Teaching and learning

The Physics and Engineering in Medicine (PEM) MSc programme provides three pathways, depending on your career objectives:

IPEM-accredited Pathway [(1) Radiation Physics IPEM-accredited]:

This pathway is for students who wish to become a professional medical physicist or clinical scientist/engineer. Being a medical physicist or clinical engineer in a hospital requires extensive training and vocational experience. In the UK, medical physicists and clinical engineers must be state-registered. This generally involves completing an MSc degree that is accredited by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), and undergoing further vocational training working under supervision in a hospital medical physics department (or equivalent) to achieve chartered scientist or chartered engineer status (indicated by the designations C.Sci or C.Eng).

If you choose this pathway, your degree will be accredited by IPEM and therefore will meet the minimum educational requirements for UK medical physicist/clinical engineer training programmes.

In terms one and two, you will study medical imaging (using ionising and non-ionising radiation), essential physics of ionising radiation used in imaging and treatment, proton and radiotherapy, computing (including computer programming), and basic anatomy and physiology. You will also be exposed to elements of medical device design and entrepreneurship through a group project that extends into term three.

Early on in the programme, you will choose a research project, supervised by at least two members of research staff, which will become your main focus in term three. Research projects are available covering a wide range of areas, but typically involve developing and implementing a method to solve part of a healthcare problem (e.g. software to analyse a medical image or a device to measure a physiological signal), and perform experiments to test and validate the method. Most MSc research projects are linked with a specific UCL research group, and may be part of a larger research project, such experiments may make use of data collected from human volunteers, including patients. In most projects, you will have the opportunity to learn from and interact with university research staff with expertise in the area of your project.

Group and individual projects are designed to give you an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you have developed elsewhere in the programme, and to practise your oral communication skills via reports and presentations. There is also an oral examination in term three, where you will have the chance to further prove your oral communication skills.

Non-accredited Specialist Pathways [(2) Radiation Physics (no IPEM-accredited) and (3) Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging:

This pathway is available for students who prefer more flexibility in the modules they study and do not require an IPEM-accredited degree to meet their career ambitions. Students in this category often wish to pursue a career in industry or academia and sometimes have a strong sense of the area they wish to specialise in.

If you choose this pathway, you will be able to choose an area of specialisation at the start of the programme. The current specialisation areas are Radiation Physics and Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging.

In terms one and two, you will study medical imaging modules, a module covering basic anatomy, physiology, and electrical safety. The additional compulsory and optional modules you will study will depend on which specialisation route you choose. For instance, if you choose the biomedical engineering and medical imaging route, you will be able to select from two optional modules in topics such as orthopaedic engineering and other applications of biomedical engineering.

Early on in the programme, you will choose a research project, supervised by at least two members of research staff, which will become your main focus in term three. Research projects are available covering a wide range of areas, but typically involve developing and implementing a method to solve part of a healthcare problem (e.g. software to analyse a medical image or a device to measure a physiological quantity), and perform experiments to test and validate that method. Such experiments may make use of data collected from human volunteers, including patients since research projects are usually linked with a specific UCL research group, and may be part of a larger research project. In most projects, you will therefore have the opportunity to learn from and interact with university research staff who have expertise in the area of your project.

The research project, in particular, will provide you with an opportunity to apply knowledge and skills developed elsewhere in the programme, and will enable you to develop written and oral communication skills through reports and oral presentations.

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, practicals, assignments and a research project. Lecturers are drawn from UCL and from London teaching hospitals including UCLH, St. Bartholomew's, and the Royal Free Hospital. Assessment is through supervised examination, coursework, the dissertation and an oral examination.

Pathways include:

• IPEM Accredited Radiation Physics (TMSRPHSINA10)
• Radiation Physics (TMSRPHSING10)
• Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging (TMSMPHSBMI10)

Compulsory modules for pathways:

• All Pathways:
  • Medical Imaging with Ionising Radiation
  • Biomedical Ultrasound
  • MRI and Biomedical Optics
  • Clinical Practice
  • Medical Device Enterprise Scenario
  • MSc Research Project

• IPEM Accredited Radiation Physics pathway:
  • Ionising Radiation Physics: Interactions and Dosimetry
  • Radiotherapy Physics
  • Computing in Medicine
• Non-Accredited Radiation Physics pathway:
  • Ionising Radiation Physics: Interactions and Dosimetry
  • Radiotherapy Physics
  • + one optional module
• Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging (BEMI) pathway:
  • Medical Electronics and Control
  • + two optional modules

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 20 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 8 hours per week for the MSc 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.

A Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits) is offered.