PGDip Healthcare Ethics and Law Postgraduate Diploma

Course description

Our PGDip in Healthcare Ethics and Law aims to provide the highest quality of training in healthcare ethics and healthcare law in a flexible and interdisciplinary way.

There is an emphasis on the application of bioethical and legal theory to real-world situations, catering to the practical needs of healthcare and legal professionals and those in related fields.

You will gain expert knowledge and understanding of bioethical and medico-legal theories, and the skills needed to apply them in the real world, in a diverse range of contexts.

By choosing the PGDip, you will be required to complete the structure of the taught component of the MA and LLM, but will not be required to write a dissertation.

Aims

• Provide the highest quality of training in healthcare ethics and healthcare law with an interdisciplinary approach.
• Place an emphasis on the application of moral and legal theory to real-world scenarios, catering to the practical needs of healthcare and legal professionals.
• Give you the opportunity to gain a comprehensive knowledge and firm understanding of ethical and medico-legal theories.
• Secure you with the skills needed to apply theory to real-world scenarios in a diverse range of contexts.

Teaching and learning

Teaching tends to defy the traditional boundaries associated with lectures and seminars.

Generally, each class in a course unit has a duration of 2 or 3 hours per week, and is split roughly between a formal, didactic period and a structured discussion period (most often based on the so-called challenge-response model).

Nevertheless, each class is considered a seminar or lecture, and attendance of all classes of a course unit for which a student is enrolled is compulsory. For course units of 15 credit value, there will generally be 15 hours of face-to-face teaching throughout the semester in which the unit is delivered, and twice that amount for 30 credit units.

Coursework and assessment

Assessment of all taught course units (to a total of 120 credits) is assessed coursework in the form of essays of 4,000 words per 15 credit course unit and up to 6,000 words for the three 30 credit core course units.

Career opportunities

Successful graduates are able to progress within a wide variety of roles in both medical, legal and ethical fields.

Graduates from previous years have, for example, proceeded to specialise in medico-legal practice and academic careers, and the degrees have enhanced the careers of health care professionals.

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate.