Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course including information about course components or research areas, please visit the course page on the University of Oxford website. The MSc in Reproductive Genetics provides graduate students, scientists and clinicians with a detailed theoretical and practical understanding of reproduction, pregnancy and reproductive genetics. The course teaches an appreciation for how the individual threads of reproduction, pregnancy and reproductive genetics, are woven together to deliver a range of vital clinical services for patients. The department aims to provide students with a unique postgraduate education that focuses on a field of medicine that has grown in importance for decades and now stands at the threshold of a dramatic expansion that will necessitate an increased number of scientists and clinicians with a deep understanding of reproductive genetics, prenatal and pre-implantation genetic testing, and patient counselling. The course will foster a spirit of critical enquiry, essential for the effective review of the evidence base supporting novel technologies, prior to clinical application. You will learn

• the fundamental and applied aspects of reproductive genetics, including human reproductive biology and genetic methods for diagnostics;

• how to critique current research investigating how genetic issues can influence global reproductive health;

• how to evaluate key laboratory skills, including preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), next generation sequencing technologies, and how to execute these techniques in accordance with regulatory considerations;

• how current molecular technologies (such as the human genome sequencing project, genome editing and nuclear transfer and reprogramming) might influence the future treatment of infertility treatment, including ethical and legal issues;

• bioinformatics analysis, and data management/interpretation, including the analysis of clinical genetic data;

• how to develop laboratory management and quality management skills for clinical application in a genetics clinic; and

• how to design and implement new research methods and skills to address the increasing need for reproductive genetic testing.