Overview

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Discover more about Medicine at Manchester

Course overview

  • Learn to apply genetics, genomics and bioinformatics to patient care.
  • Learn from clinical and academic experts from The University of Manchester and the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine.
  • Study at a university ranked 8th in the UK and among the top 35 in the world for medicine (QS World University Rankings 2025).
  • Units from this MSc are available as standalone courses for continuing professional development (CPD). Please visit the Genomic Medicine CPD units page.
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Genomic Medicine at The University of Manchester

Open days

The University holds regular open days, where you will have the opportunity to tour the campus and find out more about our facilities and courses. On this day, you will find out more about the course and meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions you have. For more information, see Open days .

Contact details

School/Faculty
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Contact name
Postgraduate Admissions Team
Telephone
0161 529 4539
Email
Website
https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/medicine/masters/
School/Faculty overview
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Courses in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview

We require an honours degree (minimum Upper Second) or overseas equivalent in: 

  • biomedical science
  • medicine
  • nursing

Flexibility on entry requirements will be applied to candidates with appropriate extensive professional experience. Subject to confirmation of suitability, the following number of credits can be accepted as Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL): 

  • MSc: 60 credits
  • PGDip: 45 credits 
  • PGCert: 15 credits

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) will also be considered on an individual basis.

This course is also available for intercalating medical students, both from The University of Manchester and other UK universities, upon completion of their third year. For St Andrews students, this includes the three-year course plus the following one or two years spent in Manchester.

English language

International students must demonstrate English proficiency through a secure and approved testing system.

We ask for English language proof if you are from non-majority English speaking countries (a list of majority English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Home Office, can be found here) .

Specifically, we require a minimum of:

  • IELTS : 6.5 overall with 6.5 or above in each component
  • TOEFL: 90 internet-based with 22 or above in each component

For HEE funded applications only:

  • IELTS: 7.0 overall with 7.0 or above in each component
  • TOEFL: 100 internet-based with 25 or above in each component

See further information about requirements for your country .

We may also accept evidence of a confirmed place on a University Pre-sessional English language course , if your current IELTS scores are:

  • Minimum 6.0 overall with 6.0 in each component plus enrolment and attendance on the 6-week pre-sessional course (PS6).
  • Minimum 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each component plus enrolment and attendance on the 10-week pre-sessional course (PS10.

Please note, we must approve this before you apply for the English course.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Fees and funding

Fees

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2026, the tuition fees are as follows:

  • MSc (full-time)
    UK students (per annum): £13,700
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £36,200
  • MSc (part-time)
    UK students (per annum): £6,850
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £18,100
  • PGDip (full-time)
    UK students (per annum): £10,900
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £29,000
  • PGDip (part-time)
    UK students (per annum): £5,450
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £14,500
  • PGCert (full-time)
    UK students (per annum): £5,500
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £14,500
  • PGCert (part-time)
    UK students (per annum): £2,750
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £7,250
  • Modular (part-time)
    UK students (per annum): £1,400 per 15 credits
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £3,700 per 15 credits

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Funding is available to NHS staff for course units on this programme through NHS England.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page.

Funding is available to NHS staff for course units on this programme through NHS England.

Application and selection

How to apply

Please apply via our online application form . See the application and selection section for details of the supporting documents we require.

We recommend that you apply as early as possible. We reserve the right to close applications if the course is full.

Advice to applicants

We require the following documents before we can consider your application: 

  • Transcript of your studies to date.
  • Degree certificate (if you have already graduated).
  • Personal statement (approx. 300-500 words about why you wish to take this course and how it will affect your personal and professional development. This statement should refer to your current role and must clearly demonstrate that you have background knowledge of human genetics if this is not obvious from your degree or transcripts. Applicants that cannot demonstrate this may be rejected on the basis that they have insufficient background knowledge to allow them to cope with a Master's level course in the subject).
  • Curriculum vitae (CV).
  • An academic reference. You will be required to provide the name and contact details of two referees during completion of the application form.
Your referees will be contacted directly and asked to provide a letter of reference. When providing referee details, you must ensure the email addresses are accurate and official, typically ending with an institutional domain. We do not accept references provided from a personal email address, eg Hotmail or Gmail.

If any of the supporting documents are not in English, you must also provide us with official or certified English translations.

If English is not your first language, we require proof of your English language ability. If you have already taken an English language qualification, please include your certificate with your application. We may be willing to consider your application without this document, but if we choose to make you an offer, the conditions will include IELTS (or equivalent qualification).

How your application is considered

Your application will be reviewed by the course director once we receive all supporting documentation.

We consider applications on an academic and relevant professional experience basis based on all of the information provided.

We consider your full academic history including which undergraduate course units you have taken and the marks obtained. When application numbers are high, even if you have met our minimum entry requirements, we will take into account your marks in relevant undergraduate course units in our final decision making.

Interview requirements

We do not normally interview applicants but reserve the right to do so in certain circumstances.

Overseas (non-UK) applicants

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1,000 towards their tuition fees before a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

You cannot use your CAS to apply for a visa more than three months before the start date of your course. This means that if you intend to begin a course on 16th September 2024, we will not issue you with a CAS number before 16th June 2024.

Your CAS number is only valid for one student visa application.

Deferrals

We are generally unable to allow deferrals on this course.

Re-applications

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again.

Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

Course details

Course description

Our MSc in Genomic Medicine follows a curriculum set by NHS England and is designed to create a world-class NHS workforce that understands and applies genomics for patient care. Our MSc consists of taught units and a literature review or an independant research project. You will be encouraged to use your intellectual curiosity, creativity and critical thinking in the practical application of genomics and bioinformatics.

NHS professionals will learn how genomics impact on their area of clinical practice and how they can apply their new knowledge in their workplace.

This course is also ideally suited to science graduates wanting to further their specialist knowledge in human genomics. The knowledge and training from this course is appropriate for securing employment in the healthcare industry (eg diagnostics, data interpretation) or for entry into further training programmes (eg NHS Scientist Training Programme).

Aims

This course will train healthcare professionals from different disciplines (eg medicine, nursing, scientists and technologists) in genomic knowledge that will impact on their service delivery to patients. We will provide contemporary genomic education for the multi-professional healthcare workforce to support:

  • the embedding of genomics education at all levels of the current and future workforce;
  • the building of capacity and capability in the NHS workforce in genomic medicine, both clinical and research.

The course will also equip biomedical science graduates with the skills and knowledge to secure employment in the healthcare industry or pursue a PhD in the field.

By the end of the full MSc, graduates should be able to:

  • Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles of human genomics, including the structure, function and regulation of genes and genomes;
  • Infer modes of disease inheritance and determine the appropriate methodology to use to identify genomic causality on a case-by-case basis;
  • Evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying genetic diseases and their implications for human health and disease;
  • Interpret genomic variants and their clinical significance;
  • Critically evaluate the role of technology in genomic research and healthcare;
  • Apply appropriate tools to manage and interpret genomic data;
  • Apply ethical and professional principles to the role of genomics in healthcare to reach sound decisions that consider both individual patient and societal implications;
  • Employ advanced communication skills to convey complex genetic information clearly to, for example, patients, family members, the wider public, interprofessional colleagues and genomic science and healthcare specialists;
  • Design, plan and undertake an independent research project to test a hypothesis and/or critically evaluate current research in a specific area of genomic medicine.

Teaching and learning

We take a student-focused and patient-centred approach to teaching and learning.

The course content is delivered using a combination of lectures, problem and evidence-based learning, workshops and collaborative learning.

The course content is designed to help you develop the deeper contextualised specialist knowledge and critical evaluative skills necessary for a questioning and innovative approach to your learning and clinical practice.

You will learn from healthcare professionals and industry partners who are working at the forefront of practice and clinical research and can draw on their scholarship and expertise to help you build your knowledge.

Coursework and assessment

We use a large variety of assessment methods including written assignments, workshops, tutorials, oral presentations, written exams and MCQ.

Course unit details

The course units are split into three categories; core, elective core and optional.

Master's students must complete all the core units, one or both of the elective core units, and additional optional units in order to attain 180 credits. In addition, master's students will undertake a project as either a 60 credit bioinformatics or research based project for full-time students, or a 30 credit literature review for part-time students.

PGDip students must complete any 8 units to achieve the required number of credits (120 credits). PGCert students must complete any 4 units to achieve the required number of credits (60 credits).

Core units: Fundamentals of Human Genetics; Omics Techniques and their Application to Genomic Medicine; Project (30 or 60 credits).

Elective core units: Bioinformatics, Interpretation, Statistics and Data Quality Assurance; Variant Interpretation.

Optional units: Application of Genomics in Infectious Disease; Genomics of Common and Rare Inherited Diseases; Molecular Pathology of Cancer and Application in Cancer Diagnosis, Screening, and Treatment; Pharmacogenetics, Pharmacogenomics and Stratified Healthcare; Counselling Skills for Genomics; Economics of Genomics and Precision Medicine; Health Informatics (tbc for 2026); Disease Modelling and Genome Editing (tbc for 2026).

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
BIOL67561 15 Mandatory
BIOL67562 15 Mandatory
BIOL67582 15 Mandatory
BIOL67980 60 Mandatory
BIOL67981 15 Mandatory
BIOL67361 15 Optional
BIOL67372 15 Optional
BIOL67380 30 Optional
BIOL67381 15 Optional
BIOL67481 15 Optional
BIOL67482 15 Optional
BIOL67582 15 Optional
BIOL67672 15 Optional
BIOL67971 15 Optional
Displaying 10 of 14 course units
Display all course units

Course collaborators

We collaborate with the following organisations to deliver this MSc:

What our students say

So far, I have completed four modules on Bioinformatics, Human Genetics, Pharmacogenomics and Genetic Counselling. I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed each of these and they have opened my eyes to the potential transformation of healthcare in the NHS through genomic medicine.

Bradley Horn, Genetic Technologist

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service .

CPD opportunities

We offer all of the taught units from this MSc as standalone courses for continuing professional development (CPD). Please visit the Genomic Medicine (CPD units) page for further information.

Careers

Career opportunities

Our course is designed to support and upskill healthcare professionals working in the NHS in areas where genomic medicine is becoming part of clinical practice.

Our science graduates have gone on to apply their new knowledge and skills in genetic service labs in the NHS or their home country's health systems, gained employment in commercial companies that develop and supply genetic testing kits, undertaken further study in the NHS Scientist Training Programmes for Genomic Counselling, Genomics, and Cancer Genomics, or have continued their research to pursue a PhD in the field.

Accrediting organisations

This course is accredited by NHSE England.

Regulated by the Office for Students

The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.