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Intercalated BSc Philosophy, Medicine, and Society

BSc (Intercalated) Medical Sciences with Philosophy, Medicine, and Society. UBIMEDWPMS01

Change your game

"I came here to think, to explore, to research. All I seem to do is memorise and regurgitate."

We hear this a lot when we meet students in the early years of their medical programme. To be sure, the core of medicine is hard work and it has to be done properly. At the same time, your degree doesn't have to stop there. The intercalated year offers a chance to complement your studies with something different. We've designed our programme to push you in other directions.

Aims and objectives

This programme is an opportunity to study modern medicine through the lens of collaborating activities: (1) ethics and philosophy of science, (2) science policy and governance, and (3) science communication and engagement. It offers a package of modules rich with real-world knowledge set firmly within core academic frameworks. It also delivers key skills associated with original research, critical thinking, analysis, and reflection.

Medicine doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It is surrounded, shaped, and enabled by collaborating activities. The primary aim of our programme is to prepare medical students for careers in which these subjects are encountered on a regular basis. The secondary aim is skill-development. Medicine, as a professional domain, includes many careers other than clinical practice and life at the research bench. Policy makers and regulators, journalists and funders, technology developers, ethicists and analysts all play key roles. Skill development in these areas can add complementary assets to an otherwise-standard portfolio. It also can open firm new career possibilities should clinical or research medicine lose their appeal.

By the end of the programme, students should be able to:

• describe key concepts and knowledge in (1) ethics and philosophy of science, (2) science policy and governance, and (3) science communication and engagement
• relate academic research in these areas to current practice in medical research and clinical practice
• interpret current and emerging topics within analytical and reflective perspectives from science and technology studies
• demonstrate critical thinking and professional empathy
• demonstrate strong writing and engagement skills in a variety of formats
• undertake independent research in these areas and problem-solve with novel case studies
• reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses in these areas

Our primary career goal is to help medical students become better doctors: wider perspective, more analytical skill, more confident when stepping back to reflect, and more aware of why things are the way they are. Our secondary goal is to prepare them for activities supporting medical practice and related careers, such as researching, writing, and independent thinking.

Programme requirements

Our primary career goal is to help medical students become better doctors: wider perspective, more analytical skill, more confident when stepping back to reflect, and more aware of why things are the way they are. Our secondary goal is to prepare you for activities supporting medical practice and related careers, such as researching, writing, and independent thinking. We want you to appreciate where this collaborating activities sit within the global community that is modern medicine, and we want you to be ready to engage with these partners when opportunities arise.

module title	units	notes
Dissertation HPSC3026 Research Project	1.0 units	Compulsory module
Core modules  (select 2) HPSC2001 Policy Issues in the Life Sciences HPSC2002 Science in the Mass Media HPSC2020 Philosophy of Medicine	0.5 each 1.0 total	Core modules. Two are compulsory.
Option modules  (select 4) The programme structure provides a list of optional modules.	2.0 total	An additional 2.0 units are chosen from a prescribed list of optional modules. Of these, one 0.5-unit module from elsewhere may be substituted, provided it contributes to a coherent programme of study.
total	4.0 units

The programme structure is presented in more detail here (link), or download our iBSc programme catalogue entry (pdf)

About us

UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies

This programme is located in the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS). We are a closely-knit research and teaching department within the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. We have 15 core academic staff, with award-winning teaching and an award-winning programme in public engagement, with student common rooms and offices in 22 Gordon Square. We use a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods, appropriate to the task, and we promote independent, student-led research. 

Our intercalated degree sits within an active BSc teaching programme that includes two unique single-honours BSc degrees, two streams within UCL’s Natural Sciences degrees, and major contributions to UCL Human Sciences and UCL Arts and Sciences. This combines with MSc and PhD programmes. Our student-to-staff ratio for BSc/iBSc students is 4:1 (2012-13).

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UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS)
0207 679 1328 office | +44 207 679 1328 international
sts@ucl.ac.uk | www.ucl.ac.uk/sts | @stsucl
postal address:  Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT | United Kingdom
street address: 22 Gordon Square, London, WC1E 6BT | maps