Clinical Trials

This Masters in Clinical Trials is suitable for those wishing to pursue a career in clinical trials in the pharmaceutical, medical device or academic sectors. It is the 3rd and final year in a 3 year part-time MSc programme. Students must complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Trials (PCCT) and Postgraduate Diploma (PDCT) in Clinical Trials prior to application to the MSc year.

It is a wholly online, part-time course designed for the working professional. Students can expect to dedicate a minimum of 20 hours per week. Students will be expected to log-in to Canvas, the virtual learning environment, on a daily basis.

Having completed the three Postgraduate Certificate modules in year 1, as well as the three Postgraduate Diploma modules in year 2, students will complete further taught modules worth 15 credits and a minor dissertation (15 credits) in the MSc year. On successful completion of the MSc Clinical Trials, students should be able to successfully write a clinical trial protocol, ethics application, and design multi-centre clinical trials. Students must satisfactorily complete modules to the value of 30 credits in the MSc year, in addition to the 30 credits in the Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Trials and the 30 credits in the Postgraduate Diploma Clinical Trials.

Why Choose This Course
This Masters in Clinical Trials is an online course designed to give a competitive advantage for those wishing to pursue a career in clinical trials in the pharmaceutical, medical device or academic sectors. It is the first such course in Ireland and is taught by experienced clinical trialists, statisticians and trial regulation experts with experience in designing, analysing and conducting multicentre, multinational trials.

It is the only course designed and paced for the working professional. With three 10-week semesters, a week in the middle and end with no new taught material, this learning experience is for busy professionals. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, managers, scientists, health scientists, food scientists and workers in the allied health professions are encouraged to apply.

Clinical trials is a rapidly expanding discipline with exciting new job opportunities in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, e.g. data manager, clinical research associate, clinical research nurse, project manager, trial monitor, regulatory affairs associate, pharmacovigilance associate etc. Join us on our exciting journey promoting clinical trials and patient-focused research to improve the health of our citizens.

Course Practicalities
Students of the MSc Clinical Trials can expect to devote a minimum of 20 hours/week to the course. A guide per 15-credit module is 300 hours. A guide per 10 credit module is 150-200 hours. The MSc year is the research/independent inquiry component of the Masters degree. While there will be some course work and online discussion fora, a major focus will be research methods and preparing for the dissertation. Students will be expected to log-in to Canvas, the visual learning environment, on a daily basis.

Core Modules
• EH6131 Dissertation in Clinical Trials (online) (15 credits)
• EH6134 Research Methods for Clinical Trials (10 credits)
• EH6135 Embedding Research in Clinical Trials (5 credits)

Requirements
• Applicants accepted on the MSc in Clinical Trials are expected to hold an honours Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Trials (minimum Second Class Honours Grade one from UCC).

• Applicants applying for the MSc in Clinical Trials and who have obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Trials from an institution other than UCC (minimum Second Class Honours Grade one) will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Clinical Trials Programme Team. Such applicants must: produce the relevant module syllabi from the awarding institution, and proof of their grades for comparison purposes. Such applicants may also be asked to participate in an interview. Decisions on selection to the programme will be made on the basis of academic qualifications and possibly interview.

Technical Requirements
This programme will be delivered wholly online. To access and interact with the course content, assignments and assessments etc., students will require:
1. You will need access to a laptop or desktop (either Mac OS or Windows) running a relatively recent operating system (Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 or Mac OSX 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 or later). Access to the Canvas Virtual Learning Environment is supported by UCC through IOS and Android apps, which are available from the respective App stores.
2. You will need access to a reliable broadband connection with at least 2MB download speeds. You can test your broadband or 4G speeds by visiting http://www.speedtest.net
3. You must have a modern web browser installed. The most reliable options for use with UCC online learning are Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Download and installation instructions will be provided. Safari is not suitable.
4. You must have Java and Flash Runtimes installed. Download and installation instructions will be provided.
5. You will require an Office suite of software (Microsoft Office 2003 or later or equivalent) and a PDF reader (preferably Adobe Acrobat Reader XI or later). Please note that registered UCC students have access to discounted software from Microsoft and Adobe.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/english/postgraduate/

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, available at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.

Closing Date: Non-EU Closing Date: 15 June

Open for EU applications, check rounds closing dates under
How to Apply - Application Date Weblink below.

How Do I Apply
1. Choose Course
Firstly choose your course. Applicants can apply for up to two courses under one application. Details of taught courses are available on our online prospectus.

2. Apply Online
Once you have chosen your course you can apply online at the online application portal. Applicants will need to apply before the course closing date. There is a non-refundable €50 application fee for all courses apart from the Education - Professional Master of Education - (Secondary School/Post-Primary Teacher Training) which has a €100 application fee.

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health Nursing must apply on the PAC website when the programme opens for applications.

3. Gather Supporting Documents
Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded to the online application portal in support of your application. Applicants may need to produce the original documents if you are accepted onto a course and register at UCC.
• Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC
• Any supplementary items requested for your course.

Please log into the online application portal for more details.

4. Application processing timeline
Our online application portal opens for applications for most courses in early November of each year. Check specific course details.

5. Rounds
For courses that are in the rounds system (Irish and EU applicants), please check the rounds closing dates.

Additional Requirements
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following questions:
• You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.
• Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

Students are assessed on the basis of assignment, examinations, and a minor dissertation.

9 Months Part-Time
Course Delivery Method Online

The cost of the programme is €5,000 per annum (includes all matriculation and examination fees, all seminars, textbooks and course material), payable in two instalments.

Commences: September 2020.

Skills and Careers Information
On completion of the course you can pursue a career in the academic, pharmaceutical or medical device sectors as a
• Clinical Trialist
• Quality Manager
• Project Manager
• Trial Monitor
• Data Associate
• Data Manager
• Clinical Research Nurse
• Clinical Research Associate
• Pharmacovigilance Associate
• Regulatory Affairs Associate