StudyQA — Master: Surgical Science — Imperial College London

Photos of university / #imperialcollege

Description Contents Requirements Funding More

This course aims to provide surgeons-in-training with a grounding in research methodology and basic sciences applied to surgery, in addition to the opportunity of acquiring experience in their chosen surgical specialty, including an aspect of clinical or applied research.

Within the unique environment of Imperial College London, students are offered the combination of a large surgical department covering most of the specialities in surgery, with teaching and research in the clinically applied basic sciences. Utilisation will be made of the campuses at St Mary’s, Charing Cross, Chelsea & Westminster, St Mark’s and associated Hospitals for specialised modules or research projects.

The course consists of a central stem of lectures and seminars common to all students and a specialist module chosen from areas of surgery.

Course Structure
The course consists of:

A programme of core and stem lectures, together with seminars in which students are given instruction in the basic sciences that apply to the whole of surgery. This runs throughout the first six months.
A specialist module in one of the following:
General Surgery (including HPB Surgery)
Urology
Cardiovascular Surgery
Orthopaedic and Accident Surgery
Surgical Specialties (e.g. ENT, Plastics, etc.)
For the specialist module, students are attached to a clinical team and also undertake a surgical research project on a particular aspect of clinical or applied basic research.

In May and June, an examination will take place in the stem programme subjects, surgical science in general, and in the candidate’s chosen area. Towards the end of August the candidate will present a thesis on a topic in which he or she has been supervised. This thesis would usually be based upon laboratory or clinical work, within a programme of research. It may however be a review of a particular clinical topic, provided there has been a comprehensive literature review, with independent conclusions drawn.

Course Timetable
The stem programme will take place during the first two ten-week terms and will be provided by staff from Imperial College. The subjects covered will include:

Infectious Diseases
Intensive Care
Immunology
Principles of Molecular Biology as Applied to Surgery
The Principles of Medical Statistics
Imaging
Laboratory Practice
Students will also be instructed on how to manage a literature review and will be taught computerised literature retrieval.

The stem programme includes two sessions of research project presentations: one in the first term, which provides students with the opportunity to present their research protocols to the departmental staff, and the second towards the end of the course, when students will be expected to present the results of their research work to date.

Students will spend the remainder of each week pursuing their specialist module: split between working on a research project, attending clinical sessions, and participating in ‘journal club’ tutorial sessions. Precise timetables will vary according to the specialist module.

The lectures/seminars/tutorials will take place in the Hammersmith Hospital and associated hospitals.

Medical graduates with a minimum of 2 years' postgraduate experience in surgery. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate an interest in an aspect of surgery. It would be an advantage, but not essential, for students to already have GMC registration prior to entry. All students will have to obtain full health clearance.

Dean's Master's Scholarships

Home/EU Students

Full tuition fees and a stipend of £17,000
5 places are available

Overseas Students

Full tuition fees and a stipend of £17,000
4 places are available

Stipends will be paid in monthly instalments, subject to satisfactory progression. Awardees on courses which last more than a year will have their £17,000 stipend spread over the full lengh of the degree.

The Faculty offers a wide range of Master's degree courses, as well as PG Certificates and Diplomas, and all students will belong to the Graduate School, which provides a comprehensive Transferable Skills Programme.

For any queries not covered here, please email James Osborne (PGT Administrator, Faculty of Medicine) at james.osborne@imperial.ac.uk.

Please note that there may be other scholarships offered by Schools, Institutes and Departments that make up the Faculty of Medicine. These are separate from the Dean's and Faculty Master's Scholarships described here and entail a different application process.

Eligibility

General Eligibility

These awards are open to all students who have made an application to the Faculty of Medicine by 30 April 2015 for admission to study for a full time or part time Master's course* at Imperial College London, starting in October 2015 (*or PG Cert for a course where that is the only route to the higher degree).

Please note that these awards can only be given to students who are studying a course run by the Faculty of Medicine. For a full list of these courses, please see our Master's Degree page.

It is not essential for applicants to have already received an offer of a place on a course, but the initial course application must be made before applying for a scholarship.

Residence Eligibility

Applications are accepted from talented candidates from Imperial College London, the UK and worldwide. There are no restrictions on nationality.

Academic Eligibility

Candidates are expected to be able to provide evidence of outstanding academic ability. This will usually mean being among the highest achievers in their undergraduate cohort and in receipt of, or due to receive, a first class UK Honours degree or equivalent.
An applicant who does not meet this requirement (e.g. holds a second class undergraduate degree, is a health professional who did not undertake a degree course, or is from a non-traditional background*), will be considered if they are able to demonstrate that they have outstanding academic potential and substantial experience relevant to their chosen subject area. This should be included in the Personal Statement section of the application form. (*Those applicants without a degree will be required, where available, to pass a Special Qualifying Examination to gain entry to the chosen course).
Candidates with degrees from overseas institutions are strongly urged to determine if their scores/grades are equivalent to the relevant eligibility criteria.
Candidates who already have a postgraduate qualification should justify their request to have an additional postgraduate course funded by the faculty. This should be included in the Personal Statement section of the application form.
Candidates who wish to apply for a Master's course which starts as a PG Cert or PG Dip will only be considered if they are committed to completing the course to Master's level.
Scholarships awarded based on predicted grades will be conditional upon final results.

How to Apply
In order to be considered for the Dean's Master's Scholarships, potential candidates will need to have first applied for a place on a Master's course in the Faculty of Medicine. It is not essential to wait for an offer of a place to be made, but the initial course application must be made before submitting a scholarship application. To apply for a Master's course, please use our online admission system.

Once the application for the course has been submitted, those who wish to apply for a scholarship should complete our online form (Note: the Scholarship award panel will assess candidates on their scholarship application form NOT their course application, so make sure all key information is included in your scholarship application). The form will need to be completed in a single session, so please have the following information prepared:

Personal statement (not more than 1000 words).
Details of qualifications, achievements, awards, relevant experience and publications.
The title/s of the course/s which you have applied for.

Shortlisting will take place in May 2015. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interviews which are currently scheduled for the week commencing Monday 8 June 2015. All interviews will take place via Skype between 9.00 and 17.00 BST. The scholarship application form includes a question regarding your country of residence in June 2015. We will use this information to identify your time zone and try to tailor your interview time accordingly, although we cannot guarantee that the slot allocated to you will be convenient for your time zone.

All candidates will be informed of the decision by the end of June 2015.

References

We will use the references that you provide as part of your course application process. Please do not send references to us directly as we will be unable to accept them. It is not essential that we receive your references in time to consider your scholarship application, although their absence may weaken your application. It is therefore recommended that you contact your referees directly to ask that they respond to your course application reference request before Friday 8 May 2015 (one week after scholarship applications close).

Terms and conditions

When applying for Faculty of Medicine Master's Degree Scholarships, candidates must agree to Imperial's terms and conditions regarding scholarships and bursaries.

Please note, the following conditions override the standard Imperial terms and conditions:

Both part time and full time students are eligible to apply.
An offer of a place is not required before applying, but candidates must first apply for a Master's course run by the Faculty of Medicine before applying for a scholarship.
Candidates who do not apply through the online form will not be considered for the Dean's Master's Scholarships.
Successful applicants who receive a Dean's Master's Scholarship will not be allowed to accept any other form of scholarship or bursary provided by Imperial College London for study during the 2015/16 academic year.
Scholarship stipends will be paid in monthly instalments over the length of the course, subject to satisfactory progress. Students on courses which are part time or start as a PG Cert will have their stipend paid in equal monthly instalments over the full length of the course.
Awardees will be required to participate in a small number of promotional activities during the course of their studies and allow their image to be used by Imperial for publicity purposes. Such activities may include (but are not limited to) attending special events and producing occassional print or web copy.

Deadline for applications is Midnight 30 April 2015

Applicants will be given a decision by 30 June 2015.

Applications are invited from outstanding candidates from Imperial College London, the UK and worldwide who have the potential to become leaders in their field.

Accepted students will require vaccinations to protect against infection and to comply with the Control of Infection policies of the hospital sites where they will be studying. It is vital that students have health clearance, as there will be patient contact and work with clinical specimens throughout the course. Students will be required to bring copies of any test results to check vaccination response upon arrival to College. Further details and a questionnaire will be sent to candidates with the offer of admission.

Tuition fees (2015–2016):