MA
MA Medical Humanities (Online)
This online MA in Medical Humanities adopts the perspectives of the humanities and social sciences to gain a better understanding of the human experience as it relates to health and illness.
How to apply Apply via UCASCourse details
Start date
Degree Type
MA
Program Code
Q3KF07
Course length
1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Typical offer
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £12,500 per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £27,500 per year
Overview
This online MA in Medical Humanities is an exciting and challenging course that applies the knowledge and insight of the humanities and social sciences to study and understand better what is meant by health and illness outside of a medical context and, in particular, to analyse how our thoughts and physical experiences become recognised as symptoms. The MA is suitable if you have an undergraduate qualification in an area such as Anthropology; English; Geography; Law; Modern Languages and Cultures; Philosophy; Sociology; and related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. You may also benefit if you have a background in health and social care and are looking to bring humanities and social sciences perspectives to bear in your professional practice. Learning from leading scholars in the subject, you will be joining an interdisciplinary MA led by the University’s Institute for Medical Humanities and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The course provides a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to the wide range of approaches to health taken by different academic disciplines. Teaching will be through online lectures and workshops with scaffolded assignments where work is broken down into small units with a defined subject focus. We also offer the option of studying the course in person at Durham. As a student on this course, you will become a member of the Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers (PGECR) network in Medical Humanities, where you will benefit from regular seminars, conferences and social events.
Course details
Start date
Degree Type
MA
Program Code
Q3KF07
Course length
1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Typical offer
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £12,500 per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £27,500 per year
What you'll study
Core modules include Concepts and Frameworks in the Critical Medical Humanities and Reimagining Health Research: Methodologies in the Critical Medical Humanities while optional modules explore key philosophical issues in areas of medical law, neurodiversity and the literary genre of ‘illness narrative’. There is also a Critical Medical Humanities dissertation to complete.
Core modules
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Concepts and Frameworks in the Critical Medical Humanities
provides advanced training in the interdisciplinary field of critical medical humanities and strengthens your understanding of both its development from the less complex context of initial medical humanities study and its distinct contribution to health research and current challenges. This module will also build your knowledge of concepts, theories and approaches essential to research in the critical medical humanities.
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Critical Medical Humanities Dissertation
gives you the opportunity to conduct an independent research project in a specialist area, applying the techniques developed in the research methods modules.
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Reimagining Health Research: Methodologies in the Critical Medical Humanities
provides the advanced knowledge and skills you will need to critically appraise key health research methodologies used in the critical medical humanities. This module will enhance your ability to assess ideas and evidence from a variety of sources and then choose, justify, or critique work done across key disciplines. It will also encourage you to be reflective and review your own existing competences as well as nurture your ability to work across disciplines.
Optional modules
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In recent years optional modules have included: Illness as Narrative PracticeContemporary Issues in Medical LawNeurodiversity and the Humanities
Learning
Teaching is delivered through a combination of online lectures, workshops and scaffolded assignments – the latter format being where large-scale topics are broken down into smaller units which are delivered online by subject experts and discussed collaboratively with peers. For some modules you will also form online study groups with other students to work on group projects. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation for which you will receive one-to-one guidance from a dissertation tutor to support you through the planning and writing process.Assessment
Assessment is challenging and comes in a variety of formats for this course. You will be expected to produce essays, annotated bibliography entries and Student Devised Assessments (SDA) when you will deliver your study findings using creative and context-appropriate methods. A number of modules include presentations followed by written peer reviews of presentations. You will also compile learning logs and complete a major 15,000-word dissertation.Entry requirements
To learn more about the qualifications we typically accept, please select your country from the drop-down menu below.
Minimum entry requirements | At least one of the following: A 2:1 undergraduate degreeActive enrolment on an intercalated UG/PG medical degree programmeAt least five years work in a professional environment with relevance to health and/or medicine, with at least two years in some form of leadership roleSuccessful completion of the associated PG Certificate programme A 500-word personal statement which should include the following: An outline of your interest in an interdisciplinary MA in Medical HumanitiesWhat skills and knowledge you would bring to the courseWhat skills and knowledge you would hope to acquireAn indication of your planned area of research |
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Typical offer | |
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Fees & Funding
Choose which fees you want to see:
Home / Island students
£12,500 per year
International / EU Students
£27,500 per year
Home / Island students
Part Time - £6,900 per year
International / EU Students
Part Time - £15,200 per year
The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
Find out moreDepartment Information
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From health and the human experience to responses to the environmental crisis, our flexible and accessible postgraduate qualifications are centred around areas that are highly relevant in the world today. These innovative qualifications in Environmental Humanities and Medical Humanities take a non-scientific approach to real-world challenges, considering them from a range of social, historical, ethical and anthropological perspectives. Our courses extend beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, drawing on methods and insights from the arts, humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences to develop effective responses to climate and environmental crises and to health and wellbeing challenges. Students learn directly from many of the UK’s leading academic experts in these rapidly developing fields. Our team takes a collaborative approach that enables more effective communication across disciplines to address the intersecting nature of these problems. All of our courses, from postgraduate certificate through to MA, are designed to nurture thoughtful, critical and engaged graduates who are equipped with the academic knowledge and skills to make a meaningful contribution in a rapidly changing and complex world. For more information see our department pages.
Read moreFacilities
The interdisciplinary nature of our courses combined with the flexibility in modules gives our students access to a range of teaching and learning facilities across the wider University as well as the specialist archives and collections in arts and humanities. These facilities are located throughout Durham within easy access of the historic city centre with its castle and cathedral and beautiful riverside. We are home to a number of related research centres and institutes including the Centre for Culture and Ecology, a group of researchers who explore the effects of changing climate on the location, abundance, behaviour and physiology of populations and communities. The Institute of Medical Humanities is a pioneering research institute that explores the everyday experiences of health and illness from the emergence of symptoms to the cultural contexts and constructs of health.
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