Study Details: MA, PG Dip, PG Cert; One year FT, two years PT
Advances in biomedicine, neuroscience, and public health raise some of the most difficult ethical and societal questions today. The Bioethics & Society programme allows you to study these questions drawing on concepts, theories, and methods from philosophy and the social sciences. This will enable you to understand how bioethics influences the world, and how you could make an impact.
The programme is taught in the heart of London, with immediate access to King’s hospitals and laboratories, and close to government, health policy think-tanks, patient advocacy groups, medical and scientific societies, and the private health sector. We offer a unique ‘real-world’ approach to bioethics, allowing students to understand the social and political contexts in which bioethical controversies arise and proposed solutions are developed. In the course of their studies, students are equipped with essential knowledge and skills to make a contribution to resolving bioethical problems. In addition, internship opportunities enable students to gather practical insights and to build professional networks.
Lectures and seminars are taught by internationally recognized faculty who consult the World Health Organization, the Nuffield Council or Bioethics, and the U.K. Parliament Office of Science & Technology, among others. A rich programme of guest lectures and seminars within the Department of Social Science, Health & Medicine and the college, including the KCL / UCL Joint Bioethics Colloquium, enhances students’ learning experience.
A relevant UK honours degree of 2:1 standard or overseas equivalent. If an applicant possesses an undergraduate degree below 2:1 standard, subsequent postgraduate qualifications may be taken into account. Also desirable is evidence of active engagement in relevant activities and an attentive concern for the pressing ethical questions in contemporary medicine, bioscience and health policy, demonstrated by reading and otherwise following current national and international issues.
We may consider candidates with a lower second class degree or with professional qualifications from a recognised institution if they can show relevant work experience and/or relevant professional qualifications, can demonstrate that they are highly motivated and have referees from their university or employment strongly supporting their admission onto a masters level programme
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/fees-and-funding/tuition-fees
Students who complete the Bioethics & Society programme to a high standard are expected to have numerous career paths open to them. For example, in government, national and international NGOs concerned with medicine and health, as ethics consultants in hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, and in think-tanks. Students can also continue on to a PhD in bioethics or social sciences. The programme also enhances existing careers in clinical practice, biomedical research, public health, or health policy. We collaborate closely with the Careers & Employability Office at King’s College London to enhance the employability of our students, and we organise targeted Careers sessions with guest-speakers from relevant fields.
Core Modules (must be taken and passed)
7SSHM616 Critical Bioethics (30 credits, term 1): offers students a critical introduction to the theoretical frameworks used in contemporary bioethics and to a wide range of approaches from philosophy and the social sciences.
7SSHM602 Dissertation in Bioethics and Society (60 credits, MA only): offers students the opportunity to investigate in depth a bioethical topic of their choice by carrying out an independent, small-scale research project.
Compulsory Modules (must be taken)
7SSHM617 Case Studies in Bioethics & Society (30 credits, term 2): uses a case-study based approach to enable students to understand how bioethical controversies and proposed solutions emerge in unique social, political and regulatory contexts.
7SSHM620 Foundations of Social Science, Health & Medicine (30 credits, term 1)
The module is designed to introduce students to the basic theories and concepts at the interface of social science, health & medicine. It is designed to create a
One of EITHER Designing Quantitative Research for Social Science & Health, OR Designing
Students taking the Postgraduate Diploma route take these modules in addition to the Core modules
Students taking the Postgraduate Certificate route take 7SSHM616 & 7SSHM617 only.
15 – 35 credits of optional modules: individual choice from a very broad range of optional modules taught across different departments across King’s.
Postgraduate Diploma students have 15 credits only.
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