MSc Statistics for Clinical Trials at UCL
Summary
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Application Dates:
1st March – 1st May 2025
- Grant:
€17,500
- Location:
UK and Online
- Duration:
2 years (part time)
Fellowship overview
Statistics is a key tool in clinical trials, which are essential in discovering whether new healthcare interventions improve patients’ lives. Statistics is used at the design stage to compare possible designs, calculate the sample size, and at all trial stages until the final analysis and reporting of results.
This online programme will provide an excellent grounding in statistics for clinical trials. Frequentist, as well as Bayesian statistics, will be covered. EACTS Fellow will learn about all types of trials, from early to late phase trials and simple to complex interventions. This will be both from a design and analysis perspective. In addition, EACTS Fellow will learn to code in R and STATA.
Graduates of this programme will be prepared to pursue careers in the academic field or further study at the PhD level. Clinicians taking this programme will be equipped to be involved in clinical trials and fully engage with statisticians.
Compulsory courses: Methodological and statistical core courses: 6 months
Research project: Individual research project : 4-6 months
The successful candidate will have up to 2-years to complete the 1-year course.
Learning Objectives
- Solid understanding of the general principles of inference to perform estimation on parameters of a distribution
- Ability to specify statistical models that are used in clinical trials
- Familiarity and ability to code in STATA and R
- Strong understanding of statistical principles underlying trials with advanced designs (e.g. group sequential, multi-arm, multi-stage)
- Understanding of statistical principles in advanced meta-analyses
Specific Learning Objectives
- Produce figures and tables that display the results of analyses clearly and appropriately
- Interpret the results of statistical models applied to clinical trials data
- Conduct simulations and perform advanced sample size calculations to inform clinical trial design
- Perform fixed-effect and random-effects meta-analyses, interpret results, and understand the different model assumptions
- Perform a health economics analysis based on clinical trial data
Syllabus
The Master’s programme is composed of a series of modules:
- Introduction to Clinical Trial Designs and Statistical Analyses
- Statistical Coding in Clinical Trials
- Statistical Inference and Models in Clinical Trials
- Further Trial Designs and Outcomes
- Advanced Clinical Trials Statistics
- Health Economics in Clinical Trials
- Meta-Analysis in Clinical Trials
- Research Project and Dissertation
Additional information can be found on the UCL WEBSITE
Funding
€17,500 – Entry fee for MSc Statistics for Clinical Trials
Application and Selection
In order to apply for this fellowship there are some essential criteria you must meet:
- Be an EACTS member with up-to-date membership payment
- Attended the EACTS Annual Meeting
- Attended EACTS Academy Courses
- Be in the last year of training or within the first four years after completing training
- Be fluent in English
Applicants who possess the following desirable criteria would be of particular interest:
- A fellow of the EBCTS
- Possibility of applying the knowledge and abilities acquired during the fellowship in home practice
In order to complete your application you must submit the following documents*:
- Letter of support from current Head of Department/Training director (if in last year of training)
- Letter of interest (detailing the way in which you meet the application criteria, your career aspirations along with how you are in a position to apply the skills and knowledge obtained during the Fellowship in your own centre)
- CV
*Please ensure that all documents submitted are written in English, and that they are submitted either as word documents or PDF. We do not accept images or handwritten applications. We are unable to provide advice or guidance about visa applications, so please ensure that you understand the visa requirements before applying for this Fellowship.
Evaluation and feedback
MSc Degree
Upon completion of the fellowship the candidate is expected to write a report, which is presented at the following EACTS annual meeting.
Terms and Conditions
- You cannot apply for more than one fellowship in a single year.
- You cannot apply for a fellowship if you have been awarded one in the last two years.
- If you do not submit all requested documents your application will not be reviewed.
- If you do not follow the application guidelines (document format, essential criteria etc) your application will not be reviewed.
- If you submit any false information your application will be immediately void (regardless of application stage).
- Once your fellowship start date is confirmed, 80% of the fellowship grant will be transferred to you.
- On completion of the fellowship and receipt of your final report, the remaining 20% of the fellowship grant will be transferred to you.
- Should your fellowship include third party fees, EACTS will pay this directly from your initial 80% grant payment, with the remaining balance being transferred to you.
- If for any reason you find you are unable to complete or attend training, you should notify EACTS at your earliest convenience. If the grant payment has already been made, you will be asked to repay the monies received based on incurred costs to date. Proof of expenses will be required.
The Francis Fontan Fellowship programme fosters the continued growth and development of cardiothoracic surgeons by providing opportunities to learn from the highest standards of cardiothoracic care and gain knowledge of novel techniques and innovative technologies used by other institutes around the world. Successful applicants will use the valuable learnings and collaborative relationships developed through their Fellowship to further the progress of cardiothoracic surgery at their home institution and support the delivery of the highest quality patient care.
- The fellowship needs to be completed within the year that it was awarded.
- Awardees need to be in full time employment throughout the fellowship.
NB. The Francis Fontan Fund Committee will consider any fellow who falls outside of this condition on a case-by-case basis. All decisions are final, and the Committee are not obliged to share the reasoning behind any decision made.
- Grant: