XClose

UCL Graduate degrees

Menu

Drug Design MSc

This MSc offers a comprehensive guide to all aspects of modern day drug design. It is taught by research scientists, clinicians and industry experts. Our graduates have progressed to undertake or obtain PhDs or medical studentships, or have found employment in both the private and public sector.

Key information

Programme starts

September 2019

Modes and duration

Full time: 1 year
Flexible: up to 5 years
Distance learning: available

Part-time is on-site for two years, while flexible study is distance learning only. Distance learning is not offered in 2020-21.

Application dates

All applicants
Open: 15 October 2018
Close: 26 July 2019

Tuition fees (2019/20)

UK/EU: £13,450 (FT)
Overseas: £25,610 (FT)


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

Optional qualifications: This degree is also available as a PG Diploma and a PG Certificate with fees set accordingly.
Location: London, Bloomsbury

Entry requirements

A minimum of a lower second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

English language requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

The English language level for this programme is: Standard

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

International students

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.

Select your country:

About this degree

The programme covers all aspects of drug design, including genomics, bioinformatics, structural biology, cheminformatics, molecular modelling and fragment-based drug design, drug target selection, intellectual property and marketing. New therapies and research areas such as antibodies, siRNA, stem cells and high throughput screening are covered. Students will develop essential skills such as research methods and techniques of drug design.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of eight core modules (120 credits) and a research project (60 credits).

A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) is also offered.

A Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) is also offered

Compulsory modules

  • Bioinformatics and Structural Biology
  • Target Identification and High Throughput Screening
  • Cheminformatics and Computer Drug Design
  • Biological Molecules as Therapeutics - Antibodies, siRNA, and Stem Cells
  • Biophysical Screening Methods, Protein NMR and Phenotypic Screening
  • Fragment Based Drug Design (FBDD)
  • Target Selection - Scientific Grounds
  • Target Selection - Commercial and Intellectual Property

Optional modules

There are no optional modules for this programme.

Dissertation/report

All MSc students undertake an independent research project which can take the form of a wet lab or dry lab computational or modelling based project or an external project with an industrial sponsor.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, self study, practical sessions and discussion groups. The research project forms one third of the programme. Each of the taught modules is assessed by unseen written examination (50%) and coursework (50%). The research project is assessed by the dissertation and viva.

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 is subject to change.

Funding

Bursaries are not applicable to the MSc Clinical and Public Health Nutrition, MSc Eating Disorders and Clinical Nutrition or MSc/MRes Drug Design.

Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.

Division of Medicine Postgraduate Taught Bursaries

Value:
£5,000 (1 year)
Eligibility:
UK, EU, Overseas
Criteria:
Based on financial need

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

Careers

The programme will provide a good background for students looking to establish a career in drug design/discovery and related industries (biotech, pharma, national research laboratories and NHS agencies), and for industry professionals seeking to gain a greater understanding of new methodology. The knowledge and transferable skills delivered will also be useful for those intent on further PhD or medical studies.

Employability

Graduates from this programme have progressed to PhD/medical studentships at different universities and research institutes around the world, including Oxford, UCL, Grenoble, EMBL, and in the USA and China. Many alumni have secured positions in research teaching and technical sales in the private and public sectors.

Why study this degree at UCL?

UCL is ranked 7th in the QS World University Rankings 2018 and is located in the centre of one of the world's finest cities. UCL is one of Europe's best and largest centres for biomedical research.

This degree taken at the internationally renowned UCL Division of Medicinet is supported by the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, where we have pioneered multidisciplinary research with a particular emphasis on translating that research into useful clinical benefit. Our research expertise includes: medicinal chemistry, computational drug design, neuronal development and signalling, cell cycle control, intensive care medicine, stem cells, mitochondrial biology and cancer.

Department: Division of Medicine

Application and next steps

Applications

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.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £75 for online applications and £100 for paper applications. Further information can be found at: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.

Who can apply?

This MSc is suitable for life science graduates in biological sciences, chemical sciences and pharmacy who wish to obtain a broad understanding of the drug design process, either to establish a career in drug design and related industries, or to pursue further PhD or medical studies in this field.

Application deadlines

All applicants
26 July 2019

For more information see our Applications page.

Apply now

What are we looking for?

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Drug Design at graduate level
  • why you want to study Drug Design at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this 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.

Contact information

Page last modified on 4 September 2019 by UCL Student Recruitment Marketing

Download this page (PDF)