During the first and second year of the graduate entry medical degree, all students pursue their own choice of academic interest. Academic Special Interest Projects involve a literature review in Year 1 and related research project in Year 2. Students have protected time to work on their academic special interest during Hilary term of Year 1 and towards the end of Year 2. Students are responsible for identifying a supervisor and agreeing a topic for research. Project topics must be approved by the medical school during Hilary term.

• The literature review should address a specific title and be a concise review of relevant primary research. The word limit is 3,000 words, excluding the cover page, abstract, tables and figure legends. It should be submitted by Trinity term of the first year.
• The research project is assessed by a 400-word abstract and 20-minute oral presentation to peers and examiners. The research project assessment deadline is in Trinity term of the second year.

KEY DATES FOR ACADEMIC SPECIAL INTEREST PROJECTS STARTING IN 2026

Be advised that these dates are approximate.

• October 2025: Potential NDPH supervisors are contacted by the NDPH director of undergraduate studies for expressions of interest in hosting students.
• December 2025: Details of supervisors who are open to contact are posted here.
• December 2025-February 2026: Students seek supervisors for a project.
• March 2026: Student submits submission of request to seek approval of a research project.
• April 2026: Provided necessary approvals are met, research project can begin.

Details of the Academic Special Interest Projects and supervisors are published here in December. Students are encouraged to contact supervisors directly to explore supervision opportunities. Please contact the Clinical teaching team if you would like help connecting with staff working in a different area of interest.

Some projects may require advanced statistical knowledge. If this applies to your placement, your supervisor will let you know in advance. To help you prepare, we offer a free, online, self-taught course: Fundamentals of Statistical Software & Analysis (FoSSA). This course covers key statistical concepts using R, Stata, or SPSS, and is designed to be flexible. You can choose to study the modules that are most relevant to your project. Details and access to the course are available here.