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Child Health MRes

London, Bloomsbury

From bioscience to clinical projects, develop your research skills in the diverse field of child health. Drawing on our links with Great Ormond Street Hospital, you will expand your scientific knowledge base, improve your ability to design experiments and gain invaluable experience through working on high impact lab-based or clinical projects. This Master’s degree will provide you with the skills you need to pursue a PhD or other scientific career.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£16,800
£8,400
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£35,400
£17,700
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026

Applications closed

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold either a medical degree (MBBS) or a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelors degree in a relevant discipline or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech professionals and scientists with equivalent experience (minimum of three years) and a BSc degree may also be considered.

The English language level for this course 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.

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


If you work in or around child health, or want to move into this field, gaining relevant clinical and research experience can be highly advantageous.

For healthcare professionals, the Child Health MRes bridges the gap between clinical sciences and research. You will build both scientific and professional skills, learning to approach research materials with confidence in your clinical practice.

For bioscientists, the course offers a mix of research methodology and practical experience, providing an excellent foundation for pursuing a PhD.

The degree is centred around a research project in an area of child health that interests you most. You could explore topics such as population health, cancer, infectious disease, or the latest advancements in gene therapy for childhood diseases.

You will benefit from our close links with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), which opens up significant opportunities for research and clinical experience. 

The course's flexible structure allows you to engage in real-world projects and tailor your experience to specific interests, enhancing both your study experience and your career prospects.

The Child Health MRes has five suggested pathways that you can follow including: 

  • Biomedical sciences
  • Translational science
  • Clinical science
  • Digital health and data science
  • Bespoke pathway.

Who this course is for

The course is designed for a range of clinical and bioscience applicants. With flexibility in taught module choices and a broad portfolio of research projects, you can tailor the course to suit your specific research interest. Our students include postgraduate bioscientists, medical students, and healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech professionals.

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

What this course will give you

  • UCL is ranked 9th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2026), 3rd in the world for public health (ShanghaiRankings 2024), and rated number one for research power and impact in medicine, health and life sciences (REF 2021). 
  • Benefit from our close relationship with GOSH and have access to extensive patient data and globally renowned academics at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH).
  • Utilise cutting-edge facilities and labs, ideal for conducting pioneering child health research.
  • A customisable taught curriculum with extended independent research activity. You will graduate with substantial research skills, statistical knowledge to critically appraise work, and ability to communicate and justify your results.
  • You will graduate from the course well equipped for further PhD study, clinical research or careers in workplace laboratory contexts.
  • At its core, the course will help you explore integrated, multidisciplinary research to enhance the understanding, diagnosis, therapy and prevention of childhood diseases.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Use this course as a springboard into doctoral study or to progress in child health in your current role. Alumni have gone onto work for organisations such as the NHS, including Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, the Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, AstraZeneca plc. and at various universities. *

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 cohorts.

Hearing about the extreme premature neonatal journey of someone close to me has meant I have always had a particular interest in care for babies. I was excited to join a programme that would help me develop broad research skills in a dedicated children’s health context.

Alex has brown long hair and smiles to camera. Alex stands in front of a green plant and white wall.

Alex

Child Health MRes

Read more

Employability

Graduates will be capable of applying and generating new knowledge through their own research, integrating established research techniques, and potentially innovating new research models. You will be able to critically appraise existing research and methodologies, formulate and evaluate complex decisions, and effectively communicate your findings.

We welcome students considering a career in research and those wishing to increase their research knowledge to progress in their current role. Both clinical and non-clinical applicants are welcome to apply.

Networking

In addition to the MRes, UCL GOS ICH runs seven MSc courses supporting students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, from the UK and overseas. We hold social events throughout the year for the whole student cohort to enable networking between students.

You will also be invited to networking events within your research department and team, including the prestigious Otto Wolff lectures, which provide an opportunity to hear from national and international experts and to network at the social event that usually accompanies these events.  

Teaching and learning

The course is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and research project supervision.

Assessment is through a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, essays, posters, presentations, reflective portfolios, critical appraisal of the literature and a dissertation and oral presentation. 

Each 15-credit module is worth 150 learning hours which are split up into taught lectures, independent study, revision, seminars etc. Hours of study include personal study time, this entails reading, independent study, revision and written assignments outside of seminar, lecture, and lab hours.

In Terms 1 and 2 full-time students can typically expect between seven and ten contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials and thirty hours of independent study time per week. In Term 3 and the summer period, students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors.

Modules

Over one calendar year full-time you will undertake four taught modules (including a compulsory module in Applied Statistics for Health Research I), three optional modules, and a year-long research project. You will have the option to select a research project from a portfolio of projects offered at UCL GOS ICH, or to develop an alternative project to match your research interests.

The MRes is designed to be flexible and to suit the individual needs of each student. By offering you the choice of three taught modules from a wide range of postgraduate modules delivered at UCL GOS ICH and more broadly at UCL, and an independent research project, you can tailor the MRes to your particular educational and research interests.

Our Master's degree programme has five suggested pathways that you can follow, please see them listed above in the ‘Programme description’. 

Over two calendar years part-time, you will undertake four taught modules (including a compulsory module in Applied Statistics for Health Research I), three optional modules, and a year-long research project. You will have the option to select a research project from a portfolio of projects offered at UCL GOS ICH, or to develop an alternative project to match your research interests.

The MRes is designed to be flexible and to suit the individual needs of each student. By offering you the choice of three taught modules from a wide range of postgraduate modules delivered at UCL GOS ICH and more broadly at UCL, and an independent research project, you are able to tailor the MRes to your particular educational and research interests.

Our Master's degree programme has five suggested pathways that you can follow, please see them listed above in the ‘Programme description’. 

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 MRes in Child Health.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Child Health MRes

Studying at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health you’ll gain the expertise to make a real impact in the field of child health. Join our virtual open events to explore our Master’s degrees in Paediatrics and Child Health and Paediatric Neuropsychology. Meet the Programme Directors, and learn how to make your application stand out.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £16,800 £8,400
Tuition fees (2026/27) £35,400 £17,700

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course 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 course.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

Details of available funding for the course will be available on the UCL GOS ICH website, including details of the UCL GOS ICH bursary offered by the institute.

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

Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health Bursary

Deadline: 17 August 2026
Value: £3,000 (1 year or 2 years part-tim)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: UK, EU, Overseas

Michelle Zalkin Scholarship

Deadline: 30 June 2026
Value: £10,000 (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on academic merit
Eligibility: UK, EU, Overseas

Mukul Madhav Foundation Scholarship

NOW CLOSED FOR 2026/27 ENTRY
Value: Full tuition fees (1 year)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Peter and Loek Wheeler Scholarship

Deadline: 30 June 2026
Value: International full fees (Duration of programme)
Criteria Based on academic merit
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • Why you want to study Child Health at graduate level.
  • Why you want to study Child Health at UCL.
  • What particularly attracts you to the chosen course.
  • How your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging course.
  • 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 course match what the course will deliver.
 

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (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: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL GOS Institute of Child Health

mreschildhealth@ucl.ac.uk

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