MSc Molecular Pathology / Course details

Our flexible, blended MSc Molecular Pathology course will enable you to take advantage of growing opportunities within this field, which is critically important for translational medicine, both in cancer and non-cancer diseases.

The number of academic pathologists trained in molecular pathology has steadily declined over the past 20 years. As such, it has been identified as an area requiring support and development by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Royal College of Pathologists, creating careers opportunities for students and professionals alike.

Our master's course is aimed at medical students, biomedical scientists, medical practitioners and trainee pathologists who want to learn more about molecular pathology. Trainee pathologists can take our course as part of an existing training programme.

You will benefit from a unique focus on the molecular analysis of tissue samples and take optional units in various areas of laboratory medicine and emerging diagnostic methods, such as proteomics and chemical pathology.

Students will also become part of Manchester's world leading precision medicine research community, learning practical skills that will be directly applicable to this emerging field.

In addition, you will benefit from our association with the network of MRC and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded Molecular Pathology nodes, which have been partly established to train more scientists to work in this field. This will enable you to connect with colleagues and related opportunities across the UK.

This course aims to provide you with a wide and detailed understanding of the various aspects of molecular pathology.

Provided as part of The University of Manchester MRC/EPSRC Molecular Pathology node (Manchester Molecular Pathology Innovation Centre), we recognise the need for providing more training in molecular pathology among histopathology trainees, clinical scientists and biomedical scientists.

As such, the course addresses a wide audience, and has a broad range of both core and non-core course units to facilitate the different learning and training needs of different groups of professionals.

In addition to the taught components, which will give an in-depth understanding of molecular pathology and associated disciplines (including genomics and bioinformatics), the full MSc course will also develop your experience of and skills in scientific investigation, analytical thought and scientific criticism.

Professional input into course content

This course has been designed to take into consideration the training requirements of biomedical scientists, clinical scientists and medical histopathologists. We have consulted with local Postgraduate Deaneries and associated professional bodies including the Institute of Biomedical Scientists (IBMS) and the Royal College of Pathologists to tailor the content.

Flexible learning

The option to take the course over four years will particularly appeal to specialist trainee pathologists, who will be able to fit study around their clinical training. They can also use Year 4 to undertake the research project over three months on a full-time, salaried basis, as per RCPath regulations and Deanery funding.

Teaching is largely delivered through face-to-face, interactive sessions, consisting of some lecture material, with discussions and group work, and with a range of audio-visual stimuli including PowerPoint slides, images and videos.

All units are supported by the use of Blackboard (a virtual learning environment) on which staff post lecture slides, reading lists and other accompanying material.

Each unit on Blackboard also has its own discussion board, where you can interact with staff and other students on the course, for example, by posting and responding to questions, and making comments related to the course.

For students completing the full MSc, a significant amount of teaching and learning will take place through the dissertation research unit (60 credits or 30 credits), in which you will be expected to take a lead role in developing a research project with regular support, input, and mentorship from your project supervisor.

Formative assessments will be given throughout the taught component of the course and will take the form of MCQs, short answer questions, verbal presentations, data and method analysis exercises.

A range of summative assessments will be employed to assess your knowledge and understanding, and the development of your intellectual and transferable skills including:

• verbal presentations;
• written assignments;
• data analysis and interpretation exercises;
• analytical method analysis;
• evaluation and formal unseen written examinations consisting of short answer questions and essays.

The assessment methods employed by each unit will vary and will be tailored to match the material delivered and stated ILOs of that particular unit.

Your ability to gather information from a wide range of sources, evaluate and critically analyse information, make considered judgments about that information and synthesise material into logical and coherent pieces of work will all be assessed. 

Examples of the marking proformas used in the assessment of verbal and written assignments will be provided in student handbooks and on Blackboard, the University's virtual learning environment.

As per the postgraduate taught degree regulations, students exiting with a postgraduate diploma (or postgraduate certificate) may be permitted to rescind this award and upgrade to a master's (or postgraduate diploma) by successfully completing the appropriate further component of the course, providing the following conditions are met:

• the rescinding occurs within five years of your initial registration on the original course, subject to the course still being available;
• an overall pass at the appropriate standard to assure admission to a master's course has been obtained for the postgraduate diploma (or postgraduate certificate), including any capped or compensated grades.

The taught components of the course will be delivered on the main University campus and at Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT).

You will be able to access a range of facilities throughout the University.