A research degree is a very individual experience, more so than an undergraduate degree. While the overarching structure will be identical or similar across the university, individual research projects, research interactions and assessment interactions will differ. This environment can provide a rich learning experience for student cohorts discussing their experiences.

A research degree has an exciting scope for collaborations and working as a team and as such, learning or enhancing your communication and people management skills. It is highly creative and can be more unpredictable than an undergraduate degree. A research degree is not simply about collecting results or data but also querying these and discussing them with others. Learning is continuous and poor experimental results can form part of research learning and success. Unlike a typical classroom experience of an undergraduate degree, a research degree will empower you to drive your own learning experience and expand your knowledge in a variety of ways.

Students at the Institute of Clinical Sciences are based at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), and degrees are awarded through Imperial College London. The LMS offers PhD Studentships, Clinical Research Fellowships and Lectureships and undergraduate summer placements. Students at different stages of their scientific careers have the opportunity to work with our community of international students, postdoctoral fellows and principle investigators. Jointly funded by the MRC and the Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), these Fellowships and Lectureships are aimed at medical graduates pursuing a career as an academic clinician.