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Part time — Open
Graduate

MSc in Nanotechnology for Medicine and Health Care

The MSc in Nanotechnology for Medicine and Health Care is a part-time taught course exploring nanomedicine's role in diagnostics, drug delivery, imaging, and regenerative medicine, with strong links to clinical and commercial applications.

Open: Part time

Applications are still open. Up to a week's notice of closure will be provided on this page - no other notification will be given. 

Expected length:
  • Part time: 2-4 years
Expected start date:
  • Part time:
English language level:
  • Higher level required
Student looking through a microscope in the laboratory, Medical Sciences Division

About the course

This advanced modular course is delivered by leading scientists and experts in this rapidly developing field and has been specifically designed for those who would value a part-time modular learning structure, for example those in full-time employment. It is offered by the University of Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering (Department of Engineering Science) and the Department for Continuing Education, in collaboration with Begbroke Science Park.

Nanomedicine is at the forefront of modern healthcare. Nanoparticles offer a new platform for drug delivery that can extend the 'patent life' of drugs, but also greatly increase the targeting and effectiveness of therapy. They can also enhance most of the medical imaging modalities, and in some cases offer a combined diagnostic and therapy, now called 'theranostics'.

Nanoparticle-based medicines are now becoming part of the mainstream approaches for diagnostics and therapy. A 2016 review identified 51 FDA-approved nanomedicines and 77 products undergoing clinical trials. By August 2018, 151 clinical trials using nanomaterials were completed or underway. The essential contribution of lipid nanoparticles (LNP) to the COVID-19 response provided approval and validation of a technology which is now being applied to a range of other infectious diseases and cancer, whilst recent approvals for viral-based gene therapies for haemophilia and diseases of the eye and the approval of the first CRISPR based therapy shows nano is now delivering on its promise to revolutionise medicine.

Nanotechnology is providing the basis for many of the new regenerative medicine approaches that are based on artificial scaffold structures and it offers solutions for many of the new generation of point-of-care biosensors and some of the advanced gene sequencing instrumentation. There are already early indications of improved healthcare outcomes, and the creation of new business and industry.

The University of Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME), an Institute within the Department for Engineering Science, is a world-class interdisciplinary centre for biomedical engineering research, where engineers and clinicians collaborate to address unmet needs in the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of major diseases and conditions. The Institute’s core research missions are to develop novel medical devices, technology and systems capable of delivering substantial healthcare benefit, and to translate new engineering technologies into clinical practice.

The MSc in Nanotechnology for Medicine and Health Care draws on the world-class research and teaching in nanotechnology and nanomedicine at the University of Oxford and aims to provide you with the necessary training to enable you to understand the principles of nanotechnology and its application in medical research and clinical practice.

The programme will appeal to professionals working in the commercial or healthcare sectors who develop or use nanotechnology in their work, including:

  • biomedical engineers
  • materials scientists
  • biotech-entrepreneurs
  • medical practitioners and dentists
  • chemists and pharmacists
  • electrical engineers
  • project managers in related industries
  • patent agents and patent lawyers
  • legislators
  • clinical research fellows, graduates and other researchers in a related area of science.

Course structure

This section provides an overview of the course structure, while details of the individual course components are provided below.

The course is taken part-time as a mixture of online and face-to-face modules, consisting of six modules and a research project and associated dissertation. The programme is normally completed in two to three years. Students are full members of the University of Oxford and are matriculated as members of an Oxford college.

The course uses a blend of individual study together with group work during live online tutorials, conventional lectures and discussions and also requires the student to submit a dissertation reporting an original piece of nanomedicine-based research. The group sessions with tutors are particularly valuable because they offer highly focused learning and assessment opportunities.

The course comprises:

  • three online modules;
  • three five-day residential modules taught face-to-face in Oxford; and
  • an original research project of approximately 18 weeks to be written up as a dissertation.

The three online modules can be taken from anywhere in the world with tutors who provide online support and electronically replicate the Oxford tutorial system, whereas the three face-to-face modules offer intense, focused lectures from Oxford academics from a range of disciplines with expertise in this field. Assessment throughout the modules ensures that students can monitor their progress. 

Core components

Course details

Entry requirements

For entry in 2026-27

Funding and costs

College preference

Before you apply

Completing your application

Contact details