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Performing Arts Medicine MSc

Distance learning programme

This distance-learning MSc Performing Arts Medicine provides specialised training for health professionals to work with musicians, dancers, actors, circus artists and other performers. This is currently the only single master's degree that brings together all elements of performing arts medicine. Study on a full-time, part-time, or flexible basis towards a master's in performing arts medicine or a postgraduate diploma. The programme includes two residential weeks on campus at UCL.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£18,400
£9,200
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 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
All applicants: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A primary medical qualification (MBBS or equivalent) or a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university in a relevant discipline (e.g. medicine, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, nursing, sports science, biomedical sciences, athletic training) or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. A second-class Bachelor's degree (or the overseas equivalent) in psychology, speech therapy, or performance science is also acceptable for the PG Cert.

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.

The full-time and part-time versions of this programme are taught primarily online with some teaching taking place on campus in London. As such, international students who apply to this programme are not eligible to apply for a regular Student visa for full-time study in the UK.

To attend the on-campus teaching sessions for this course, international students will ordinarily use a UK Standard Visitor visa for study.

Please note that UK immigration rules are subject to change by the UK Government, as such, there is no guarantee that the current rules referred to here will be in place for the duration of your study with UCL.

Should you have any questions regarding visa compliance, please contact the UCL Student Immigration Compliance Team.

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



Assessing and treating a performing artist requires specialised skills, and the ability to associate health issues with specific artistic activities. This programme is for people in health services or health education and research who want to enter the diverse field of performing arts medicine.

You will gain knowledge of the art forms, their demands on the performer, and how these demands impact their physical and mental wellbeing. The course covers a review of the musculoskeletal system as this applies to performing activities, the occupational risks in performance, and the issues related to performance psychology and artists' mental health.

You will also delve into dance, circus, instrumental music and voice performance science, explore health promotion within the arts, and learn how chronic pain and disability can affect performance artists. MSc students also undertake a research project leading to a written dissertation on a relevant performing arts medicine topic.

This is currently the only MSc / PGDip that brings together all elements of performing arts medicine into a single master’s degree. It is a distance-learning course with two residential weeks on-campus at UCL. The course can be studied full-time in one year, part-time in two years, or flexibly over five years.

The research part of the course is supported by the Institute of Sport Exercise and Health, and the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine, as well as orchestras, theatre and circus companies, and music, drama and dance colleges.

Who this course is for

This programme is suitable if you have a background in medicine, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic medicine, manual medicine, nursing, sports therapy, athletic training, or biomedical sciences. If you are trained in another field, we will review your application individually. If you are a health professional who wants to gain a foundation in this area before progressing to this MSc / Diploma, a distance learning PGCert is also available.

With our distance-learning delivery, you will be part of a cohort from all over the world and benefit from the culture and wealth of experience this brings. When you graduate, you will join an international alumni community, with academic bonds spanning many countries.

If you are a health professional who wants to gain a foundation in this area before progressing to this MSc / Diploma, a distance learning PGCert (60 credits) is also available. PGCert students may upgrade to MSc / PGDip at a later year.

We can offer Zoom chats for prospective applicants. If you wish to meet with us, email dsis.performingarts@ucl.ac.uk and we will arrange a convenient time to talk to you.

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

What this course will give you

This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities.

  • The opportunity to learn about all performing arts disciplines and their genres, and the physical and psychological needs of performers.
  • The confidence to assess and diagnose or refer performers appropriately.
  • The ability to monitor rehabilitation and return to performance depending on the performer's professional background.
  • The knowledge and skills needed to help performers overcome potentially career threatening adversity.
  • The understanding and skills needed to work in performing arts clinics in various settings, including conservatoires, orchestras, music, or dance colleges.
  • An extensive curriculum updated regularly based on evidence-based literature.
  • Teaching by UK and international lecturers who are experts in their field.
  • The chance to contribute to an existing research project, or to explore a fresh topic in your area of interest. The research part of the course is supported by the Institute of Sport Exercise and Health (ISEH) and the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), as well as orchestras, theatre and circus companies, and music, drama and dance colleges in the UK and abroad.
  • If you are studying outside the UK, we welcome research collaborations with your local institutions.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

When you graduate, you will be part of a tight network of professionals from a variety of backgrounds that promotes and expands awareness and evidence-based knowledge in performing arts medicine. You will have the chance to participate in the delivery of future performing arts medicine courses and short courses, and in further research.

According to the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey (2018-2022), around 92% of Performing Arts Medicine graduates reported being in work, with the vast majority taking highly skilled roles.

My plan is to specialise in treatment systems and especially string players with shoulder and back problems. You're lucky to be able to combine the passions in your life - work and the love of the arts.

Kari Arnason

Kari Arnason

Performing Arts Medicine, MSc

Hear from our students

Employability

Careers in performing arts medicine vary from academic and educational to clinical and health supporting positions. You will be prepared for roles in multidisciplinary clinical settings or to apply your knowledge to professional private practice.

According to the HESA survey, Performing Arts Medicine graduates have gone on to work for a range of employers. These include:

  • Famous performing arts bodies such as the English National Ballet.
  • NHS hospital trusts.
  • Private healthcare businesses.
  • Specialist neuropraxic and orthopaedic treatment centres including the Sportorthopädie-Zentrum Hietzing in Vienna.
  • Behavioural change charities such as We Are With You, which specialise in substance abuse.

Their roles include physiotherapists, therapy professionals, biochemists and biomedical scientists, nursing, and teaching professionals.

You will graduate with highly valued knowledge and experience and become part of an ever-growing healthcare community with a common interest in the wellbeing of the performer. Graduates go on to present at international conferences and publish in journals across the growing global performing arts medicine community. Some also return to the UCL programme as tutors, supervisors or module leads.

If you want to progress to further academic study or research activity such as a PhD, we will offer the guidance you need.

Networking

There are many opportunities to network on this programme through our cross-disciplinary departments and research centres. We offer online and live events where you can meet and hear from researchers, performers and experts in the field. We also encourage students to broaden their skills and expand their networks by attending and participating at conferences.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through asynchronous online lectures. There are some live online discussions, with dates announced at the beginning of each term. You will also have access to e-resources, guides, and taught and self-learning activities in our virtual learning environment.

You will have clinical examination practical session teaching during your two residential weeks.

Assessment is through coursework, such as essays, blogs, infographics, posters or oral presentations, as well as online or campus-based written examinations. For clinical modules, assessment is through oral or group presentations or objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) during your residential weeks.

Teaching for full-time students is roughly 12 hours per week (compressed into 2-3 days) over the first two terms, alongside 10-12 hours of independent learning.

Part-time students have around six hours of teaching and 5-6 hours of independent learning a week.

On the flexible route, your hours vary according to the number of modules you are studying. You can expect roughly three contact hours per module per week, plus 2-3 hours of self-directed learning.

The third term includes two residential weeks (Year 1 for full-time students, Year 2 for part-time students). These contain 6-9 hours of teaching per day in the first week, followed by on-campus examinations in the second week.

You will also dedicate a significant amount of time to preparing for assessments and to your dissertation, which makes up a third of the time requirement for the programme (600 hours).

The Postgraduate Diploma consists of eight core taught modules (120 credits). The Postgraduate Certificate consists of four core taught modules (60 credits).

Modules

On the full-time programme, you will complete eight taught modules: four online modules in term one and four in term two. The two residential weeks at UCL take place in term three.

The rest of the academic year is used for assessment and examinations.

If you are studying the MSc, you will conduct a research project throughout the year. You will submit your dissertation in August and complete a research presentation and viva in September.

On the part-time programme, you will complete eight taught modules over two years.

In your first year, you will attend two online modules in term one and two in term two. You will take the remaining four online modules in your second year.

The two residential weeks will take place in term three of your second year.

The rest of both academic years is used for assessment and examinations.

If you are studying the MSc, you will conduct a research project throughout year two. You will submit your dissertation in August and complete a research presentation and viva in September.

On the modular programme, you will have up to five years to complete eight taught modules and you can choose the order in which you study them.

You will have guidance from our programme lead before starting the course to guide you in how best to structure the programme.

Module delivery and assessment dates are fixed for all students.

If you are studying the MSc, you will conduct a research project throughout your last year. You will submit your dissertation in August and complete a research presentation and viva in September.

Compulsory 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 up to the value of 180 credits depending on their course. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Performing Arts Medicine. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Performing Arts Medicine. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Performing Arts Medicine.

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.

Where you'll study

Medical lamp and equipment

As world leaders in medical and biomedical research, we design innovative courses for clinicians and scientists that meet new patient and industry needs. These are led by some of the greatest scientific minds, so you get a research-based learning experience. Our cutting-edge expertise ensures that you will be taught the latest techniques using the most advanced equipment. Our activities are split across three sites. Our Department of Targeted Intervention is based at Bloomsbury campus in central London. Our Department of Surgical Biotechnology is based at the Royal Free campus in Hampstead. Our Department of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science is based at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, north-west London.

Learn more about Surgery & Interventional Science

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £18,400 £9,200
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.

There is no fee deposit required for PG Dip and PG Cert applicants.

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

All core textbooks are available in the UCL Libraries and journal articles in your reading lists are also mostly available from our electronic resources. Some students like to purchase their own textbooks or to print course documents. We suggest allowing approximately £200 per year for this.

Students must also pay for accommodation, travel costs to teaching, clinic observations or project locations when necessary during residential weeks or research study. There is some guidance on the cost of living in London. You can also find out about the cost of using public transport at Transport for London.

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

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 Performing Arts Medicine at graduate level
  • why you want to study Performing Arts Medicine 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.

We may contact you for a short interview if we feel we need more information from you.

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

Division of Surgery and Interventional Science
Division of Surgery and Interventional Science

dsis.performingarts@ucl.ac.uk

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