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Paediatrics and Child Health PG Cert

London, Bloomsbury

Study paediatrics and child health at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, one of the leading centres for child health research and practice globally. You’ll benefit from the institute’s renowned position in UK paediatrics, our strong links to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and the chance to study as part of UCL’s inspiring teaching and research community.

This programme consists of your choice of four modules. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Certificate in Paediatrics and Child Health.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£5,400
£5,400
Full-time = 12 weeks.
Part-time = 1 year.

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£12,200
£12,200
Full-time = 12 weeks.
Part-time = 1 year.

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
Not applicable
1 academic year
2 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

Launched in 1986, as the PG Cert in Community Paediatrics, this postgraduate programme is part of the longest running paediatric health MSc in London. Teaching takes place at the Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health (UCL GOS ICH) in close collaboration with colleagues from the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) NHS Foundation Trust with lectures from national and international experts across most clinical and research areas.

You’ll benefit from studying specific areas of your choice allowing you to either consolidate your understanding of existing areas in paediatrics in child health or explore new topics such as acute and chronic paediatrics, molecular and genetic basis of paediatrics, immunisations, safeguarding, nutrition, growth and physical activity. 

Who this course is for

The programme is intended for professionals specialising in paediatrics and child health. The Paediatrics and Child Health PG Cert programme is particularly suitable for doctors in training and other health care professionals who wish to consolidate and deepen their learning in paediatrics, and can also be used as a steppingstone to completing the MSc. 

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. UCL is ranked 9th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2025), 6th in the world for public health (ShanghaiRankings 2023) and ranked number one for research power and impact in medicine, health and life sciences (REF 2021). 
  • Learn through lectures, discussion groups and external reading with national and international experts in paediatric research and practice. We continually evolve the programme based on student feedback and changing demands in the health service and academic sectors.  
  • Gain insight into UCL’s world-leading paediatric research topics ranging across molecular genetics to population health sciences. UCL GOS ICH is a leading multidisciplinary research centre, committed to enhancing the understanding, diagnosis, therapy and prevention of childhood diseases. 
  • Benefit from our close links with GOSH, with much of our research and teaching carried out on a joint basis. 
  • Study and network with students from all over the world as part of an inspirational postgraduate learning environment. 
  • 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 the UCL GOS ICH library. 
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

This PG Cert will help you understand the core principles of evidence-based paediatrics and child health.  

Many of our graduates have gone onto complete their specialist training, 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

By the end of the programme, you’ll have valuable understanding of and academic skills in evidence based acute and chronic paediatric practice to take with you into your career. You will also have a taste of post graduate study which you may wish to pursue further. 

Networking

UCL GOS ICH offers seven Master's 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 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.

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

Your intellectual, academic and research skills will be assessed through unseen examinations and coursework. Assessment is through a combination of multiple-choice questions and short-answer questions, essays, posters, presentations, reflective portfolios and critical appraisal of the literature.

Typical contact hours and hours of self-directed study for this programme (per 15-credit module) are: reading hours (50 hours), engagement with online material (20 hours), lectures, seminars and tutorials (30 hours), revision (30 hours) and preparation for the final assessment e.g. coursework, essay (20 hours). Total 150 hours per module.

Most modules (depending on your choices) are delivered as blocks of study, normally over four or five consecutive days. Face-to-face contact for each of these days is normally from 9am–5pm. Outside of the taught blocks, we expect part-time students to spend around 17.5-hours a week in self-directed study. Flexible students study at a pro-rata rate.

Modules

The programme is taught mainly in one-week blocks dispersed throughout the year and you will need to take four taught modules (60 credits) within a 12-week period.

During the PG Cert you may wish to transfer to the MSc course. As all five routes for the MSc awards require the completion of a number of compulsory modules, you will need guidance on this requirement when you make your module choices for the PG Cert. This programme can only be taken part-time over one academic year or modular/flexible over two academic years.

Please note it is only possible to receive student visa sponsorship from UCL if you are studying on a full-time programme.

This programme can be taken over two calendar years of flexible study.

Please note it is only possible to receive student visa sponsorship from UCL if you are studying on a full-time programme.

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 60 credits. The programme consists of four optional modules and there are no compulsory modules. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Paediatrics and Child Health.

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.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £5,400 £5,400
Tuition fees (2025/26) £12,200 £12,200

Full-time = 12 weeks.
Part-time = 1 year.

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

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

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

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 at graduate level.
  • Why you want to study Paediatrics and Child Health 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.

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.

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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