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Paediatrics and Child Health: Intensive Care MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Gain experience and academic insight into intensive care paediatrics, as you learn the theory behind current approaches, and delve into the latest research driving the speciality forward, working with experts from UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. 

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£16,000
£8,000
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
£18,250
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 academic year
2 academic years
5 academic years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Medically qualified applicants should have post-qualification experience in paediatrics or child health.

Non-medically qualified applicants should have an upper second-class UK bachelor's degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, and experience of working in hospitals, community child health or public health services for children and families.

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.

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

Join us on this multidisciplinary Master’s degree at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH), to build your expertise in intensive care paediatrics.

Based at one of the leading centres for child health research and practice globally, the programme covers the theory and practice of paediatric intensive care medicine (PICM) – from general issues and cardiac critical care, to how to best transport critically ill children.

You’ll benefit from the institute’s renowned position in UK paediatrics, and our strong links to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH), as well as the chance to study alongside world renowned experts from both UCL and the hospital.

Launched in 1986, originally as the MSc in Community Paediatrics, this postgraduate programme is part of the longest running paediatric health MSc in London. Teaching takes place at UCL GOSH ICH, in close collaboration with experts from GOSH NHS Foundation Trust.

With diverse module choices in areas including clinical genomics and rare diseases, immunisation and safeguarding, you can shape the programme towards the areas most in line with your interests and career plans. 

Who this course is for

The programme is intended for professionals specialising in paediatrics and child health. The Paediatrics and Child Health: Intensive Care MSc aims to provide an excellent foundation for trainees looking to enter paediatric intensive care medicine training (PICM), an introduction to research methods and techniques for those seeking an academic career in PICM and a high quality continuing professional development for those already in this field.

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

What this course will give you

  • Study a well-established and hugely popular paediatrics programme at one of the world’s top universities, ranked number one for research power and impact in medicine, health and life sciences (REF 2021), and 6th in the world for public health (ShanghaiRankings 2023).
     
  • This is the only taught programme in Europe that covers such a wide spectrum of paediatric intensive care medicine topics.
     
  • Explore the fundamentals of PICM, while enhancing knowledge, critical appraisal, research skills and readiness for careers in acute paediatrics, in particular the care of critically ill and deteriorating children.
     
  • Undertake a supervised dissertation or research project of your choice in PICM. These can include clinical or basic science / laboratory studies.
     
  • Study content that includes topics from the UK and international PICM curricula, helping to build the knowledge needed to undertake the European paediatric/neonatal intensive care professional qualification.
     
  • Learn through lectures, discussion groups and external reading with national and international experts.
     
  • Benefit from our close links with GOSH, with much of our research and teaching carried out on a joint basis.
     
  • Study at UCL’s Bloomsbury campus, in the heart of a London district famous for its cultural and educational institutions.
     
  • Benefit from first-rate facilities in both laboratory and non-laboratory subjects including UCL GOS ICH library.  
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

This Master’s degree will help you understand the core principles of evidence-based paediatrics and child health.

You’ll learn about current and future developments in paediatric medicine and child health and gain the skills necessary to critically appraise practice and policy, and carry out independent Master's-level research.

You’ll also have experience in current PICM practice and be equipped to do research in both PICM and other areas. These skills are likely to open the door to diverse work and training opportunities, and will put you in a good position for senior PICM posts.

Many of our graduates have gone on to complete their specialist training, and into careers as consultants in paediatrics or senior professionals in other related fields including with the NHS, government health departments, ministries of health and NGOs all over the world.*

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

Employability

If you’re a medically qualified graduate studying this Master’s degree, by the end of the course you’ll be well positioned to pursue a career in PICM in the UK or abroad. You could go onto work as a general paediatrician with an interest in intensive care or as a specialist intensivist.

Nurses and associated professionals who study with us can use this Master’s degree to progress into more senior posts in PICM, focusing either on clinical work or management.
 

Networking

The Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health offers seven MSc programmes as well as an MRes in Child Health encompassing a wide range of topics. Our students come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, from the UK and overseas providing great networking opportunities within and across programmes. We hold social events throughout the year for the whole student cohort to enable networking between students. Students on the Master's programmes have the opportunity to join UCL GOS ICH events such as the Otto Wolff lectures hosted by the research and teaching departments. These cover a variety of topics and 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

Throughout this programme you will be taught subject specific knowledge via a variety of methods including but not limited to lectures, discussion groups and external reading.

You will assimilate practical and transferable skills via teaching, self-learning and assessments through the various modules provided by this programme. Between modules you will have time to work on your dissertation.  

Meet the academics currently leading this programme on the UCL GOS ICH website. 

Assessment is through a combination of multiple-choice questions and short-answer question examinations, essays, posters, presentations, reflective portfolios, critical appraisal of literature. For the full MSc, a research project and dissertation is required.

Typical contact hours and hours of self-directed study for this programme (per 15-credit module) are: relevant lectures, seminars and tutorials (30 hours), reading hours (50 hours), engagement with online material (20 hours), revision (30 hours) and preparation for the final assessment e.g. coursework, essay (20 hours). Total 150 hours per module. Contact hours will vary depending on the choice of modules. Estimated time in dissertation supervision is around 30 hours (including group sessions and supervisor meetings).

Most modules are delivered as blocks of study, normally over four or five consecutive days from 9-5pm. Modules outside of this pattern will have around three hours contact time per week. Overall, we expect full-time students to study a full 35-hour week, with time outside classes spent in self-directed study. Part-time and flexible students study at a pro-rata rate.

Modules

You will take 180 credits, made up of eight taught modules and a dissertation.

The programme is taken over one full academic year and comprises four compulsory modules and a dissertation, with an additional four optional modules (eight modules in total). 

Two of the compulsory modules: Evidence-based Child Health and Applied Statistics for Health Research I are usually taken in the first term and provide the foundational skills for your dissertation.

Depending on your module choices, most modules are taught in one week blocks dispersed throughout the year and you must complete all components of the programme within one year unless extenuating circumstances are approved by UCL. 

The dissertation is a major part of the programme and this can be completed over the year with the bulk of work usually taking place in the final term. It is submitted in early September.

This programme is available in a part-time mode of two years with eight taught modules plus the project to be taken in this period.

As a part-time student you will take the programme over two years. It comprises four compulsory modules and four optional modules. You can complete this in a variety of ways: taking all the taught modules in the first year or spreading them over the two years. The dissertation is usually completed in the second year.  

This programme is available in modular flexible mode of up to five years with eight taught modules plus the project to be taken during this period.

As a modular flexible student you are able to complete the programme in anything up to five years. You can complete this in a variety of ways by spreading modules out over the five years, or even having a year when you take no modules. It is advisable to take the modules that provide the foundational skills for completing the dissertation for example Applied Statistics for Health Research later in the programme if that is when your dissertation will be undertaken. 

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 Paediatrics and Child Health: Intensive Care.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Visit us

All open days and events

UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health 30 Guilford St, London WC1N 1EH - Open day

Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening

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Discover our Master’s degrees in Brain Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences and Medical Engineering.

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Online - Open day

UCL Child Health Information Sessions

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Join our sessions to learn more about your programme of interest, meet our academic leads and hear about life at UCL.

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Paediatrics and Child Health MSc (all routes) (Afternoon)

Join us at our virtual open events to learn about Master's degrees delivered by the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Each session will provide a programme introduction and time for Q&A.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £16,000 £8,000
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500 £18,250

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

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

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For flexible/modular offer holders a £500 fee deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There are no additional costs for this programme.

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 £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. 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

The Peter and Loek Wheeler scholarship enables students from low- and middle-income countries to undertake the MSc in Paediatrics and Child Health (one year) at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH). The scholarship is an individual award that will cover the international tuition fees of one student per year.

The Michelle Zalkin Scholarship offers exceptional students with a proven career pathway in Child Protection £10,000 to study for a Master's in Paediatrics and Child Health.

Visit the funding and studentship pages of the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health website for details of funding available to students, including the UCL GOS ICH bursary.

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

Michelle Zalkin Scholarship

Deadline: 30 June 2025
Value: £10,000 (Duration)
Criteria Based on academic merit
Eligibility: UK, EU, Overseas

Mukul Madhav Foundation Scholarship

Deadline:8 May 2025
Value: Full tuition fees (1 year)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

The Peter and Loek Wheeler Child Health Scholarship

Deadline: 30 June 2025
Value: €32,000 (Euros) (Duration of study)
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: EU, Overseas

UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Scholarship

Deadline: 15 August 2025
Value: £3000 for one year for full time students, £1500 each year for part time students (over 2 years) ()
Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need
Eligibility: UK, 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.

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

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • Why you want to study Paediatrics and Child Health: Intensive Care at graduate level.
  • Why you want to study Paediatrics and Child Health: Intensive Care at UCL.
  • What particularly attracts you to this 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: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

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

ich.paediatrics@ucl.ac.uk

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