St George's University of London

Información

St George’s University of London is special. We are an independent dual faculty institution, offering medicine and health sciences, although we remain steadfastly part of the confederation of colleges that constitute the University of London. We are totally committed to collaboration with other Higher Education Institutions, especially our long-term partner Kingston University, and more recently Royal Holloway, University of London.

Our independence has enabled us to foster, over many years, a warm, friendly environment in which staff and students really get to know each other. It also allows us to move swiftly in response to the ever-changing environment in education and research. On our main campus we share a site with St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, one of the busiest hospitals in the NHS. This unique combination of a supportive learning environment and a wealth of clinical experience may be one reason why the school is so popular.

Our mission is to promote — by excellence in teaching, clinical practice and research — the prevention, treatment and understanding of disease. But how good are we at delivering our mission? Our recent Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) audit was very encouraging and gave a very positive endorsement of the quality of our programmes and the robustness of our quality assurance procedures. In major reviews that took place in 2002 and 2004, the QAA commended the quality of the learning opportunities available to our Physiotherapy, Radiography, Nursing and Midwifery students.

In clinical practice we work closely with the National Health Service both locally and throughout the country and make full use of the interdisciplinary and multi-professional opportunities that we have developed. This is increasingly important if we are to full our aspirations to deliver the highest standards of healthcare in the UK. Scientists, students, doctors, nurses, psychologists, midwives, physiotherapists, radiographers, administrators, and, of course, our hardworking support staff are all important members of the St George’s family.

In October 2000, we introduced a new four-year graduate course to encourage mature students to enter medicine. We are also working actively with local schools to encourage less advantaged students to consider medicine as a career. We are proud to offer a special bioscience course and to teach midwifery, radiography, physiotherapy, social work and nursing students in conjunction with Kingston University in our joint Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences. We foster interdisciplinary learning for students entering the different professions to support the inter-professional teamwork the NHS increasingly needs.

Beyond our main campus, we have extensive links with hospitals and general practices throughout the South West sector. Our associated Mental Health Services are provided by the South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust. Large numbers of students also obtain clinical experience in St Helier Hospital close by in Carshalton, in local general practice and community services, and at many other partner hospitals in South West London and beyond.

St George’s is committed to the principle that high quality education and clinical practice must be backed by a sound and innovative research culture. The institution is extremely active in research and has an especially high reputation in diseases of the heart and circulation, and in the science and clinical practice associated with problems of infection and immunity. A new vaccine institute was opened in 1998 by The Princess Royal, Chancellor of the University of London, building on a heritage that goes back to Edward Jenner, a student of the school and the man who invented vaccination. Research is also strong in basic medical sciences, particularly cell biology and molecular genetics. Our research continues to be infuential in the fields of medical epidemiology and public health.

St George’s offers a number of multidisciplinary and specialist taught MSc degree programmes, as well as PhD and research studentships. Details of these courses, including postgraduate diplomas, are included in this prospectus.

Equally importantly, St George’s is renowned for its friendly atmosphere and its particularly active and supportive Students’ Union. We also pride ourselves on the positive relationship between health professions, students and staff from different ethnic, cultural and faith groups.

Choosing a university and a degree programme will be one of the most important decisions that you make in your life, so you need to make your selection with care. We hope you will consider St George’s when doing this, and we look forward to receiving your application.

Whatever you decide, I would like to wish you well on your path to a successful and fulfilling career.