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Studies & Degrees in Oncology

Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Oncologists are doctors: they first complete a medical degree and then train for several years in a hospital as specialists. England's NHS Health Careers service describes medical oncologists as doctors who diagnose, assess, treat and manage patients with cancers, with the aim of a cure or of palliative care.

The specialty has several branches. Medical oncology treats cancer with drugs. Clinical or radiation oncology uses radiotherapy, in the United Kingdom together with chemotherapy. Surgical oncology removes tumours, and other doctors concentrate on children (paediatric oncology) or on cancers of the female reproductive system (gynaecological oncology). According to the NHS, most medical oncologists go on to specialise in one to three tumour types.

Qualifications and levels

There is no undergraduate degree in oncology that qualifies someone to treat patients. The route is a medical degree followed by specialist training, and its length depends on the country.

  • Spain. Oncología Médica is an official medical specialty. Its training programme, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Orden SSI/577/2013), requires a prior degree in Medicine and lasts five years: two years of core training in clinical medicine and three years in the specialty itself. The same order notes that the European Union recognises medical oncology with a minimum training period of five years, and it expects residents to read and write scientific texts in English at level B2 or higher.
  • United Kingdom. After medical school, doctors complete a paid two-year foundation programme. Specialty training then takes a minimum of six years for medical oncology and a minimum of seven years for clinical oncology, and ends with a certificate of completion of training (CCT). Entry is competitive: the NHS reports 185 applications for 39 medical oncology training places in 2020.
  • United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, physicians typically need a bachelor's degree and a medical degree that takes a further four years, followed by three to nine years of internship and residency depending on the specialty. Subspecialisation adds a fellowship of one to three years.
  • Research degrees. Graduates in biology, biomedicine and related sciences can study cancer without becoming clinicians. The University of Sheffield lists a Cancer Biology and Therapeutics MSc among its taught master's courses for 2027-28, and Stanford University runs a Cancer Biology PhD Program. These degrees prepare for laboratory and translational research and do not give the right to practise medicine.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 14 active schools for oncology. Four are in the United States, three in the United Kingdom, two in Spain and two in Ukraine; Canada, Belgium and Russia have one each. In Spain the list includes the Universidad de Murcia and the Universidad CEU San Pablo in Madrid. Elsewhere it includes Stanford University, Saint Louis University and East Carolina University in the United States, The University of Sheffield and Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, the University of Calgary, the University of Leuven, and Bukovinian State Medical University and Sumy State University in Ukraine.

Most of these are universities with a medical school, so the first decision is where to study medicine. Clinical training involves daily contact with patients and therefore takes place in the language of the country. A medical degree from one country is not automatically valid in another: before enrolling, check with the health authority of the country where you plan to work how foreign medical degrees and specialist titles are recognised.

Careers

Most oncologists work in hospitals and cancer centres, as members of teams that also include surgeons, radiologists, pathologists and specialist nurses. Others combine clinical work with research or university teaching, or work on the development of new treatments.

Official statistics are rarely published for oncologists separately. For physicians and surgeons as a whole, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment growth of 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to become an oncologist?

It takes a medical degree plus specialist training. In Spain the medical oncology programme lasts five years after the degree in Medicine. In the United Kingdom, specialty training takes at least six years for medical oncology and seven for clinical oncology, after medical school and a two-year foundation programme.

What is the difference between medical and clinical oncology?

In the United Kingdom, clinical oncologists treat patients with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while medical oncologists use non-radiological treatments such as drug therapies.

Can I study oncology without being a doctor?

You can study cancer as a science. Master's and PhD programmes in cancer biology, such as those at The University of Sheffield and Stanford University, lead to research careers, but they do not qualify graduates to treat patients.

Can I train as an oncologist in Spain with a foreign medical degree?

The Spanish training programme requires a degree in Medicine. Graduates from other countries should ask the Spanish authorities how their degree is recognised and how to apply for specialist training before making plans.