Find better ways to motivate and engage learners in clinical education with our Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education. Discover how to create medical education programmes that achieve maximum results, improve teaching practice and develop the expertise needed to lead medical education in your workplace.
- Study part-time alongside your professional commitments
- Apply what you've learned directly to professional work
- Conduct research and practical work in our outstanding research facilities
- Develop industry contacts and enjoy networking opportunities and support from Academic Advisors and the student office
Study options
- Starting in
- September 2025
- Location
- Whitechapel
- Fees
- Home: £4,100
Overseas: £8,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students
What you'll study
Our Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education has been specifically designed for doctors, dentists, senior nurses, allied health professionals and academics, involved in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching of clinicians.
It aims to attract committed educators working in and around clinical contexts, who seek to both improve teaching and learning. You’ll gain a deep understanding of how to evaluate and improve curriculum; and you’ll understand more fully the educational potential of the working environment.
You will be given opportunities to develop knowledge and skills as educators, using your own practice and workplace setting as a research context. You will engage with like-minded colleagues and analyse the nature and dynamics of teaching and learning in clinical education, drawing on a wide range of educational theories. This programme requires you to become an active researcher of clinical education in order to develop teaching and learning opportunities for students.
Successful completion of this course qualifies you to continue studying on our MA in Medical Education. Talk to our programme leaders if you would like to consider further study.
Structure
- Three compulsory modules
Compulsory/Core modules
This module will introduce students to key theories relevant to teaching and learning in the clinical context. It will enable students to engage in deep analysis and interpretation of patterns and practices of learning and teaching that occur in and around clinical settings. The module will focus particularly on the role of planning, delivering and evaluating teaching and learning in the clinical setting. It will provide participants with knowledge and skills that will enable them to develop and refine the quality of their interactions as teachers and educational leaders in their clinical workplace settings.
Through this module students will develop: a critical understanding of curriculum theory, policy and practice, and the history of curriculum development in clinical education; skills in leading and managing curriculum evaluation and development in clinical education; a comprehensive understanding of way curriculum is comprised of different levels (mandated, enacted, experienced), and the implications of this for developing curriculum evaluation in clinical education.
In this module students will apply theories from higher education to clinical education, highlighting both the transferable aspects, as well as the more unique aspects of education for health professions. Students will consider clinical and communication skills, simulation, assessment of competence and e-learning for health professionals. They will also critique current practices, review existing innovations and try to create new innovations for their own personal context of clinical education.
Assessment
- In the taught modules, assessments will include exams, written essays, group projects, research proposals and presentations
- Assignments for each module will engage you in researching and developing clinical education within your own workplace setting
Teaching
You’ll participate in day blocks of teaching. The workshops are designed to generate informed discussion around set topics, and may involve student presentations, group exercises and open discussion.
You will be taught by academic staff who are engaged in scholarship at the leading edge of clinical education. The course team are all active clinical educators themselves, and thus are intensely interested in studying the intricate and sometimes problematic relationship between theory and practice in education.
The direction of individual study will be guided by the formal study sessions attended - along with the overview offered by the reading lists and also the assignments and tutorials. You will take an active role in your own learning, by reading widely, reflecting on and developing, and expanding, your knowledge, understanding and critical abilities.
Where you'll learn
Facilities
- Queen Mary’s comprehensive libraries, including the Postgraduate Reading Room
- The book collections within the Queen Mary library system and a range of medical and clinical education journals.
- Other university libraries in the London through the SCONUL scheme
Campus
Your postgraduate learning experience is enhanced by our fantastic location in Whitechapel, in east London.
Not only are we in one of the capital’s most vibrant areas to live and work but we also serve a diverse local community, with 92 different languages spoken by the borough’s 300,000 residents. You will develop your clinical skills and knowledge while caring for this community. Moreover, the Institute offers you many exciting opportunities to develop an understanding of health and the treatment of disease in a global and international context.
About the Institute
Institute of Health Sciences Education
The programme is taught at the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE). The IHSE has a long history in medical and clinical education. In addition to a wealth of advanced courses, it conducts medical education research and evaluations, and leads quality assurance processes.
The Institute is part of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry – a leading UK medical and dental school and major faculty of Queen Mary University of London, which is at the forefront of medical education and research. We continue to make a real impact on health-related challenges for the benefit of local and global populations while providing the best in modern medical training. Our academics are leaders in their respective fields committed to sharing their expertise with aspiring clinicians and health professionals.
Career paths
This programme will give you a significant advantage in applying for leadership roles in education. For registrars, it will give you a competitive advantage when applying for positions as consultants.
- 100% of Institute postgraduate taught graduates are in highly skilled work or graduate study (2020/21)
Fees and funding
Part-time study
September 2025 | 9 months
- Home: £4,100
- Overseas: £8,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Unconditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Funding
There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.
- Scholarships and bursaries
- Postgraduate loans (UK students)
- Country-specific scholarships for international students
Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:
Entry requirements
UK
Degree requirements
A 2:2 or above at undergraduate level in any subject
a relevant subject
Additional information
The programme has been specifically designed for Doctors, Dentists, Senior Nurses, Allied Health Professionals and Academics, who are involved in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching of clinicians. Applicants need to have at least one year of experience in practice as a clinical educator to be considered for this programme. This includes experience in teaching in the clinical context.
Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.
International
English language requirements
The English language requirements for our programmes are indicated by English bands, and therefore the specific test and score acceptable is based on the band assigned to the academic department within which your chosen course of study is administered. Note that for some academic departments there are programmes with non-standard English language requirements.
The English Language requirements for entry to postgraduate taught and research programmes in the Institute of Health Sciences Education falls within the following English band:
Band 4: IELTS (Academic) minimum score 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each of Writing, Listening, Reading and Speaking
We accept a range of English tests and qualifications categorised in our English bands for you to demonstrate your level of English Language proficiency. See all accepted English tests that we deem equivalent to these IELTS scores.
Visas and immigration
We are not able to issue CAS to sponsor student visas for the part time variants of this programme. We can only offer you a place on this course if you have pre-existing permission to study in the UK as:
- A British or Irish citizen; or
- Not a British or Irish Citizen but have UK immigration permission, which does not restrict you from studying (For example, you have EU Settled or Pre-settled Status or a Skilled Worker Visa).
Find out how to apply for a student visa.