Program Overview

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Overview

The programme has been developed in line with the NIHR-AoMRC Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework to support practising healthcare professionals aspiring to work in clinical research delivery. Through the programme, you will continue developing your patient-centred approach to research delivery and understanding of measures of health outcomes. With a strong emphasis on using reflective practice to apply and transfer learning from the course, you will develop yourself as an adaptable, reflexive practitioner ready to lead clinical research delivery.

Entry Requirements

Normally a minimum 2.2 Honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. Relevant clinical or professional experience (more than two years post-qualification) may be taken into consideration as evidence of equivalency.

Applicants will be experienced healthcare professionals from any registered healthcare discipline, such as medicine, nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions (including pharmacists and healthcare scientists), or those who have worked in a relevant role for at least two years (e.g. clinical trials manager, clinical research practitioners, university postdoctoral researcher).

The target audience for this programme are clinical researchers based in NHS / public funded healthcare settings in England. We also welcome applicants from academia, social care, the devolved UK nations and countries outside the UK for whom the content is relevant.

Students who have successfully completed the PGCert will be eligible to join the PGDip / MSc programme with their prior learning recognised.

As part of your application, you will need to upload a completed PDF version of the linked Expression of Interest Form in the references section of University Admissions Portal.

If you are joining the University of Exeter Leading Clinical Research Programme following completion of the PGCert Leading Clinical Research Delivery at another institution, you should contact us at the point of application to confirm use of credits for the APL process. Please ensure you select the correct course (see details on the Expression of Interest form). You will also need to complete the APL process alongside your application. Students joining who have prior experience who have level 7 credits from another institution can use the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process. You should read the information regarding the APL process before applying.

The course attracts bursary funding for eligible students a number of sources. Information about bursaries can be found in the Funding and scholarships section below.

Course Content

Healthcare is becoming increasingly complex, with clinical work and clinical research requiring unprecedented levels of cooperation between diverse providers and multiple sectors. We will provide you with a strong theoretical foundation covering topics such as research leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as planning and piloting to ensure study feasibility and optimal delivery. Alongside this, you will consider the practicalities of doing clinical research and ways to improve participant recruitment. Our Research Practice Experience modules enables you to put theory into practice by being directly involved with a clinical research project.

Specialisms

Students following the MSc will be able to specialise in one of four areas:

• Leadership
• Research methodologies
• Genomic medicine
• Public health

by taking relevant 15-credit modules and choosing a related dissertation topic.

Modules

The programme is divided into study units or modules which are assigned a number of credits. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with one credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work. Each 15-credit module in the MSc Leading Clinical Research Delivery therefore requires 150 hours (around 12 hours of study per week, across a term). The 60-credit Master’s project is a full-year project that should take around 600 hours to complete. Most of your study will be asynchronous, allowing you to work through the online material at a time convenient for you. Modules will also have some compulsory contact days, where you will meet with your tutor and peers via Teams or Zoom (dates will be provided in advance to aid your planning).

The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

MSc Leading Clinical Research Delivery - Modules

• MSc Leading Clinical Research Delivery: 135 compulsory credits; 45 optional credits
• MSc Students studying part-time over 3 years would complete modules HPDM149Z, HPDM150Z, HPDM151Z and one non-compulsory module in Year 1, HPDM158Z and two non-compulsory modules in Year 2 and the Independent Research module in Year 3.
• MSc students studying part-time over two years would complete 180 credits over two years (maximum of 120 credits per year) with HPDM149Z, HPDM150Z and HPDM151Z compulsory in year 1 and HPDM158Z and HPDM148Z (Independent Research module) compulsory in Year 2. Optional modules could be taken in year 1 or 2.
• In addition to the credit-bearing modules of this programme, all students on Postgraduate Taught Programmes must complete the 0-credit Master’s Level Learning module (click here) as part of their Induction.

Compulsory modules

Code	Module	Credits
HPDM149Z	Integrity and Leadership in Research for Health and Healthcare	15
HPDM150Z	Doing Clinical Research	15
HPDM151Z	Research Practice Experience	15
HPDM158Z	Advanced Research Practice Experience	30
HPDM148Z	Independent Research	60

Optional modules

Specialism information: Students following the MSc will be able to specialise in one of four areas listed below, by selecting relevant 15-credit optional modules and choosing a related dissertation topic.

Code	Module	Credits
HPDM121Z	Epidemiology	15
HPDM136Z	Evidence to Decision: Health Technology Assessment, Health Policy and Resource Allocation	15
HPDM127Z	Principles of Primary Care	15
HPDM054Z	Statistics as Applied To Health	15
HPDM056Z	Clinical Trials	15
HPDM154Z	Future Health: Beyond Data	15
HPDM155Z	Future Health: Reimagining Systems	15
HPDM082AZ	Fundamentals of Human Genetics and Genomics	15
HPDM044Z	Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in Applied Genomics ONLINE	15
HPDM036Z	Omics Techniques and their Application to Genomic Medicine ONLINE	15
HPDM037Z	Genomics of Common and Rare Disorders	15
HPDM118Z	Structuring and Solving Public Health Problems	15
HPDM124Z	Principles of Health Protection	15
HPDM055Z	Qualitative Methods and Process Evaluations	15

Fees

2025/26 entry

UK fees per year:

• MSc: £6,100pa part-time 2 years, £4,050pa part-time 3 years
• PGDip : £4,050pa part-time 2 years
• PGCert: £4,050
• Standalone module fees: UK: £1,150 per 15-credit module

International fees per year:

• MSc: £14,300pa part-time 2 years, £9,550 pa part-time 3 years
• **PGDip: **£9,550pa part-time 2 years
• PGCert: £9,550
• Standalone module fees: International: £2,600 per 15-credit module

Funding and Scholarships

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.

University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship

We are pleased to offer University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone taught Masters degree (eg MA, MSc, MRes, MFA, LLM, PGCert, PGDip) or research degree (eg MPhil, PhD) with us a scholarship towards the cost of their tuition fees. These scholarships are worth 20% of the first year tuition fee for students enrolling on a postgraduate taught or research programme of study in 2025/26. Full details can be found here.

*Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.

Teaching and Research

Our online programme has been designed with flexibility in mind enabling you to enhance your knowledge and skills around your current schedule. The programme will include a combination of evidence-based educational formats, including workplace-based learning. You will have access to high quality interactive online learning to develop knowledge and insight in respect of the approaches to, and delivery of, clinical research. You will develop key knowledge, skills and behaviours to enable you to demonstrate capability as a clinician researcher when delivering aspects of networked research within your own practice.

During the Research Practice Experience (RPE) and Advanced RPE (ARPE) modules, you will develop practical experience in the supportive context of a clinical research network while working on existing research studies.

Careers

The NHS needs to develop and retain a broad range of clinician researchers, individuals with responsibility for leading or contributing to research locally within their clinical setting, to lead and support high quality clinical research in areas where there is the greatest disease burden. The Leading Clinical Research Delivery porgrammes provide an alternative route into clinical research for experienced clinicians who are new to clinical research.

The programme will provide the necessary networks, skills and confidence needed for clinicians to lead and support clinical research.