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Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering MRes

London, Bloomsbury

The MRes in Medical Physics and Biomedical engineering is a research focused Masters degree, covering various aspects of physics and engineering in medicine.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
£17,300
£8,650
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
£34,400
£17,200
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2024
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 16 Oct 2023 – 28 Jun 2024
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 16 Oct 2023 – 30 Aug 2024
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper-second class UK Bachelor’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in physics, engineering, computer science, mathematics, or other closely related discipline. Workplace knowledge and expertise are also considered.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2
Overall score of 7.0 and a minimum of 6.5 in each component.

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.

If you are intending to apply for a time-limited visa to complete your UCL studies (e.g., Student visa, Skilled worker visa, PBS dependant visa etc.) you may be required to obtain ATAS clearance. This will be confirmed to you if you obtain an offer of a place. Please note that ATAS processing times can take up to six months, so we recommend you consider these timelines when submitting your application to UCL.

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


The MRes in Medical Physics and Bioengineering is a research-focused Masters degree, covering various aspects of physics and engineering in medicine. The programme is highly adaptable to fit the subject that the student wants to focus on within the fields of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. The programme involves a wide range of modules offered by the department, as well as a research project.

Applicants will be considering what course is best suited to their career progression. The main difference between the MRes and the MSc programme is that the MRes is heavily focused on research, with the MRes Research Project module weighted double that of the MSc Research Project. In addition, the MRes has half the number of taught modules compared to the MSc. The MRes is targeted to those students who wish to pursue research careers, and for those who want to delve deep into a particular research question, the MRes is the better option.
 

Who this course is for

This programme is suitable either for students wishing to study for a standalone MRes in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering or for those planning progression to a Doctoral Training Programme.

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

What this course will give you

The MRes programme is offered by UCL's Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering: a hub for interdisciplinary research and collaborations between computer scientists, physicists, mechanical engineers, biomedical scientists and medical practitioners across UCL and its affiliated teaching hospitals. Students joining this department benefit from its network of internationally leading research, learning directly from the research staff in this close-knit community. The Research Excellence Framework in 2021 rated the department’s research as 97% 4* ("world-leading") or 3* ("internationally excellent") and UCL was the second-rated university in the UK for research strength.

Students have access to a wide range of workshop, laboratory, teaching and clinical facilities in the department and associated hospitals. A large range of scientific equipment is available for research involving radiotherapy, proton therapy, nuclear magnetic resonance, optics, acoustics, x-ray imaging, electrical implant development, robotic surgery interventions as well as the biomedical engineering facilities at the Royal Free Hospital and Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. Join an interactive network of researchers across many disciplines and benefit from the strengths of UCL in the healthcare field.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

This programme gives students a good grounding in research skills training, focused on a specific topic. Graduates will be ideally suited to enter PhD programmes in a variety of subject areas or enter professions requiring a postgraduate Master's qualification.

Employability

Our graduates typically progress to work within academia, securing PhD positions upon completion. They also go on to work in clinical science, the NHS and in industry.

Networking

As a global leader in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering research, our academics are at the forefront of healthcare innovations, with national and international collaborations across clinical, industrial and academic sectors. This provides natural opportunities to network with a variety of external partners and showcase output at international conferences, private industry events and clinical centres to audiences of potential employers. Moreover, the department holds close working relationships with a number of charities, research councils and international organisations, for example, in new projects involving radiotherapy and infant optical brain imaging in Africa.

Teaching and learning

The programme will be delivered through a combination of formal lectures, seminars, laboratories, workshop sessions and independent or group project work.

The modules of this MRes Programme will be assessed by a series of methods including exams, coursework, group work, lab sessions and a research project.

This time is made up of formal learning and teaching events such as lectures, seminars and tutorials, as well as independent study.

Each module typically consists of around 30-40 lectures over a ten-week term (excluding reading week). During each week, including problem classes, you should therefore expect about 10 contact hours. This time is made up of formal learning and teaching events such as lectures and problem classes. You will need to spend your own time in addition to the timetabled hours reviewing the material and completing coursework. You should expect to be spending at least 40 hours per week on your studies as a full-time student. A pro-rata rate should be used as a guide for part-time or flexi-time students. Lectures are timetabled between 9am and 6pm apart from Wednesday afternoon when there are no lectures.

Finally, the students are expected to allocate a significant amount of that time to their research project (an average of up to 16 hours per week for the MRes full-time students). The time allocation to the research project will need to be adjusted between Terms 1 and 2, and the summer term (following the exams) where the expectation is for the students to work exclusively on their research projects.

Modules

The MRes is comprised of four taught modules and a research project component. You are required to select three modules from Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering and have free selection to choose a fourth PG module from any other department in the Faculty. We encourage you to select modules that directly relate to your project expertise. Our selection of modules includes modules in Ultrasound in Medicine, Medical Imaging, Medical Electronics and Programming.

For the part-time route, it is recommended that you take all compulsory and optional modules in year 1 and then the compulsory module ‘MRes Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Research Project’ in year 2.

Compulsory modules



Optional modules






Research Software Engineering with Python














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 Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.

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 and Wellbeing team.

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering Q&A

Pursuing a degree in Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering can help you change the world. You’ll learn from world-leading practitioners, gain practical experience in addressing healthcare challenges, & participate in student projects with a real-world impact. These projects involve developing innovative technologies or methods for diagnosing, treating, or managing medical conditions & diseases.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25) £17,300 £8,650
Tuition fees (2024/25) £34,400 £17,200

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 associated with 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

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

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 Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at graduate level
  • why you want to study Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your personal, academic and professional background meets the demands of a 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: 2024-2025

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering

medphys.teaching@ucl.ac.uk

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