MSc in Medical Education

The Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Medical Education are designed to meet the needs of doctors wishing to develop their roles as educators. The programmes are exclusively for doctors and attract participants from the full range of specialties, including surgeons, general practitioners, psychiatrists and radiologists as well as physicians. Participants are mainly speciality registrars, consultants or other career-grade doctors. This is a postgraduate programme; if enquirers have not completed their undergraduate studies they will not be considered for the programme.

Attendance at all face-to-face teaching days is compulsory. UCL regulations require that students maintain a 70% attendance rate for each module. Students must provide extenuating circumstances where they are unable to attend. FY1 and FY2 doctors with limited study leave, please ensure that you have secured sufficient leave prior to applying to the course.

The programmes are part-time only, and are taken sequentially, starting with the Postgraduate Certificate in year one, progressing to the Diploma in the second year and finally the masters in Medical Education. The full masters may be taken over a maximum of 5 years.

In the first year (Certificate level) of the course there are a total of 14 compulsory contact days. These are made up of four 3-day modules, a tutorial day and a viva.. In the second year (Diploma level) of the course there are a total of 14 compulsory contact days. These are made up of four 3-day modules, a tutorial day and a viva day. In the final year there are 6 compulsory contact days. These are made up of five tutor group meetings and a presentation day. Students will be assigned a personal tutor whilst completing their research project.

You are able to defer your place on the course, but the course must be completed within 5 years of when the application is accepted. Please contact postgraduate@rcplondon.ac.uk for further information.

No. This is a cumulative programme. You are able to exit after the first year with a Certificate, after the second with a Diploma or after the third with an MSc.

No. The teaching days (14 each year) are compulsory. However, these teaching days are supported via an online learning environment (called Moodle), where readings are uploaded and you can discuss projects in student forums.

There is no funding available through the RCP. Students need to secure their own funding. Some deaneries and trusts do provide financial support, and you should contact them for more information. UCL do have a few scholarships available, details of which can be found at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/scholarships. Please note that this course is not eligible for the Government funded Postgraduate Loan. Should you have any queries regarding funding, please contact UCL Funding at +44 (0)20 7679 0004 or studentfunding@ucl.ac.uk .

Yes. All fees are paid directly to UCL, who offer students flexible arrangements to make payments in instalments. Further information can be found at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/scholarships.

The applications for 2018–19 are now open and will close at 9am on 29 June 2018.

UCL regulations state that a student can apply to transfer (RPL – Recognition of Prior Learning) a maximum of 90 credits from a similar programme at another institution at a fee of £100. In order to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), you will be required to demonstrate that you have successfully completed all learning objectives of the module you are claiming RPL for. You will not be permitted to attend only part of a module based on prior learning. A document outlining the objectives for each module can be found at the bottom of the FAQ section. More information can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/academic-manual/c1/taught-admissions/rpl. Please contact the postgraduate team at the RCP if you would like to request RPL.

Though a formal role in medical education is not required, applicants need to demonstrate a passion for medical education and will need to have access to medical students or trainees during their time on the course. This is important because much discussion during the course draws on participants’ current experiences of teaching and the first assignment involves participants reviewing a teaching session that they have designed and delivered. Students wishing to progress to the diploma will be required to compile a portfolio evidencing their ongoing development as a medical educator, and therefore need to be involved in teaching and facilitating learning. In addition, it is beneficial that you have some involvement in course or curriculum design and supervising trainees.

As the course is only offered with a part-time mode of study it is not possible to study on a Tier 4 visa. However, some international students who have the right to live and work in the UK on a working visa may be eligible to apply as overseas applicants.

Modules will be delivered in purpose-built teaching facilities at the Royal College of Physicians in London.

Written assignments follow each module at certificate level. The diploma level is assessed by written assignments and a viva, and the masters level is assessed by a dissertation.

Each level of the programme carries 60 masters-level credits, which equate to a notional 600 hours of study time. This includes attendance at face-to-face teaching days, self-directed study and research, and completion of assignments. This is an approximation only, and the hours required may vary according to individuals’ prior experience of the subject. This is in line with all other masters-level programmes in the UK.

Yes. The RCP CPD diary scheme allows you to claim one credit for every 1 hour of learning. Credits obtained from the MSc programme can be entered under the ‘self-certified’ tab in the CPD diary. Please be aware that a maximum of 12 credits will be counted as external per annum. The remaining MSc credits will be counted as personal. If you are registered with another CPD scheme please contact your scheme coordinator to confirm how to apply for credits.

Each module has a module tutor – a member of staff from the RCP who is responsible for the bulk of the teaching. The students are given the contact details for this tutor and should refer all subject-related queries to them.

All students will have full access to the Jerwood Medical Education Resource Centre (MERC) at the Royal College of Physicians. Specialist collections of books and journals are available as well as remote access to a wide range of electronic materials and databases.