Teaching and learning
At St George’s, you will benefit from working as part of a small, close-knit team. Students, clinicians and researchers work happily and effectively together, and you will be welcomed into our small specialist research community, with all the advantages that brings for personal input and development.
During the first term you will meet potential supervisors to familiarise yourself with the research activity within each pathway and to identify an appropriate project. Project titles and areas for research will be identified by module leaders and will relate to the pathway selected. Broadly speaking, your topic should be within the fields of biomedical sciences, healthcare, or health services and use appropriate scientific methods. You will choose your research project and start with laboratory work from mid-October, completing your research by the following August.
Teaching for core modules is concentrated in the autumn term, while teaching for specialist modules takes place over the year. Throughout this time, you will either be attending lectures or laboratory sessions on most days of the week.
Teaching is delivered through a variety of methods, such as lectures, course-specific seminars and small group sessions. You will also participate in self-directed study and wider reading, as well as individual and group practical sessions. The self-directed component of your course includes the in-depth study of an area of interest, developing research and presentation skills, and gaining insight into possible careers.
Our expertise
For over two centuries, St George’s has been at the forefront of developing new and innovative solutions to enhance the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease. We enjoy a global reputation as experts in population health, infection and immunity, and molecular and clinical sciences thanks to our four world-class research institutes – Molecular and Clinical Science, Population Health Research, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education and Infection and Immunity.
In recent months, clinicians and researchers from across the University and Hospital have been leading urgent public health studies and trials into Covid-19 as part of the Oxford Vaccine trial and testing different treatments as part of the national recovery trial. St George’s is also leading on studies to develop rapid antibody tests for the disease and understand whether pregnant mothers can pass coronavirus onto their babies in the womb.
Our Applied Diagnostic Research and Evaluation Unit (ADREU) has been actively involved in the development, regulatory approval and implementation of rapid diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a worldwide public health concern, with the ever-growing threat from AMR impacting on treatment and disease management. Professor Paul Heath and Professor Mike Sharland are currently working on global projects to tackle the threat of AMR, including a study focused on newborn babies, since their immune system is not yet fully developed, and therefore they are particularly vulnerable to infection.
Assessment methods
Assessments are designed to help you with preparation for your dissertation. They help you review published work critically, use appropriate experimental design, and analyse experimental data. They also enable you to develop scientific writing and presentation skills.
All modules are assessed through written assignments or an oral presentation, with the exception of the statistics module which is assessed via examination. Following the research project, you will be asked to present a poster on your research.