Medical Engineering MSc

Course overview

Medical engineering combines the design and problem-solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to contribute to medical device solutions and interventions for a range of diseases and trauma.

This exciting and challenging course will give you a broad knowledge base in this rapidly expanding field, as well as allowing you to specialise through a choice of optional modules.

We emphasise the multidisciplinary nature of medical engineering and the current shift towards the interface between engineering and the life sciences. You could focus on tissue engineering, biomaterials or joint replacement technology among a host of other topics.

Based in the School of Mechanical Engineering this course will also encourage you to consider different perspectives towards medical engineering through teaching from the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, School of Biomedical Sciences and Leeds University Business School.

Our School’s Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) is actively engaged in ensuring this course meets the needs of industry and reflects trends in the sector. IAB members also contribute to talks that feed into our taught modules and project work, ensuring the curriculum is challenging and relevant. This means you’ll be learning the latest innovations, preparing you for working in industry.

Why study at Leeds:

• This Masters degree is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
• Our globally-renowned research conducted right here on campus feeds directly into the course, shaping your learning with the latest thinking.
• Benefit from interdisciplinary teaching with parts of the course taught by academics from the School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Leeds University Business School.
• Advance your knowledge and skills in a wide range of areas, preparing you for an exciting and challenging career in medical engineering.
• Tailor the degree to suit your specific interests with a broad selection of optional modules to choose from, including everything from tissue engineering to biomaterials, functional joint replacement technology to spinal biomechanics – plus many more.
• Build industry experience, conducting a team design project and an individual professional project, using multi-disciplinary approaches to achieve a solution to a programme-specific and industry-relevant design problem.
• Access our School’s impressive range of specialist facilities in materials screening analysis, joint simulation and heart valve simulation plus industry-standard software and CAD facilities.
• Experience expert theoretical and practical teaching delivered by a programme team made up of academics and researchers from the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
• Enhance your career prospects by taking advantage of our strong links with industry like DePuy-Synthes and NHS Blood and Transplant which give you the chance to connect with our industry contacts and potential employers through talks, networking sessions and, in some cases, teaching too.
• Secure the career you want and join our successful alumni who now work for many excellent medical organisations like the NHS.

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Accreditation

Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)

Accreditation is the assurance that a university course meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students.

This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) on behalf of the Engineering Council.

This Masters degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning to Masters Level for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng)*.

*It should be noted that candidates completing the MSc who hold an underpinning accredited IEng degree or a non-accredited bachelor degree will need to apply for an academic assessment to determine whether they will meet the educational base for CEng registration.

Course details

During semester 1, you'll learn the theoretical knowledge that will become the fundamentals of the rest of your studies, including your individual research project.

Core modules will give you a background in experimental design and analysis within medical engineering. You’ll look at computational and biological methodologies alongside statistical data analysis and different data visualisation techniques to lay the foundations of your studies.

You'll also take part in a team design project, working with peers to a specific design brief taking into consideration factors such as environmental impact, cost implications and more.

Depending on your academic or professional background, you may decide to take skills modules to fill the gaps in your knowledge. There are optional modules such as advanced finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics analysis and engineering computational methods to build your portfolio of engineering skills.

Furthermore, there are additional optional modules in each semester which will allow you to build on this knowledge and focus on specialist topics that suit your own interests and career intentions. You could focus on biomechatronics and medical robotics, spinal biomechanics, surface engineering or computational fluid dynamics analysis and a range of other topics.

Project work

Throughout the course, you’ll complete your professional project – an independent piece of research on a topic within medical engineering that allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. In the two taught semesters you’ll review the literature around your topic and plan the project, before completing the design, analysis, computation, experimentation and writing up in the summer months.

The professional project allows you to apply what you’ve learned to a piece of research focusing on a real-world problem, and it can be used to explore and develop your specific interests.

Past projects have included:

• Investigating aspects of wear in total disc replacements.
• Finite element analysis of tissue-engineered structures.
• Determining properties of bone and cement augmentation in vertebroplasty.
• Cartilage tribology.
• Investigating 3D printing of a bone substitute.

A proportion of projects are formally linked to industry and can include spending time at the collaborator’s site over the summer.

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

For more information and a full list of typical modules available on this course, please read Medical Engineering MSc in the course catalogue

Year 1 compulsory modules

Year 1 optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)

Learning and teaching

Our groundbreaking research feeds directly into teaching, and you’ll have the opportunity to be taught by academics who are at the forefront of their disciplines. You’ll have regular contact with teaching staff through lectures, seminars, tutorials, small group work and project meetings. Some modules make use of online learning methods or a short course format.

Independent study is also important to the course, as you develop your problem-solving and research skills as well as your subject knowledge.

You'll be assigned a personal tutor, who will maintain contact with you throughout the year and offer pastoral guidance. They will help you to settle into the university and clarify any procedures, as well as helping you prepare for employment on graduation. You'll also receive administrative support from the School’s dedicated Student Education Support office.

Active research environment

You’ll learn in an exciting research environment where breakthroughs are being made in your discipline. This course is closely linked to our Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (IMBE), which focuses on research and education in the fields of medical devices and regenerative medicine. It focuses on innovating and translating new therapies into practical clinical applications.

IMBE is one of the forerunners in medical device testing and development, with a strong history of partnering with industry. Throughout your degree you'll be taught by experts who are leaders in the field and be directly engaged with their cutting-edge research.

Industry links

We have strong links with industry, including organisations like DePuy Synthes, NHS Blood and Transplant and Tissue Regenix. These links help reinforce this Masters degree, helping you to develop a grounded perspective, as well as providing you with recruitment possibilities. In addition to the industrial experience of many School staff, you'll have numerous contacts with industry representatives throughout the year.

Our university itself is well-positioned within the Leeds city region, an industrial hub for medical technologies with which we have links to. Throughout your degree you may have the opportunity to connect with our industry contacts through networking sessions and may have the opportunity to be taught by some.

Specialist facilities

We have an impressive range of world-class facilities to support your studies. In addition to our advanced CAD facilities for design work, we have the latest industry-standard software for computational fluid dynamics and finite element modelling of material stress analysis, programming and structural and multidisciplinary optimisation.

You may also make use of the School's other laboratories as well as manufacturing facilities including 3D printing and machine tools such as lathes and CNC machines in our new integrated workshop for students taking the Advanced Manufacturing module. These facilities are also available for those students that have selected a lab based project, or need to manufacture components for their project.

Our world-class facilities in materials screening analysis, joint simulation, surface analysis, heart valve simulation and tensile and fatigue testing allow us to push the boundaries in medical engineering.

Programme team

The Programme Leader, Dr Anthony Herbert, is a lecturer in Medical and Biological Engineering and a member of the University’s Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. His particular research focus is on tissue engineering, decellularization and tissue biomechanics.

Academics and researchers from within the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering are at the heart of the programme’s delivery team. Specialist modules are also taught by members of the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Leeds University Business School.

On this course, you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

You’ll be assessed through a variety of assessment approaches to test different knowledge and skills. Assessments will enable you to demonstrate your competency in a particular skill, as well as measuring the extent of your knowledge and understanding. They are designed to be fair and inclusive.

We will use different forms of assessment including written examinations (held at the end of each semester) and coursework that also develops key transferable skills that will be relevant to your future professional practice, such as project reports, teamworking and presentations.

Assessments will develop your ability to bring together evidence from a variety of sources, and to critically understand and evaluate. You will also have frequent opportunities to develop your understanding of assessment and to improve your performance, for example through formative assessments with feedback, guided marking, peer review and opportunities to practise key assessment methods.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in engineering, a physical science, mathematics. A medical degree or allied subject is acceptable where the candidate also has demonstrable knowledge of mathematics and physics. We may ask for further detailed module information where necessary.

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information please contact the Admissions Team.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Engineering (6 weeks) and Language for Science: Engineering (10 weeks). 

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

How to apply

Application deadlines

Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

31 July 2024 – International applicants

8 September 2024 – UK applicants

Click below to access the University’s online application system and find out more about the application process.

If you're still unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2025

This course is taught by

School of Mechanical Engineering

Contact us

Postgraduate Admissions Team

Email: pgmech@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Fees

UK: £13,750 (Total)

International: £31,000 (Total)

Read more about paying fees and charges.

For fees information for international taught postgraduate students, read Masters fees.

Additional cost information

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There may be help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government.  Find out more at Masters funding overview.

Career opportunities

There is global growth in MedTech, and certainly a huge demand within the Leeds city region. The University of Leeds is recognised for medical technologies, offering graduates of this course a level of distinctiveness which is attractive to employers. The specialist skill set and advanced knowledge you’ll be equipped with from this course will give you everything you need to pursue the career you want and excel in this field.

Plus, the University of Leeds is in the top 5 most targeted universities in the UK by graduate recruiters, according to High Fliers’ The Graduate Market in 2024 report.

Career destinations and opportunities for graduates of this course are diverse. This course will also prepare you for further studies as a researcher in industry or at PhD level. Our graduates have secured positions at companies such as:

• Bioengineer, DePuy Synthes
• Engineer, Institute for the control of medical devices
• Doctor, NHS
• Midwife, NHS Oxford
• Doctor, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Surgeon, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust
• Research Engineer/Physicist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Consultant, Health Care & Project Management
• Senior Executive, Biocon
• Researcher, European Commission project MEDDICA
• Physicist, Medical Device Authority

Careers support

At Leeds, we help you to prepare for your future from day one. We have a wide range of careers resources — including our award-winning Employability team who are in contact with many employers around the country and advertise placements and jobs. They are also on hand to provide guidance and support, ensuring you are prepared to take your next steps after graduation and get you where you want to be.

• Links with industry — we have close working relationships with a number of medical organisations who you can meet and connect with at talks, networking events and sometimes teaching too.
• Employability events — we run a full range of events including careers fairs in specialist areas and across broader industries — all with employers who are actively recruiting for roles.
• MyCareer system — on your course and after you graduate, you’ll have access to a dedicated careers portal where you can book appointments with our team, get information on careers and see job vacancies and upcoming events.
• Qualified careers consultants — gain guidance, support and information to help you choose a career path. You’ll have access to 1-2-1 meetings and events to learn how to find employers to target, write your CV and cover letter, research before interviews and brush up on your interview skills.
• Opportunities at Leeds — there are plenty of exciting opportunities offered by our Leeds University Union, including volunteering and over 300 clubs and societies to get involved in.

Find out more about career support.