Scholarship and Special Interest Programme

Pursue areas of specialised knowledge outside the core curriculum in your Scholarship and Special Interest Programme, and tailor your learning to suit your interests and career aspirations.

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Introduction

Tailor your experience

The Scholarship and Special Interest Programme (SSIP) enables you to explore aspects of medicine that are of particular interest to you and provides the opportunity to develop an in depth knowledge and understanding of current medical challenges.

Working with our expert tutors and researchers, you will undertake small-scale projects in each year of your MB BS programme, acquiring invaluable research skills and quality improvement skills to help you develop as an independent professional and scholar.

The range of choices available as part of the SSIP at each stage of study provide the opportunity to gain experience in a range of topics - or you can tailor your SSIP to develop expertise in a particular discipline, supporting your future career goals.

Students and researchers in Experimental Medicine and Biomedicine

Students and researchers in the Academy of Primary Care

Student in the lab in Experimental Medicine and Biomedicine

How the SSIP works

Phase I (Years 1 and 2)

In each year of Phase I, you will choose from a range of projects and will work alongside tutors who are active researchers and world-renowned experts in their fields. Find out more about our  our research.

Project themes range from medical humanities, health inequalities and global public health to experimental medicine and biomedicine.

Phase II (Years 3 and 4)

In Years 3 and 4 you will choose clinically related projects, which focus on a special interest of your choice.

Your project might involve undertaking a research project, assessing or improving the quality of patient care through participation in an audit or improvement project or developing teaching or assessment materials or leadership skills.

You will begin to establish distinctive skills and attributes that will be of value as you shape your future career as a doctor.

Phase III (Year 5)

Your final year SSIP takes the form of your elective.

Student perspectives

Alvina Chan - Year 5

Wishing to contribute to positive transformations in healthcare, particularly for marginalised communities, final year Medicine student Alvina Chan undertook research into the differences in cancer screening attendance between transgender and gender-diverse individuals and cisgender counterparts.

The research started in the Scholarship and Special Interest Programme (SSIP) and later through the INSPIRE programme.

Read on for an interview with Alvina, revealing how this experience has not only shaped academic aspirations but also the potential for making a difference in clinical academia and healthcare advocacy.

Read about Alvina's SSIP experience

Noemi Cintio - Year 4

Year 4 medicine student Noemi Cintio's pursuit of research began with the INSPIRE programme during their second year of study.

Noemi discovered a profound interest in research, leading to a pursuit of an intercalated MSc in Clinical Anatomy degree at Hull York Medical School and then further research in the Scholarship and Special Interest Programme.

Their journey includes diverse experiences and impactful contributions, as well as publishing work and presentations at esteemed conferences.

Read on for Noemi's insight into how these invaluable experiences have fueled their future research career ambitions.

Read about Noemi's SSIP experience

Dr Grace Cox - 2021 graduate

Dr Grace Cox, a 2021 graduate, ventured into a compelling research journey centred around the delivery of vaccination advice to patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

Recognising the crucial need for regular vaccinations among immunocompromised CLL patients to prevent severe infections, Dr Cox's Scholarship and Special Interest Programme aimed to unearth any barriers hindering the provision of essential vaccination guidance.

Read about Grace's SSIP experience

Blood samples in NHS cancer testing facilities