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Physics and Engineering in Medicine by distance learning MSc

Distance learning programme

Combining physics and engineering expertise with clinical science, the skills you’ll learn with this interdisciplinary online Master’s will transform the future of healthcare. Study with the world-renowned UCL Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering – from anywhere in the world.

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)
£33,000
£16,500
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025

Applications not yet open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025

Applications not yet open

Find similar courses still open

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. Applicants with a lower than upper-second class degree may be invited for a short online interview with programme tutors as part of their application process.

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


Advances in physics and engineering are transforming human health, delivering new technologies and positive outcomes across a wide range of medical fields including radiotherapy and medical imaging.

With this online Master’s programme, you can play a part in the future of healthcare, immersing yourself in the theoretical and practical physics underpinning modern medicine, and applying your knowledge to help progress new medical technologies.

You’ll cover a broad and extensive range of medical physics disciplines and activities, selecting optional modules to match your interests in topics such as cancer therapy, medical device enterprise, human-machine interfaces and computing in medicine.

Studying at the second-highest-rated university in the UK for research strength (REF 2021), the distance learning and teaching are delivered asynchronously via video lectures, open-ended personal tutor support, top-up online tutorials and additional e-learning resources. Coursework and assessments are completed online with supervised exams arranged across the world by the British Council.

Who this course is for

The programme is particularly suitable for you if you have a first degree in physics – although an engineering degree is also acceptable. It is ideal if you are looking to develop an interdisciplinary approach to apply your skills in healthcare, and in particular if you're seeking employment as medical physicists in hospital, industry or university environments.

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

What this course will give you

This degree offers you the following benefits and opportunities:

  • Join a world-leading hub for interdisciplinary research and collaborations between computer scientists, physicists, mechanical engineers, biomedical scientists and medical practitioners across UCL and its affiliated teaching hospitals.
  • Receive the same lectures and labs as our on-campus MSc, and get additional support through extra tutorials and meetings with your specialist distance learning personal tutor
  • Benefit from the perspectives of world-leading clinical scientists and guest lecturers from UCLH, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Queen’s Square, St. Bartholomew’s, the Royal Free Hospital, and the National Physical Laboratory.
  • Learn from and work alongside research staff in a supportive and inclusive research environment, with regular opportunities for networking and professional development.
  • Develop your skills alongside renowned academics across UCL Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering; UCL Ranks 9th globally (QS World University Rankings 2025).
  • Earn the same IPEM-accredited MSc designed and delivered by the same expert faculty working on campus at UCL.
  • Enjoy opportunities to work collaboratively with the NHS, through our partnership with the UCLH NHS Trust, assisting health professionals to find important uses for new technologies.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

As a postgraduate student at UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, you’ll develop a robust set of valuable cross-disciplinary skills and knowledge you’ll be able to deploy in a wide variety of industry and healthcare environments.

Working alongside world-leading scientists, engineers and health professionals, you’ll also master project management, communication and teamworking skills, preparing you for more strategic roles in any organisation.

Employability

By the end of this Master’s, you’ll be well placed to pursue diverse careers and opportunities – from doctoral research to roles in industry and positions that contribute to emerging technologies such as the use of AI in healthcare. 

Your expertise will be relevant in both private and public healthcare. Many graduates of this Master’s go onto technical or strategic roles in hospitals either overseas or here in the UK

Alternatively, you could explore research and development roles in industry settings, designing and implementing new technologies within multinational medical device companies or med-tech start-ups.

Graduates of this course have gone onto work with a wide range of employers in hospitals around the world, major industry companies such as Elekta, Siemens, Nikon and prestigious university research departments. 

The IPEM Accredited Radiation Physics pathway of the MSc is a recognised part of the NHS Clinical Scientist “Route 2” training. This pathway is for students who wish to become a professional medical physicist or clinical scientist/engineer. Many graduates take this career path after or even during their studies for part-time students.

Networking

This programme will see you build your professional network in a number of ways:

  • Benefit from our national and international collaborations across the clinical, industrial and academic sectors. We have close links with many London hospitals (University College London Hospital, Great Ormond St Hospital, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Royal Free Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospital, Whittington Hospital) as well as organisations like the National Physical Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Neurology and a wide range of MedTech companies ‘spun out’ from departmental research.
  • Get involved in our wider network of charities, research councils and international organisations, and support partner projects like our recent infant optical brain imaging work in Africa
    Benefit from supervision and mentorship from scientists and engineers who collaborate nationally and internationally across clinical, industrial and academic sectors.
  • Network with external partners and explore opportunities to showcase your research output at international conferences, private industry events and clinical centres to potential employers.
  • Build your networks further (and socialise) through clubs and societies at UCL, such as the UCL MedTech Society.

Please note that distance learners are invited to engage in all these opportunities. Students on this MSc can optionally attend hospital visits, and will be invited to attend the annual National Physical Laboratory visit (this is also optional). Distance learners get access to the clinical lecturers in their modules, and can undertake research projects with them. 

Accreditation

This MSc programme is fully accredited by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) for students who wish to become a professional medical physicist or clinical scientist/engineer.


To become a medical physicist or clinical engineer working in a UK hospital, you’ll need:

  • Extensive training
  • Vocational experience
  • State registered status.

This requires you to complete an MSc accredited by IPEM, and then to undertake further vocational training working under supervision in a hospital medical physics department (or equivalent). 

Once these conditions are satisfied, you’ll be eligible to register as a Chartered Scientist or a Chartered Engineer (CSci or CEng).

Teaching and learning

The Distance Learning route of the MSc is based around the same lectures and seminars, recorded as videos, as the “On-Campus” route. This comes with regular tutorials, meetings and support from a specialist Distance Learning personal tutor.  Lecturers are drawn from UCL and from London teaching hospitals including UCLH, St. Bartholomew's, and the Royal Free Hospital. 

All materials are available to study asynchronously, although some students may take up the opportunity to attend some live lectures or labs, either in person or online. The number of hours depends strongly on whether you study Full-Time (1 year MSc), Part-Time (2 year MSc), or flexibly (up to a maximum of 5 years).

Assessment is through supervised examination, coursework and assignments, a research dissertation and an oral examination.

Each module consists of around 30-40 lectures. On top of your lectures, you’ll spend time outside of class reviewing the material and completing coursework.

In total, you’ll need to spend approximately 35-40 hours a week on your studies as a full-time student (part-time students see below).

Much of this time will need to be dedicated to your research project. By the second term, as a full-time MSc student, you should be spending up to 8 hours a week working on your research project. In the final term (after your exams), you’ll be able to concentrate exclusively on your project.

If you’re studying part time or on flexi-time, this study commitment is divided up on a pro-rata basis. This can all be discussed with your tutor during the course induction programme, who will design a timetable to suit your personal circumstances.

A Postgraduate Diploma, eight core modules (120 credits), is offered.

Modules

Full-time study means you study all modules in one year; 7 taught modules, with the group project module and your individual research project.
 

As a distance learner, there is some flexibility, but we recommend you aim to complete the work as follows:
 

Term 1: Four taught modules
Term 2: Three taught modules
Term 1, 2 & 3: Individual research project and group project module

Part-time study means you study all modules across two years:

Year 1: Four taught modules
Year 2: Three taught modules, Individual research project and group project module

The flexible route is designed to suit your needs or available study time. 

You would expect to complete your studies in 2-4 years, with a 5th year as a contingency (you must complete your studies within 5 years). 

The number of modules studied each year varies depending on student preference. The teaching team and your personal tutor will be able to advise you on a suitable study plan.

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 Physics and Engineering in Medicine by distance learning. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Physics and Engineering in Medicine by distance learning.

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.

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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) £33,000 £16,500

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.

There are no additional costs associated with 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

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 Physics and Engineering in Medicine at graduate level
  • why you want to study this UCL programme by distance learning
  • whether you have relevant industrial, clinical or workplace experience
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally after 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.

Got questions? Get in touch

Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering

medphys.teaching@ucl.ac.uk

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