University College London (UCL)
Drug Design MSc
London, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
The MSc in Drug Design focuses on teaching students how to develop new drugs through an understanding of the biological and chemical principles behind drug action. The program covers key areas like molecular biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, helping students learn how to identify potential drug targets and design molecules that can interact effectively with those targets. It also emphasizes practical skills, such as laboratory techniques and computational methods, which are essential for drug discovery and development. This mix of theory and hands-on learning aims to prepare students for careers in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, or for further research.
Students will explore how drugs are designed, optimized, and tested, gaining insights into current challenges and innovations in the field. The program often includes opportunities for research projects, providing real-world experience in drug discovery processes. Throughout, the focus is on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills relevant to creating new therapies. The curriculum is designed to give a comprehensive overview while also allowing some specialization, making sure graduates are ready to contribute to advancements in medicine and healthcare. Students leave with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills tailored to the evolving landscape of drug design and development.
UCL Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships available to postgraduate students, including our UCL Masters Bursary for UK students and our UCL Global Masters Scholarship for international students. You can click the link below to search via the scholarships finder for awards that you might be eligible for. Your academic department will also be able to provide you with more information about funding.
External Scholarships
Online aggregators like Postgraduate Studentships, Scholarship Search, Postgraduate Funding and International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search contain information on a variety of external schemes.
If you have specific circumstances or ethnic or religious background it is worth searching for scholarships/bursaries/grants that relate to those things. Some schemes are very specific.
Funding for disabled students
Master's students who have a disability may be able to get extra funding for additional costs they incur to study.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a mix of lectures, tutorials, self-study, practical sessions and discussion groups. Your research project forms one-third of the programme.
Each of the taught modules is assessed on a 50/50 split of unseen written examinations and coursework, such as written essays, practicals, and laboratory work.
The research project is assessed by a dissertation, oral presentation, and an interdisciplinary three-minute video project.
Your weekly schedule will be made up of 6-8 contact hours over two days at the university campus, and 20 hours of independent learning in terms one and two. The contact hours could be lectures, practicals, or skill-based learning. The lab project (wet or computational) is full-time, five days a week, during the research period.
Modules
Full-time
In this programme, you will take eight core taught modules in the first two terms. Through these, you will learn the essential concepts, theory and practices of drug design and discovery.
You will also develop transferable skills through individual and group activities, such as oral and poster presentation, literature review, essay writing, attending conferences and scientific talks. These concepts and skills will prepare you to do your research project in term three, where you will conduct real research in a UCL or industry setting.
Your project can be wet laboratory or computer/informatics-based and will last a minimum of three months.
Flexible
If you are considering applying for a modular route, please contact us for updates.
Compulsory modules
- Bioinformatics and Structural Biology as Applied to Drug Design
- The Biology of Drug Discovery Programmes 1
- Cheminformatics and Modelling for Drug Design
- Biological Molecules as Therapies
- The Biology of Drug Discovery Programmes 2: Latest Advances
- Fragment-Based Drug Design
- Choosing a Drug Target 1: Scientific and Technical Aspects
- Choosing a Drug Target 2: Intellectual Property, Clinical Need and Commercial Aspects
- MSc Drug Design Research Project
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Drug Design. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Drug Design. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Drug Design.
What this course will give you
This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities.
- An intensive course of study within the internationally renowned UCL Division of Medicine, supported by the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research.
- A deeper understanding of the essential concepts, theory and practices of drug design and discovery.
- The opportunity to undertake a minimum three-month research project in your chosen field.
- Exposure to pioneering multidisciplinary research, with a particular emphasis on translating that research into useful clinical benefit.
- The chance to learn from, and contribute to, established research expertise in medicinal chemistry, computational drug design, neuronal development and signalling, cell cycle control, intensive care medicine, stem cells, mitochondrial biology, and cancer.
- Opportunities to conduct translational research that has a globally-significant impact on drug discovery.
The foundation of your career
Graduates from this programme progress to PhD / medical studentships at universities and research institutes around the world, including Oxford, UCL, Grenoble, EMBL, and in the USA and China.
According to the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey (2018-2022), 87% of Drug Design MSc graduates progressed onto work (60%) or further study (27%), with a majority undertaking highly skilled roles.
Employability
The programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to establish a career in drug design/discovery and related industries, including biotech, pharma, national research laboratories and NHS agencies. If you are an industry professional, you will gain a greater understanding of new methodologies to apply to your work and progress in new areas of drug design.
According to the HESA survey, MSc Drug Design graduates have gone on to work for a range of employers. These include:
- NHS Trusts.
- Universities across Asia.
- Clinical and pharmaceutical research organisations, such as Cambridge Healthcare Research, the Centre for Molecular Medicine, the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, Medpace, Mtech Access and Novo Nordisk.
- Health communications or science publication organisations, such as Elsevier and Oxford Pharmagenesis.
- Professional service firms, such as Accenture and KPMG.
Their roles include natural and social science professionals, biological scientists, laboratory and pharmaceutical technicians, biochemists and biomedical scientists, quality assurance and regulation and IT and programming. Some have become science writers or periodical / broadcast editors.
It is also a pathway to further medical studies or a related PhD.
Networking
On this programme, there are many opportunities to network through our cross-disciplinary departments and research centres. In addition, you have chances to speak to our many external and expert speakers from the industry after lectures. We encourage students to broaden their networks by attending special career workshops. Each year, students are also encouraged to join online seminars/workshops organised by industrial sectors to expand their skills.