Application details

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The applications system closed on 8 May for 2026 entries. However, we may still be able to accept late applications. Contact us if you are interested.

Please check our FAQ and email hip-admin@eng.cam.ac.uk if you have any further queries.

Overview

This page describes the materials you will need to supply in your application.

Potential applicants are advised to consider carefully their capacity for balancing personal and professional commitments before submitting an application. Sufficient engagement with the programme will require a substantial time commitment and the ability to meet coursework deadlines. Expect to devote around 1 full day per week, spread over the course of the calendar year, with peaks and troughs in workload.

Your application will require the following documentation:

  1. A curriculum vitae.
  2. A transcript of all the courses you have taken during previous programmes of study, with the result you obtained, and with the credit value if applicable. If your documents are not in English, you must also upload a full translation of each document, prepared by a registered translator.
  3. An official copy of your academic degree and any chartership certificates.
  4. If English isn’t your first language, you will be required to submit evidence that you meet the University’s English language requirements. Further information can be found below.

Additionally, you will be asked the following questions:

  1. Tell us about your professional background, including your professional experience in healthcare, and its relevance to the Healthcare Innovation programme. (1200 characters)
  2. Please explain how you think the course could help you and your organisation/community and why this is important. (1000 characters)
  3. How would you contribute to the peer group of students on the course? (600 characters)

You will also be asked how you intend to fund your course fees and which fee you believe applies to you - Home or Overseas (further information on this can be found here: https://www.fee-status.admin.cam.ac.uk/top-tips-applicants-and-offer-holders). Funding might come from a single source such as your employer, self-funding, other funding/bursary or another source, or be part-funded from different sources. You will be asked about this at interview. The interview itself should require minimal preparation.

Academic Requirements

Applicants are normally expected to have a good undergraduate degree (a UK first or upper second-class honours degree, or equivalent) in a subject relevant to the course. The subject may be, or related to, life sciences, medical sciences, computation or engineering. Other backgrounds will be considered. If you have already achieved a Pass grade in a UK equivalent Master's degree then this will surpass the University minimum entry requirement. You must have completed your studies before beginning this course - students already enrolled on another course, either at Cambridge or elsewhere, are not permitted to study a second course at the same time.

For international students, a number of degree equivalencies are published by the University: postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/international-qualifications. Hopefully these will give you a rough idea of the equivalency of your qualifications.

If you have any question please contact us at hip-admin@eng.cam.ac.uk to discuss your situation prior to applying.

Language Requirements

You should be able to read, write and speak English fluently. The University of Cambridge believes that it is in the student's interest that their language skills are at a very high level before they embark on a course, and adherence to this requirement is strict. Evidence of competence in the English language will be assessed at the point of offer and, if it is relevant, an English Language condition may be set, which must be satisfied prior to starting the course.

If you are made a conditional offer and have not already met our language requirements, one of the conditions of your offer will be that you pass a test at the required level. If you have neither taken an approved language test and achieved the minimum required score, nor recently studied for 3 years (ending within the last 2 years) at a level equivalent to a UK Bachelor degree in a List A country*, then you should make arrangements to take a test as soon as possible as there can sometimes be long waiting times for a test place. The degree must have been completed at an institution that the University recognises as using English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) at the required level for entry to Cambridge, and with a graduation date no more than two years before the start date of the PGCert. The University's Postgraduate Admissions Office will maintain a list of institutions recognised or not recognised as using EMI, based on past cases.

To study on our course we will accept any of the following as proof of English language skills:

  • IELTS Academic: an overall band score of 7.0 with not less than 7.0 in speaking, listening and writing, and 6.5 in reading. There are separate criteria for near-misses close to these scores.
  • TOEFL iBT: Overall score of 100, with no less than 25 in each element. Additionally, from 2026, a University Language Centre referral and successful assessment will also be required at a cost of £102.
  • Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English – at grade A.
  • Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English – at grade A or B.

* List A countries and further information on language requirements can be found at:

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/english-language-requirements

 

Selection Process

Applications will be considered as two gathered fields. Applicants who have applied by 2 January 2026 and who pass the first stage of the scrutiny process may be interviewed in the week beginning 16 February 2026, or the following week. Applicants at this stage will be notified of the outcome by early March 2026. Applicants who are not shortlisted for these interviews may be waitlisted for interview in the second phase in June 2026.

Applicants who have applied after 2 January 2025 but before 8 May 2026 and who pass the first stage of the scrutiny process may be interviewed in June. Applicants at this stage will be notified of the outcome by late June / early July 2026.

Interviews are usually online and are conducted by one or two members of the team of course advisers. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email. Candidates applying for the earlier deadline, if successful, will receive an early offer.

Successful applicants will be given a Conditional Offer of a place on the course. Conditions include the provision of acceptable references, meeting any language requirements and the provision of funding.

References

You will need to provide the details of two referees who are senior people acquainted with your work and who are able to comment on your academic and/or professional suitability to undertake the course. You will be asked for your referees' details on application, so it is important for you to ensure that your referee is able to provide a reference for you before you submit your application form. For this course, one academic and one professional reference is preferred. Please provide institutional rather than personal email addresses. In particular, a letter would be welcomed from your current employer indicating support for you undertaking the course.

You should try to advise your referees to include the following information:

  • how long they have known you and in what capacity;
  • their opinion of your experience, achievements, professional interests and the capabilities that you will bring to the course;
  • whether they believe you have the academic rigour to successfully complete a postgraduate PgCert level course;
  • whether they consider you have the enthusiasm, commitment and determination necessary to complete the course successfully;
  • whether they can comment on your suitability for engaging in the particular challenges of part-time study.

You may also advise your referees to read this website in order to learn about the course.

Transcripts

A transcript is a list of all the courses you have taken during a programme of study, with the result you obtained, and with the credit value if applicable.

If you are currently studying, you will be asked to provide a transcript listing the courses taken during your programme of study, with the results or grades obtained for each. Students already enrolled on another course, either at Cambridge or elsewhere, are not permitted to study a second course at the same time.

If you have previously completed degree-level study, you will be asked to provide a transcript or degree certificate for each degree-level programme you have studied, showing the date the degree was awarded and the final class or grade obtained.

If your documents are not in English, you will additionally be required to provide a full translation of each document, prepared by a registered translator.

Professional Qualifications

To support the application, applicants are encouraged to provide relevant professional qualifications or memberships with documentary evidence, stating the date the qualification or membership was obtained.

Research Proposal

A research proposal is not required for application to the PGCert. However, students who wish to continue from the PGDip to the MSt will be asked to provide a research proposal at that time. Support on writing the writing research proposal will be provided during the PGDip programme.