accredited work placements count towards the final result.
Research-based postgraduate programmes
The majority of research programmes are MPhils and PhDs. These are normally for graduates who already have a master’s and/or work experience. It is comparatively rare to go straight into these courses with just a first degree. An MPhil might take two to four years to complete, and a PhD three to six years. It is essential to be motivated and to have your own ideas for original research topics. Some programmes now include initial lectures, tutorials, and an introduction to research and statistical techniques and resources. But, for the majority of the time, students are expected to manage their own work, to generate individual or collaborative research papers and to discuss progress with their supervisor every few months. At the end of their research, students have to produce an extended report or thesis (about 40,000–70,000 words for an MPhil and 80,000–100,000 words for a PhD) on their findings and discuss them in a final oral exam (the ‘viva’) with a panel of academics.
A few master’s degrees in law are available by research, and are particularly useful to students intending to take a PhD later. Those without formal research skills are taught these at the beginning of the programme.
Entry to Postgraduate Programmes in Medicine and Health
Successful applicants will generally be expected to hold a good bachelor degree (second-class Honours or above) from a recognised institution. Check with your preferred institution to see exactly what qualifications are required.
IELTS scores of 6.5–7.0 or TOEFL scores of 100-107 are usually needed. Because of ongoing changes in the law we advise international students to regularly check the UKBA website to make sure they can fulfil the necessary requirements. Most individual institutions also have useful information on the Tier 4 requirements for international students, and can offer assistance in terms of student queries about their specific English language requirements.
Click here to find out more about English Language requirements for International Students.
How much will it cost?
A one-year taught master’s programme can cost anything between a few thousand pounds to well over £10,000, although there are different rates according to whether you are a European Union (EU) or non-EU student. Applications for funding or scholarships must be made well over a year in advance (information on the various institutional scholarships is available from the British Council website) and funding should always be arranged before you leave your home country.
Looking for funding for postgraduate studies? Check out the exclusive bursaries on offer from Postgrad Solutions.
Postgraduate Programmes in Medicine