Clinical Research (Translational Medicine)
Receive broad training and practical experience in designing, implementing and reporting clinical studies.
Clinical Research (Translational Medicine)
Receive broad training and practical experience in designing, implementing and reporting clinical studies.
Receive training and practical experience in designing, implementing and reporting clinical studies
Develop expertise in using humans as the experimental model
Contribute to future medicines by improving factors in drug development
Course key facts
Qualification
MRes
Duration
1 year, 2 years
Start date
September 2026
Study mode
Full-time, Part-time
-
Fees
£16,000 Home
£47,300 Overseas
Delivered by
Location
-
Hammersmith
-
Qualification
PG Cert
Duration
1 year
Start date
September 2026
Study mode
Part-time
-
Fees
£8,000 Home
£23,650 Overseas
Delivered by
Location
-
Hammersmith
-
Course overview
Develop an interdisciplinary understanding of drug development for therapy and contribute to the search for future medicines.
You will receive training in making better use of preclinical science from laboratory and rodent studies, and how we can derive more useful information from experimental medicine.
Clinical Research
This is a stream in our Clinical Research course. Taught through innovative approaches to develop your skills, you will receive high quality training and research experience to embark on a successful career in human clinical research, or laboratory research relevant to human disease within the world-leading clinical research environment of Imperial College London.
You will also gain an understanding of “Bench-to-Bedside” research, where preclinical laboratory findings are translated to living humans to develop the disease treatment approaches of the future.
Whether you are interested in laboratory, data-driven or human clinical trial research, this course will develop the essential clinical research skills in your subject area of interest and prepare you for clinical research-oriented career or further research study, such as a PhD.
Choose your stream
- Translational Medicine (this stream)
- Diabetes and Obesity
- Human Nutrition – on-campus or online
Your pathway will dictate the topic focus of your degree, through a stream-specific module and 10-month research project.
Develop an interdisciplinary understanding of drug development for therapy and contribute to the search for future medicines.
You will receive training in making better use of preclinical science from laboratory and rodent studies, and how we can derive more useful information from experimental medicine.
Clinical Research
This is a stream in our Clinical Research course. Taught through innovative approaches to develop your skills, you will receive high quality training and research experience to embark on a successful career in human clinical research, or laboratory research relevant to human disease within the world-leading clinical research environment of Imperial College London.
You will also gain an understanding of “Bench-to-Bedside” research, where preclinical laboratory findings are translated to living humans to develop the disease treatment approaches of the future.
Whether you are interested in laboratory, data-driven or human clinical trial research, this course will develop the essential clinical research skills in your subject area of interest and prepare you for clinical research-oriented career or further research study, such as a PhD.
Choose your stream
- Translational Medicine (this stream)
- Diabetes and Obesity
- Human Nutrition (on-campus or online)
Your pathway will dictate the topic focus of your certificate through a stream-specific module.
Structure
This page is updated regularly to reflect the latest version of the curriculum. However, this information is subject to change.
Find out more about potential course changes.
Please note: it may not always be possible to take specific combinations of modules due to timetabling conflicts. For confirmation, please check with the relevant department.
You’ll study all the following modules.
Core modules
Explore and investigate the design, challenges and considerations and around research in humans, become familiar with clinical research regulatory frameworks, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), PPI, statistics in clinical research and clinical research study design.
Gain insight into the design and conduct of clinical research in non-typical and challenging situations and populations, as well as developing a rounded researcher skillset, initiative and confidence through a simulated realistic grant application exercise.
Develop the crucial ability to appraise clinical research literature, study design and judge its validity.
Investigate the challenges of developing drug and non-drug interventions, and how to meet these challenges.
You will develop an interdisciplinary understanding of why drug development has a high failure rate, and how we can alter our approach in preclinical science from laboratory and rodent studies, in addition to human clinical research to improve the success rate to develop medicines of the future.
Apply a range of clinical and laboratory techniques to a specific research area on an extensive project of your choosing.
The project topic will be based on your selected pathway, and supervised by a Imperial based research academic.
Your work will be assessed by a research proposal, research paper, poster presentation and oral viva voce examination.
You’ll study all the following modules.
Core modules
Explore and investigate the design, challenges and considerations and around research in humans, become familiar with clinical research regulatory frameworks, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), statistics in clinical research and clinical research study design.
Gain insight into the design and conduct of clinical research in non-typical and challenging situations and populations, as well as developing a rounded researcher skillset, initiative and confidence through a simulated realistic grant application exercise.
Develop the crucial ability to appraise clinical research literature, study design and judge its validity.
Investigate the challenges of developing drug and non-drug interventions, and how to meet these challenges.
You will develop an interdisciplinary understanding of why drug development has a high failure rate, and how we can alter our approach in preclinical science from laboratory and rodent studies, in addition to human clinical research to improve the success rate to develop medicines of the future.
Teaching and assessment
Balance of teaching and learning
This is a general guide to how teaching and learning are usually balanced across this course. The methods used may change based on the modules you take.
Key
- Lectures, seminars and independent study
- Research project
- 30% Title 1 goes here
- 70% Title 2 goes here
Teaching and learning methods
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Lectures
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Interactive workshops
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Journal clubs
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Virtual learning environment
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Presentations
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Group work
-
Project reports
-
Research proposal
Assessment methods
-
Case studies
-
Critical appraisal reports
-
Documentation
-
Oral examination
-
Poster presentation
-
Online exams
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-
Research Article
Balance of teaching and learning
This is a general guide to how teaching and learning are usually balanced across this course. The methods used may change based on the modules you take.
Key
- Lectures, seminars and independent study
- Research project
- 100% Title 1 goes here
Teaching and learning methods
-
Lectures
-
Interactive workshops
-
Journal clubs
-
Virtual learning environment
-
Presentations
-
Group work
-
Project reports
-
Research proposal
Assessment methods
-
Case studies
-
Critical appraisal reports
-
Documentation
-
Oral examination
-
Poster presentation
-
Online exams
-
Research Article
Entry requirements
We consider all applicants on an individual basis, welcoming students from all over the world.
How to apply
Apply online
You can submit one application form per year of entry. You can choose up to two courses.
This course is divided into two progressional levels of study:
- PG Certificate (PG Cert)
- MRes
Each level of study has its own separate entry point; you can apply to either level in the first instance.
Read more about Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Master's courses.
Consider which Clinical Research stream is right for you, according to your career aims and research interests.
When applying via our application portal My Imperial, choose the appropriate stream at the start of the application process:
- On-campus (any Clinical Research stream):
Select "Clinical Research" - Online (Human Nutrition stream only):
Select "Clinical Research (Human Nutrition) (Online)"
Choose the relevant options for your intended different mode and level of study: PG Cert, MRes 1YFT (1 year full-time) and MRes 2YPT (2 years part-time).
If an offer of admission is made, it will correspond to a specific pathway. Switching streams is only possible under certain conditions.
There is no application fee for Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas, or courses such as PhDs and EngDs.
If you are applying for a Master’s course, you will need to pay an application fee before submitting your application.
The fee applies per application and not per course.
The application fees for postgraduate courses are:
- £90 for all Master's applications, excluding those to Imperial Business School
- £125 for MSc applications to Imperial Business School
- £150 for MBA applications to Imperial Business School
If you are facing financial hardship and are unable to pay the application fee, we encourage you to apply for our application fee waiver.
Find out more about how to apply for a Master's course, including references and personal statements.
An ATAS certificate is not required for students applying for this course.
Fees and funding
Home fee (Clinical Research Translational Medicine)
MRes (full-time)
£16,000
Top-up fee from the PG Cert: £8,000
MRes (part-time)
£8,000per year
PG Cert (part-time)
£8,000total fee
You should expect and budget for your fees to increase each year.
Your fee is based on the year you enter the university, not your year of study. This means that if you repeat a year or resume your studies after an interruption, your fees will only increase by the amount linked to inflation.
Find out more about our tuition fees payment terms, including how inflationary increases are applied to your tuition fees in subsequent years of study.
Whether you pay the Home or Overseas fee depends on your fee status. This is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status. Find out how we assess your fee status.
If you're a UK national, or EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you may be able to apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan from the UK government, if you meet certain criteria.
The maximum value of the loan is £12,858 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2025.
The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Please note:
- The loan is only available if you’re studying a full Master’s course from the start.
- If you start on a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) and later move on to the Master’s, you won’t be eligible for this loan.
Overseas fee (Clinical Research Translational Medicine)
MRes (full-time)
£47,300
Top-up fee from the PG Cert: £23,650
MRes (part-time)
£23,650per year
PG Cert (part-time)
£23,650total fee
You should expect and budget for your fees to increase each year.
Your fee is based on the year you enter the university, not your year of study. This means that if you repeat a year or resume your studies after an interruption, your fees will only increase by the amount linked to inflation.
Find out more about our tuition fees payment terms, including how inflationary increases are applied to your tuition fees in subsequent years of study.
Whether you pay the Home or Overseas fee depends on your fee status. This is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status. Find out how we assess your fee status.
If you're a UK national, or EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you may be able to apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan from the UK government, if you meet certain criteria.
The maximum value of the loan is £12,858 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2025.
The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Please note:
- The loan is only available if you’re studying a full Master’s course from the start.
- If you start on a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) and later move on to the Master’s, you won’t be eligible for this loan.
How will studying at Imperial help my career?
Acquire transferable skills relevant to a career in clinical research.
Develop the clinical expertise required to pursue research positions within healthcare or to attend medical school.
Expert leaders in the field provide practical training for a research career.
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Our graduates often pursue further study in master's programs or doctoral research.
With specialised knowledge, you'll be highly sought after in a range of sectors.
Graduates have gained employment in areas such as clinical trials and the food industry.
Further links
Contact the department
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3313 6114
Email: s.hoskins@imperial.ac.uk
Course Directors: Professor David Owen and Professor Jonathan Valabhji
Visit the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction website.
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Register your interest
Stay up to date on news, events, scholarship opportunities and information related to this course.
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Events, tasters and talks
Meet us and find out more about studying at Imperial.
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Terms and conditions
There are some important pieces of information you should be aware of when applying to Imperial. These include key information about your tuition fees, funding, visas, accommodation and more.
You can find further information about your course, including degree classifications, regulations, progression and awards in the programme specification for your course.
Programme specifications