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Statistics for Clinical Trials Apprenticeship MSc

Distance learning programme

This flexible online programme will provide you with an excellent grounding in statistics for clinical trials. You will learn about all types of trials, from early to late phase trials with simple to complex interventions, from both a design and analysis perspective. You will also learn to code in R and Stata. Coupled with the experience gained while on-the-job with a company graduates of this programme will be prepared to pursue meaningful careers in the academic field, industry, or further study at PhD level.

UK students International students
Study mode
Part-time
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
See Fees Note
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
See Fees Note
Duration
3 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2024
Applications accepted
All applicants: 16 Oct 2023 – 30 Aug 2024
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a related quantitative discipline (e.g. mathematics, statistics, biostatistics, genetics, computational biology). Clinicians and other allied health professionals are required to have a degree (for example, an MBBS) and evidence of having completed quantitative modules, as well as a keen interest in medical statistics.

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 911爆料网. 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


Clinical trials, and statistics in clinical trials in particular, is an expanding field of research that offers many exciting career opportunities for graduates. There has been constant progress in biomedical research, including molecularly targeted therapies in cancer, and messenger RNA technologies in vaccines in research. 

Statistics is a fundamental discipline in clinical trials. Statisticians ensure that study designs are statistically robust so that research questions can be answered. They carry out statistical tests, and assess uncertainty in the results, to determine whether the data supports the research hypotheses. 

Statistics are essential in discovering whether new healthcare interventions improve patients鈥� lives. Statistics is used at the design stage to compare possible designs, calculate the sample size, and at all trial stages until the final analysis and reporting of results.  

As a graduate of this programme with several years concurrent experience of relevant application, you will take forward practical skills and a critical thinking approach, with the ability to make a tangible and purposeful difference to patients鈥� health.

Who this course is for

Any students with a background in a quantitative subject, a demonstrable interest in clinical trials statistics and the support of a suitable organisation for the work-based element, can apply for the apprenticeship.    

On the government website you can find out more about the .

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at 911爆料网

What this course will give you

The Statistics for Clinical Trials programme with an integrated apprenticeship offers a postgraduate degree from a top university together with practical skills gained through a hands-on work placement. This combination deepens understanding and boosts employability.

Furthermore, the UCL Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology (ICTM) is a global leader in clinical trials with over 450 researchers, including clinicians, statisticians, trial and data managers and data scientists and programmers working within it, making it one of the largest such groups internationally. Staff have expertise in many different healthcare fields and you will meet and be taught or supervised by many of these researchers.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates will likely continue after the course to work as a clinical trial statistician in academia or industry or be well placed to apply for further study as part of a PhD programme.

Employability

Potential career opportunities include trial and data management (clinical trials route), clinical trial statistics (statistics for clinical trials route), regulation of clinical trials, and medical writing. Career destinations will include academic trials units, the pharmaceutical industry, contract research organisations, hospitals and government organisations. Students may also use this qualification as a springboard for further study at doctoral level.

Future career prospects will be enhanced on completion of this programme. Students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to become key team members in the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of high-quality clinical trials.

Networking

You will be invited to the Institute鈥檚 Monday lunchtime seminars (1-2pm UK time) which are hosted online on MS Teams. These seminars run throughout the academic year and feature invited speakers presenting on topics related to clinical trials / other research and initiatives relevant to staff and students in the Institute.
 
Students also have the opportunity to work with staff to set up an ICTM journal club 鈥� we will welcome volunteers to lead on this initiative each year. In 2023/24, we aim to set up UCL鈥檚 first Society for Online Students, giving online students the opportunity to network and make connections. 

Teaching and learning

Each module will be carefully planned to offer students opportunities for connection, discussion and collaboration.

There will be scheduled live online sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, timed to be as convenient as possible for our student cohort.  These sessions will be a mixture of live lectures and experience-based activities with opportunities for both whole and small group discussions.

Each module will also have a mixture of recorded lectures, recommended readings, educational videos and other online asynchronous activities. 

You will be directed to online resources, or guided to search for relevant material, to facilitate independent study.

You will be assessed by a variety of methods including unseen written examinations, oral presentations, written assignments (for example, essays, abstracts, background section of a protocol, critical analysis of published work, practical problem solving, communicating appropriately with different audiences).

Assessments are based on real world examples and activities that you would perform or need to be aware of if you work in clinical trials.

Most of the taught modules are based on one summative assessment, while some have two summative assessments worth 50% each.

There is also a variety of formative assessments across the programme to facilitate learning outcomes within a module, to help prepare for the module鈥檚 summative assessment or to help develop key transferable skills.

As this is a distance learning programme, teaching will be delivered online in real-time and complimented with pre-recorded sessions. The students are expected to supplement these with self-study.

The overall contact and self-directed study hours are 150 hours for a typical 15 credit module which includes approximately 3 hours live online seminars per week.

Modules

Students will complete four taught modules in Year 1 and four taught modules in Year 2. Live online teaching sessions are likely to take place on Tuesdays in Year 1 and on Thursdays in Year 2. 

In Year 1, students will complete the following modules: 
Introduction to Clinical Trial Designs 
Clinical Trials Statistics
Further Trial Designs and Outcomes 
Health Economics in Clinical Trials 

In Year 2, students will complete the following modules: 
Statistical Coding in Clinical Trials 
Statistical Inference and Models in Clinical Trials
Advanced Clinical Trials Statistics 
Meta Analysis in Clinical Trials

In Year 3, students will complete the research project and end point assessment.

Compulsory modules

Research Project and End Point Assessment







Clinical Trials Statistics

Introduction to Clinical Trials Designs


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 Statistics for Clinical Trials Apprenticeship.

Accessibility

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

Visit us

All open days and events

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Online - Open day

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Book a 15-minute appointment with a member of the Clinical Trials MSc team. They will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the programme, careers or studying at 911爆料网.

鈥�

Online - Open day

鈥�

Book a 15-minute appointment with a member of the Statistics for Clinical Trials MSc team. They will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the programme, careers or studying at 911爆料网.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25) See Fees Note
Tuition fees (2024/25) See Fees Note

This programme is funded by the Apprenticeship Levy.

Additional costs

There are no additional costs for this programme.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

As a degree apprenticeship, the costs of the programme will be covered through central government's apprenticeship levy, with the student apprentice also undertaking paid work for a relevant organisation alongside their studies. To be eligible, students must have a sponsoring employer in England, who will employ them in a relevant role for the duration of the apprenticeship.

Further information about this apprenticeship can be found on the .

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at 911爆料网, 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.

Please complete your application once you have secured a sponsoring employer, and before the advertised deadline. In your personal statement we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Statistics for Clinical Trials at post-graduate-level;
  • why you want to study the Statistics for Clinical Trials Apprenticeship MSc at 911爆料网;
  • what quantitative experience you have.

     

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: 2024-2025

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology
Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology

ictm.pgtstatisticsct@ucl.ac.uk

UCL is regulated by the .