MSt (flexible) in Genomic Medicine

Educational aims

The overall aims of the programme are to:

• provide professionally relevant teaching and learning informed by research in an integrated clinical and research environment;
• develop and create a cohort of doctors and other professionals allied to medicine able to pursue and develop their roles in the rapidly-changing and challenging environment of genomic medicine;
• prepare healthcare professionals for the adoption of genomic technologies and the increasing use of genomic information as part of the diagnostic and treatment pathway;
• develop researchers competent in the use of genomic technologies for biomedical research
• develop a cohort of health care professionals with the ability and confidence to lead service improvement for safe and high-quality patient care
• develop a cohort of health care professionals allied to medicine with an understanding of research methodologies and clinical opportunities relevant to genomic medicine;
• encourage a commitment to intellectual challenge and evidence-based clinical practice informed by the latest conceptual and theoretical knowledge of genomic medicine;
• develop students' intellectual, practical and transferable skills related to genomic medicine;
• encourage critical thinking related to genomic medicine;
• for the MSt, to conduct systematic research relevant to their professional practice;
• equip students for entry into health care professional training schemes including graduate entry medicine courses;
• prepare students for undertaking research degrees (PhD) in genomic medicine-related research fields;
• provide students from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other industries with an understanding of the relevance of advances in genomics for current and future health care.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Enhance students’ knowledge and critical understanding of recent developments in genomic medicine relevant to their present and future roles.
• Develop students’ knowledge and understanding of genomic medicine informed by research in a rapidly changing integrated clinical and research environment.
• Enable deployment of new knowledge in their clinical practice, and have a positive personal impact on the work of others in their clinical team and wider service.
• Develop an understanding of genomic technologies and to be able to use genomic information as part of the diagnostic and treatment pathway.
• Develop students’ knowledge so that they have the confidence to lead service improvement for safe and high-quality patient care.
• Update and extend students’ understanding of research methodologies and clinical opportunities.
• Demonstrate knowledge, abilities and skills to engage in focused, professionally relevant, independent learning, through the production of a dissertation.

Skills and other attributes

• The skills necessary to locate, read, interpret and analyse primary and secondary sources of material enabling the development of a conceptual and theoretical understanding of recent developments in genomic medicine.
• Skills to evaluate current scholarship and research critically and to place this knowledge within the context of their own situation and practice as clinical leaders.
• The ability to formulate a research topic relevant to their clinical context, to collect and analyse primary and/or secondary sources of data, and to undertake professionally relevant research.
• The facility to communicate the results of their ideas, research and its conclusions in a written form acceptable as a work of scholarship potentially publishable in a professional or academic journal.

Assessment

For the MSt (flexible), students must complete

• a research project of 10,000 to 12,000 words (to combine with 8 modules taken previously)

or

• a literature-based research project of 5,000 to 6,000 words plus two further modules (to make a total of 10 taught modules)

The fee for 2025 entry will be £5,850 for Home students and for overseas students, £15,237.

An application fee of £50 is payable for all applicants.

The fee status of EU nationals for 2021 entry onwards will be International by default until the UK government announce further details and amendments of the current regulation. EU students should regularly check for updates at: www.cam.ac.uk/eu

Students are required to fund travel, accommodation and subsistence during the programme of study.

HEE funding is available for NHS staff wishing to apply to study Genomic Medicine at The University of Cambridge for study of individual modules or modules as part of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or part-time Masters in Genomic Medicine.  Limited funding is also available for those wishing to extend their study from a Postgraduate Certificate or 4 modules to a Postgraduate Diploma or MSt. All funding is subject to availability.

Prospective students wishing to apply for HEE funding should apply for their course place in the first instance. HEE funding is accessed through the University following receipt of a conditional offer of a place to study (and not by applying directly to HEE).  For full details of details of the application procedure, including a useful flow chart, please refer to the HEE website here.

Applications will be considered in two batches; the first batch will consider applications received up until 31 January 2025 and the second (and final deadline) will consider any applications received from 1 February 2025 up until 30 April 2025. 

We reserve the right to carry over applications from one batch to the next where deemed appropriate. 

Eligible candidates will be invited to interview shortly after the batch application deadline and informed of final decisions within 4-6 weeks. 

How to apply

Read the MSt Application Guide to find out more about the application process and what you need to do and consider as a potential applicant. See below for details of the supporting documents you will need to provide when applying for this course.

Your application must include: 

• Curriculum Vitae (CV) 
• Copies of relevant qualification certificates and transcripts 
• Language proficiency (if required) 
• Contact details of two referees who will be contacted on your behalf 
• Evidence of funding (if applicable) 
• Employer support letter 

Additional guidance on completing your application (including restrictions associated with the use of AI) can be found here

Admissions and questions about applications:

For any queries or information about the admissions procedure, making an application or your application itself - please contact the Admissions team by clicking on the ‘Ask a Question’ link at the top right hand side of this webpage.

FAQs

Below you will find answers to the most frequently asked question or FAQs, relating specifically to the MSt (flexible) in Genomic Medicine. Please do read through these and you should find the answers to most questions.

For all other questions about the course or if you cannot find what you are looking in the FAQs below, then please click on, the ‘Ask a Question’ button at the top right of this page to send a message to the Course Team and we will respond as soon as possible.

When is the deadline for applications?

Applications for 2025/26 entry for the MSt (flexible) in Genomic Medicine can be submitted online until 30 April 2025. Applications are considered in two batches; the first batch will consider applications received up until 31 January 2025 and the second (and final deadline) will consider any applications received from 1 February 2025 up until 30 April  2025.

When will my application be considered? 

If you apply within the ‘batch one’ window, your application will be considered shortly after the closing date of 31 January 2025. If you apply during batch two, you will be considered shortly after 30 April 2025. We reserve the right to carry applications received during batch one over to batch two.   

When can I expect to hear back on a decision?

Decisions on applications will be made approximately 6 weeks after the relevant closing date.

Final decisions will depend on the strength of applicants in any one year.

Is this course available full-time?

No.  This course has been designed for part-time delivery as a top up the the Postgraduate Diploma (or PG Dip (flex) in order to permit students to work around their employment commitments. It is not possible for it to be studied on a full-time basis.

Who is the course aimed at?

The MSt (flexible) is only available to students who have previously studied the Postgraduate Diploma or Diploma (flex) in Genomic Medicine at the Institute of Continuing Education.