
Surgical Innovation
Explore how surgery has radically changed and continues to innovate in the 21st century.
Explore how surgery has radically changed and continues to innovate in the 21st century
Tailor your learning to meet your individual career needs on a modular, multidisciplinary study programme
Build transferable skills in education, leadership and safety and understand the issues involved in applying technology to surgery
Course key facts
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Qualification
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MSc
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Duration
2 years
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Start date
September 2023
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Study mode
Part-time
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Fees
£15,800 Home
£40,800 Overseas
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Delivered by
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Location
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Hammersmith
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St Mary's
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Minimum entry standard 2023
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2:1 in science, engineering, computing, healthcare or education
Course overview
Explore how surgery has radically changed - and continues to advance - on this Master's course.
You'll examine a broad range of both clinical and non-clinical topics relevant to an ongoing career in surgery.
This course helps you develop key surgical skills in education, leadership, safety and quality. You'll build familiarity with current technological innovation in the NHS environment.
You'll also appraise and evaluate the scientific basis of surgery, and analyse issues involved in the application of technology to surgery.
The modular programme allows you to tailor your studies to meet your career needs, with the ability to develop your learning on specialist streams during your second year.
You'll then apply research methodologies from the course to an extensive individual project, guided by supervisors at Imperial.
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.
You’ll study the following core modules.
Core modules
Gain an in-depth knowledge of the principles of surgery, and analyse and learn from clinical cases.
Become familiar with technological developments and innovation that have provided major turning points in surgery, and learn about state-of-the-art interventional technologies and imaging.
Examine the science and practice of quality and outcomes improvement, including the range of tools and methods that have been applied within surgery in the past decade.
Assess key practices and debates within surgical education, and review different training systems and selected policy frameworks.
Build on your existing research methods knowledge and expand it as it applies to modern surgical research.
You’ll pick a further two modules from a specialist stream.
Each specialist stream consists of two compulsory modules.
- Colorectal Surgery
- Ear, Nose and Throat
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Transplant Surgery
- Trauma Surgery
- Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
- Vascular Surgery
Specialist modules
Analyse a broad spectrum of benign and malignant conditions, and explore recent technological advances in the diagnosis and management of colorectal pathologies.
Understand the medical and surgical management of IBD and other benign conditions including diverticular disease, anorectal conditions and functional bowel disorders.
Explore the care of patients with a range of inflammatory conditions and the innovative technologies and pathways transforming care.
Analyse major musculoskeletal injury patterns and the treatment available for them.
Deepen your understanding of oesophago-gastric cancer and benign disease and explore all the major aspects of managing patients with OG cancer.
Develop the knowledge to assess and manage people who are overweight and obese, including the increasing numbers who have surgical intervention.
Broaden your understanding of vascular disease and the new technologies and treatments in this area.
Advance your knowledge of carotid disease, peripheral arterial disease, and venous disease.
Explore the mechanisms of trauma in the context of the complex physiological processes which occur during the first few hours after trauma occurs.
Assess key aspects of operative management, including haemorrhage control, damage control surgery and multi-system polytrauma.
Understand how an MDT team leader takes responsibility for the donation and transplantation process and works efficiently to implement modern clinical pathways.
Receive a comprehensive overview of the principles and technical aspects of modern organ donation and transplant surgery
Understand the link between technological advances and clinical practice of ENT, including specific advances relating to current practice.
Learn how to evaluate and ethically adopt technological advances and bring a scientific approach to your future practice.
You’ll identify a suitable research topic / innovation in surgery for development and conduct a review of recent relevant literature.
Draft a Case for Support, to include the research question(s) / objectives, methodology, workplan and budget.
You'll also produce a five-minute pitching video, followed by a short Q&A session.
You’ll carry out a research project, which concludes with a 10,000-15,000 word dissertation.
You'll submit a research proposal, prepared with your supervisor(s), that presents a synopsis of the project.
You’ll then apply research skills and methodology from the course to an eight-month project, with regular guidance and feedback from your supervisor(s),
This provides opportunities to discuss research design, ethical issues, methodology, data acquisition and analysis, results, and the dissertation writing process.
Teaching and assessment
Balance of teaching and learning
Key
- Lectures, seminars and online learning
- Independent study
Year 1
- 15% Lectures, seminars and online learning
- 85% Independent study
Year 2
- 0% Lectures, seminars and online learning
- 100% Independent study
Teaching and learning methods
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Virtual learning environment
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Interactive lectures
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Case-based discussions
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Face-to-face teaching
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Debates, discussions and panels
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Practical sessions
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Group presentations
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Pre-module activities
Balance of assessment
Key
- Coursework
- Practical
- Exam
Year 1
- 70% Coursework
- 28% Practical
- 2% Exam
Year 2
- 100% Coursework
- 0% Practical
- 0% Exam
Assessment methods
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Online MCQs/MEQs
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Preparation of teaching video
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Structured debates
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Group presentations
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Academic oral presentations
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Mock clinical MDTs
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Written and practical examinations
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Critical reflection
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Evidence-based mini project
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Topical essay
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Online case studies
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Mock grant application and literature review
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Research dissertation
Entry requirements
We consider all applicants on an individual basis, welcoming students from all over the world.
How to apply
If you are applying for a taught Master’s course, you will need to pay an application fee before submitting your application.
The fee applies per application and not per course:
- £80 for all taught Master's applications excluding those to the Imperial College Business School
- £100 for all MSc applications to the Imperial College Business School
- £150 for MBA applications to the Imperial College Business School
There is no application fee for MRes courses, Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas or research courses, such as PhDs and EngDs.
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.
Tuition fees
Home fee
2023 entry
£15,800
You should expect and budget for your fees to increase each year.
Your fee is based on the year you enter the College, 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.
For 2022-23 entry, the maximum amount is £11,836. The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Overseas fee
2023 entry
£40,800
You should expect and budget for your fees to increase each year.
Your fee is based on the year you enter the College, 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.
For 2022-23 entry, the maximum amount is £11,836. The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Your future career
Understand the rapidly changing nature of surgery and gain ongoing development to further your career.
The programme parallels the training of surgeons and allied healthcare professionals such as members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS).
With specialised knowledge, you'll be highly sought after in a range of sectors.
Advance your career in a variety of fields including academic surgery, specialisation and research (clinical and non-clinical).
Further links
Contact the department
Course Director: Professor Fernando Bello
Senior Lecturer: Mr Christopher Peters
Visit the Department of Surgery and Cancer website.

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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