The MSt in Medical Education is part of University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education’s (PACE) award-bearing suite of postgraduate awards in Medical Education for educators, educational leaders and researchers. The MSt builds on and provides progression from the very successful PG Certificate and PG Diploma courses in Medical Education.
Increasingly, doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals are seeking flexible career pathways that allow them to develop a portfolio of work in areas of specialty or interest– education being one of these. The part-time MSt in Medical Education has an emphasis on educational development and research activity, providing opportunities for participants to put their educational knowledge to use in their own context(s) of practice.
The programme is only open to those who have successfully completed the University of Cambridge Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education.
The course is delivered through face-to-face teaching sessions requiring attendance in Cambridge, self-directed and peer learning, and synchronous and asynchronous approaches provided via the course virtual learning environment [VLE].
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Key Features
Educational Aims
The programme aims to develop individuals who are able to recognise and respond to opportunities to develop their own and others educational practice through the considered design and implementation of a small-scale educational research or development project.
This will include:
- exploration of project design principles, including methodological choices
- familiarisation with a range of educational research, development and evaluation methods
- purposeful and in-depth engagement with their chosen project design methodology and linked methods
- purposeful engagement with approaches to data selection, data generation and data analysis methods (linked to their chosen design)
- rehearsing different ways of communicating complex ideas in written/verbal/graphic form for different audiences (eg academic audience, professional audience, members of the public etc)
Learning outcomes
By the end of the MSt in Medical Education, within the constraints of the course, students should be able to demonstrate:
- a capacity to purposefully design, implement and critically appraise an educational project that has the potential to inform or change practice
- an ability to position their project in relevant policy/practice context and to provide a coherent account of the conceptual and methodological choices they have made in design and implementation
- the ability to communicate complex and novel ideas in accessible ways, for a range of audiences and purposes
- awareness of personal responsibility and professional codes of conduct throughout all stages of the project, working in transparent and ethical ways.
Student Support
Depending upon your needs, a variety of support opportunities are available to you including wellbeing support sessions, short-term counselling, and study skills support sessions. Find out more in our student support webpages.
In order to apply for this course, you must previously have completed the PG Diploma in Medical Education at PACE.
Academic requirement
Applicants for this course are expected to have achieved a UK 2.i honours degree or equivalent.
Language requirement
If English isn’t your first language, you will be required to submit evidence that you meet the University’s English language requirement before you are admitted.
Please see full details on the University Language Requirement webpage.
Language requirements for this course are below:
- IELTS Academic: Overall band score of 7.5 (with a minimum of 7.0 in each individual component)
- TOEFL Internet: Overall score of 110 (a minimum of 25 in each individual component)
- C1 Advanced: Grade A or B (with at least 193 in each individual element), plus a Language Centre assessment.
- C2 Proficiency: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200, with no element lower than 185)
There are no exceptions to this requirement and, if you are offered a place on the course, it will be subject to you meeting this requirement.
Visa information
Students registered on a part-time Master of Studies (MSt) will be able to attend the short teaching sessions with a visitor status in the UK. Entry to the UK as a visitor has a number of expectations and restrictions which you should consider carefully.
Further information is provided on the International Students website and prospective students are advised to read this in full.
Students attending sessions taking place at intervals across the year with a visitor status are expected not to remain in the UK for extended periods. The majority of study must be undertaken outside the UK and generally students will be required to leave the UK at the end of each session and return for the next. As a visitor on a course of more than 6 months, it is not possible to make the UK your main study location or residence, or make frequent or successive visits to stay in the UK for extended periods.
Teaching
This is a part-time course designed to fit with the demands of full-time employment.
Each module has been designed to link firmly to the next, supporting the design, implementation and write up stages of the project. For each module there is shared learning in 2-day face-to-face teaching blocks.
Please note, all date information and teaching delivery may be subject to change.
Teaching delivery:
- Wednesday 01 & Thursday 02 October 2025 (two day teaching block)
- TBC November 2025 - ASME RME conference
- Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 January 2026 (two day teaching block)
- Tuesday 30 March 2026 (one day synchronous online teaching session)
- Monday 01 & Tuesday 02 June 2026 (two day teaching block)
The contact days during the sessions are designed to be interactive, recognising the rich resources students offer to the learning process. There will be opportunities to rehearse aspects of project design, including data collection and analysis methods; these will be explicitly linked to student project choices. Teaching methods include formal input (micro-lectures), case study work, small group work and peer presentations.
Each student has a named supervisor and will work with them to identify preferred ways of working (face to face or remote supervision) and patterns of supervision over the year.
Supervision
Each student is allocated a named supervisor and should expect to access up to 12 hours of supervisor time, which includes supervisor time to read and respond to draft work but does not include time to mark summative assessment submissions.
Assessment
There are three linked assessment points, designed to support student development and progression:
- a project proposal of between 3,000 - 4,000 words.
- a project presentation of no more than 15 minutes duration accompanied by a short reflective piece (1,500 - 2,500 words) focussed on their learning from the task
- a project report is the final submission and should ‘tell the story’ of the student's project work in an appropriate form that allows them to evidence achievement of the programme learning outcomes. The project report and any adjuncts should be the equivalent of 8,000 - 10,000 words.
The Dissertation
All students will undertake an educational project, either research or development The project report and any adjuncts should be the equivalent of 8,000 - 10,000 words.
With both types of projects, students’ are required to produce work that meets all programme outcomes at masters level. This includes working ethically, even if formal ethical permissions are not required.
If they elect to undertake an educational research project (ERP) (using either primary or secondary data) they would be required to seek formal ethical permissions. If undertaking an educational development project (EDP), this may not be required.
Other Assessment
Attendance at all of the units in Cambridge and full and active participation in all elements of the course is compulsory.
Fees
The fees for 2025-26 entry will be £5,169 per annum for Home students and £10,341 per annum for overseas students. The combined graduate fee includes College membership.
Students will be expected to cover the application fee (£50 online) and any costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence during the course and sessions in Cambridge.
Funding
Bursary funding for a limited number of places will be available from Health Education East of England (HEEoE) . If you wish to apply for the bursary please ensure you follow the HEE EoE process (deadline for bursary applications to be announced but likely to be end of March; more details can be found here.
The programme is only open to those who have successfully completed the PACE Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Education. In addition applicants will be medical, dental or healthcare professionals who are engaged in education and training activities commensurate with their level of experience and as is relevant to their professional roles and responsibilities. The MSt is suitable for ‘early career’ educators as well as those with more experience.
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