Program Overview

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Clinical Trials Design and Patient Recruitment

Overview

This course integrates knowledge of the clinical trials process with patient recruitment.

Summary

This short course is designed to provide students with the ability to critically evaluate clinical trial design, and in-depth understanding of patient recruitment and the regulatory and ethical processes involved.

The course will also provide students with the ability to critically appraise clinical trial analysis, reporting and quality assurance.

Research into disease mechanisms and the development of disease diagnostics/therapeutics requires an understanding of clinical trial design including the ethical and regulatory requirements required. This course integrates knowledge of the clinical trials process with patient recruitment.

About this course

About

Research into disease mechanisms and the development of disease diagnostics/therapeutics requires an understanding of clinical trial design including the ethical and regulatory requirements required.

This course integrates knowledge of the clinical trials process with patient recruitment.

The aims of this course are:

• To demonstrate the importance of clinical trials in furthering clinical research.
• To develop knowledge on clinical trial design.
• To promote understanding of the regulatory requirements for clinical trial running and reporting.
• To identify and understand best patient recruitment strategies.

Linked programmes

• MSc Personalised Medicine
• PgCertPD Professional Development

Assessment

• Class Test (Written) [50%]
• Written assignment (Coursework) [50%]

Attendance

This course is delivered fully online for 12 weeks in Semester 2, starting 27 January 2025, with no on-campus attendance requirements.

Entry requirements

Students will be considered for entry to the course on an individual basis.

The basic entry requirements are outlined below:

Applicants must:

• have gained a second class honours degree or better with significant bioscience (or biostatistics) such as nursing, biomedical sciences, biology, pharmacy from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or
• an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma or an approved alternative qualification;
• provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent).

In exceptional circumstances, as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b), where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must meet the minimum English entrance requirements of the University and will need to provide recent evidence of this (certified within the last two years).

Most of our courses require a minimum English level of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent, with no band score under 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement.

Start dates

• 27 January 2025

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Fees and funding

Prices

• Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and EU Settlements Status Fees: £583.35
• England, Scotland, Wales and the Islands Fees: £583.35
• International Fees: £1,424.10

Fees information

Information about how to pay for a course including different payment options is available.

Additional mandatory costs

It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.

There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

Sustainability at Ulster

Ulster continues to develop and support sustainability initiatives with our staff, students, and external partners across various aspects of teaching, research, professional services operations, and governance.

At Ulster every person, course, research project, and professional service area on every campus either does or can contribute in some way towards the global sustainability and climate change agenda.

We are guided by both our University Strategy People, Place and Partnerships: Delivering Sustainable Futures for All and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Our work in this area is already being recognised globally. Most recently by the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact rating where we were recognised as Joint 5th Globally for Outreach Activities and Joint Top 20 Globally for Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals.