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Bioscience Entrepreneurship MSc

London, Old Street

Build a purposeful career translating science into business innovation. The goal is to empower bioscientists to create new social and economic value from research ideas, by learning the skills from entrepreneurship, technology and management that are most relevant to innovation.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2023/24)
£14,100
£7,050
Overseas tuition fees (2023/24)
£32,100
£16,050
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2023
Applications accepted
All applicants: 17 Oct 2022 – 30 Jun 2023
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

An upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree in the Life Sciences or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level. International Preparation Courses

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

This ground-breaking Master's programme spans bioscience, business and innovation. It is designed for enterprising students who want to work across the science-business interface. You will learn the language of business such that you can identify new opportunities from science. You will learn how to fit science-based solutions to real-world problems. The teaching draws on expertise from the global leader in eye health, Moorfields Eye Hospital, and companies like Google DeepMind. It includes sectors such as stem cells, regenerative treatment, digital opportunities, imaging and AI. Implementing bioscience ideas can be challenging, but the need for innovators who can speak both the language of business and science, has never been greater.

Who this course is for

This programme is ideal for ambitious individuals with a science background who want to build their career at the bioscience-business interface, either in a start-up, as innovators in a research-based organisation, or in technology transfer. Expertise that combines bioscience with broader management knowledge is in demand in many different translational and policy settings. You may already be working in a science-based sector such as biotech or biopharma, and looking for more focused senior management positioning.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

UCL is embedded in a powerful entrepreneurial ecosystem in London. Students will discover many opportunities to connect with researchers and innovators to explore ideas. This programme takes an active-learning approach. It converges expertise from the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, the UCL School of Management and the UCL School of Pharmacy. It offers you the chance to work with, and learn from, world-leading scientists, clinicians, digital experts, and entrepreneurs. Graduates from this programme have moved on to careers in consultancy, venture capital, science innovation, and start-ups.

Graduates can expect to gain:

  • Deep system understanding of the challenges of new value creation from science
  • Practical research and translational techniques to make knowledge transfer happen
  • Ability to interrogate science to find innovative opportunities that work
  • Skills in communicating potential to resource-providers
  • Strategic insight into how to stage-gate the building of a new bioscience business
  • An entrepreneurial mindset in leading for good change
  • Expertise in navigating the values clashes between science and business
  • Financial, operational and business understanding to ask intelligent questions
  • Specific communication and leadership skills for bio-business success
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Employability

Students who complete this programme will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to set up a new venture or pursue a career in biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries including management, commercialisation, regulation and policy, clinical trial management, research and consultancy.

Teaching and learning

Module Teaching is primarily in the form of attended lectures and seminars across terms 1 and 2, in module teaching. Face-to-face attended sessions form typically approx 18-20 hours per week in terms 1 and 2, and there is considerable independent reading and study expected through the module delivery period and in the identified revision weeks.

Lectures allow for specific, in depth information to be provided; weekly group tutorials allow for more detailed discussion and consideration of the material covered in lectures.

An ongoing seminar session focused on informal case based presentations and discussions related to module content allows for analytical understanding (and presentation skills) to be demonstrated and developed.

Module consolidation seminars involving problem or case based presentations relating to module content and informal quizzes allow for knowledge and understanding to be tested, and for formative feedback to be given in advance of summative assessment, alongside focused revision sessions.

Research in practice seminars allow for investigative, analytical, synthesis and data interrogation skills to be developed, prior to being put into practice in the dissertation module.

In Term 3 you will embark on a two part research project where you will identify and explore a science based thesis, undertaking research on a cutting edge topic in bioscience integrated with a researched business case analysis to investigate the feasibility or non-feasibility of a new business opportunity in the field of bioscience.

You will systematically gather and analyse data to draw conclusions, with the assistance of academic supervisors and will be paired with mentors from industry. This approach to your project will provide you with an opportunity to apply skills developed in entrepreneurship through the taught components of the course to a real life problem.

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and class discussion. Students are given the opportunity to attend weekly lectures given by leading healthcare and medical professionals, global entrepreneurs and biotech innovators. Assessment is through coursework, presentations, examinations, and the dissertation. 

Typical contact hours for a 15 credit module is approximately 30-35 hours; independent self-directed study, including assessment and revision is approximately 100 hours per module.

Modules

The Bioscience Entrepreneurship MSc programme offers a blend of compulsory and optional modules.

This allows you to develop a substantial base of key skills, knowledge and understanding, while also allowing you some individual choice with respect to specialist areas. There is a core driver in the structure of the modules to ensure a genuine synthesis exists between research driven identification of problems to solve, and a business driven context that allows you to develop optimal implementation strategies.

Your study moves from compulsory taught modules in term one with a context focus, to a blend of options and compulsory study in term two which are more narrowly focused and underpin the independent research and analysis required in term three. Modules in term one and two are taught also by the School of Management and School of Pharmacy at UCL.

The location of study at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, provides a distinctive environment in which to learn. The Institute’s record in science based entrepreneurship is excellent in respect of taking various scientific breakthroughs to market.

The Research and Business Case Project, which forms the final assessment, develops independent projects from the science based identification of need in the context of how that need might be turned into a business opportunity that could serve society.

Students on the part-time route complete one compulsory module and one optional module in year two of the part-time route, and the compulsory Research and Business Case Project.

Compulsory modules









Optional modules














Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Bioscience Entrepreneurship.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Virtual Taster Lecture: Business Meets Science

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Join Bioscience Entrepreneurship MSc Programme Director Fiona Reid on this virtual taster lecture on Business Meets Science... What Happens to Innovation in the Real-World.

Online - Open day

Bioscience Entrepreneurship MSc Information Session

The Bioscience Entrepreneurship MSc is designed for students who intend to start and run high impact enterprises in the life sciences sector. It is ideal for you if you have a science degree and an interest in enterprise or your own start-up. Join our virtual information session to find out more from the programme team and current students.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2023/24) £14,100 £7,050
Tuition fees (2023/24) £32,100 £16,050

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

There are no additional costs for this programme.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

Visit the government website to learn more about postgraduate loans.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Institute of Ophthalmology International Excellence Scholarships

Deadline: 30 June 2023
Value: £5,000 towards fees (1yr)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Next steps

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Bioscience Entrepreneurship at graduate level
  • why you want to study Bioscience Entrepreneurship at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to the chosen programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2023-2024

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Institute of Ophthalmology
Institute of Ophthalmology

ioo.admissions@ucl.ac.uk

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