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Clinical Research PGCert

Part of: Medicine

The Clinical Research programme provides a credit-bearing training opportunity for academic clinical fellows and clinical lecturers in medicine and dentistry.

This programme gives you the opportunity to develop academic research skills within the framework of your busy clinical training programme. It is designed for clinical academic trainees in all specialties and is available for September or January start.

The programme will:

  • Prepare you for a career in academic clinical research
  • Provide formal training in the regulatory and ethical framework for clinical research
  • Develop your key skills in research design, statistical analysis, and critical review
  • Encourage you to engage with public and patients, communicate effectively with different audiences, and understand the importance of communication to the public perception of research
  • Equip you to undertake independent research, including critical thinking and consideration of research impact
  • Meet the requirement of the NIHR and other funders for academic clinical fellows to undertake relevant training in research methodology.

Study options

Starting in
September 2025
Location
Charterhouse Square
Fees
Home: £4,400
Overseas: £
EU/EEA/Swiss students
The course fee is charged per annum for the first 2 years. Note that fees may be subject to an increase on an annual basis - see details on our tuition fees page.

What you'll study

Studying on the programme will help you develop an invaluable set of generic research skills and knowledge including:

  • clinical research project design and implementation
  • written and oral communication
  • logical and critical thinking.

 You will receive formal training in the regulatory and ethical framework for clinical research and develop your key skills in research design, statistical analysis and critical review.

You will be taught by external experts from the pharmaceutical industry, and the interdisciplinary nature of your learning will give you useful networking opportunities. You will meet industry colleagues and liaise closely with our associated NHS Trusts.

 

Structure

  • Four compulsory modules
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Elective modules

Assessment

You will undertake a mixture of written continuous assessments and may have to do an oral presentation.

Teaching

You will be taught in short blocks of compulsory lectures and workshops.

You will have an Academic Adviser who will guide you in both academic and pastoral matters throughout your studies.

Where you'll learn

Facilities

  • The William Harvey Research Institute offers state-of-the art core facilities, including a Genome Centre, a flow cytometry and cell sorting station, and in vivo imaging facilities
  • A Learning Resources Centre, open around the clock, with 200 networked PCs solely for the use of postgraduate students
  • Medical libraries located at the Royal London and St Bart's hospitals and at the main university campus at Mile End
  • Access to the Postgraduate Reading Room
  • Research access to the British Library

About the Institute

William Harvey Research Institute

The William Harvey Research Institute (WHRI) places a high value upon training the next generation of researchers. We are part of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London, which is ranked joint seventh in the UK for the quality of our research (REF 2021).

Our primary research focus and excellence lies in our cardiovascular, inflammation and endocrine research themes. In addition, we achieve international excellence in critical care and perioperative medicine research. We aim to combine talents from different disciplines such as genomics, cell biology, and pharmacology, with translational bench-to-patient studies and large-scale clinical trials.

We are currently the largest pharmacological research institute in the UK University sector, and one of the largest in Europe. The Centre employs 530 clinicians and scientists from 45 countries.

Career paths

If you are an Academic Clinical Fellow or Clinical Lecturer at Queen Mary or an associated NHS Trust, this Clinical Research programme will give you credit-bearing research training.

Your relevant training in research methodology will meet the requirements of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and other funders.

  • 93% of WHRI graduates are in employment or further study (2020/21)
  • 88% of WHRI graduates in employment or study are in highly skilled work or graduate study (2020/21)

Fees and funding

Part-time study

September 2025 | 1 - 2 years

The course fee is charged per annum for the first 2 years. Note that fees may be subject to an increase on an annual basis - see details on our tuition fees page.

Part-time study

January 2026 | 1 - 2 years


The course fee is charged per annum for the first 2 years. Note that fees may be subject to an increase on an annual basis - see details on our tuition fees page.

Funding

There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.

Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:

Entry requirements

UK

Degree requirements

Applicants should have MBBS or BDS and be employed as Academic Clinical Fellow or Clinical Lecturer at Queen Mary or associated NHS Trusts.

Other routes

Individuals with non-clinical qualifications and employment at Queen Mary or associated NHS Trusts will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.

International

English language requirements

The English language requirements for our programmes are indicated by English bands, and therefore the specific test and score acceptable is based on the band assigned to the academic department within which your chosen course of study is administered. Note that for some academic departments there are programmes with non-standard English language requirements.

The English Language requirements for entry to postgraduate taught and research programmes in the William Harvey Research Institute falls within the following English band:

Band 4: IELTS (Academic) minimum score 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each of Writing, Listening, Reading and Speaking

Please note, there are some postgraduate programmes with non-standard English language requirements in this Institute.

We accept a range of English tests and qualifications categorised in our English bands for you to demonstrate your level of English Language proficiency. See all accepted English tests that we deem equivalent to these IELTS scores.

Visas and immigration

Find out how to apply for a student visa.

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