Medical Law and Ethics LLM (Online Learning) The University of Edinburgh

This programme draws on the expertise and tradition of Edinburgh to deliver an internationally-focused, interdisciplinary programme that combines flexible learning with the most up-to-date teaching on all of the important issues affecting medicine, law and ethics today.

Medical law is a fascinating field of study as advances in medical research and new technologies shift the boundaries of medicine. New health issues are emerging and patient rights are increasingly taking centre stage. New and complex medico-legal dilemmas arise in clinical practice, in the realities of human health, and in the relationships between patients and healthcare professionals.

The programme enables you to explore the international and interdisciplinary dimensions of medical law and ethics. You will have opportunities to examine healthcare policy and the regulation of medicine in different parts of the world. You will also evaluate responses to technology and debate possible futures for medical law.

Applications are welcomed from legal professionals and healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, and from all those with an interest in this area.

Online learning

Our online learning programmes are delivered entirely online via a virtual learning environment. Learning and teaching happen ‘asynchronously’. This means that you have the flexibility to log in at times and in places convenient to you, contribute your views and respond to others, and still maintain a sense of community with your fellow students across time zones.

The University of Edinburgh is currently ranked 15th in the World in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

Having studied the programme, you will emerge with an understanding of medico-legal issues not just in the legal context, but with a sound grounding in ethics, and social and theoretical contexts.

This programme is suitable to prepare students for advanced research.

Graduates of our online distance learning programmes progress to a range of careers in Law and related legal fields, including work in local and international firms, government legal departments, other public institutions, international organisations and in academia.

The programmes are also an ideal platform for advanced research.

Programme structure

To be awarded LLM Medical Law and Ethics you must successfully complete six courses, five of which must be core courses, and a 10,000-word dissertation during your chosen duration of the study.

During your studies, you will also have the opportunity to study up to two courses from different subject areas such as information technology law or international commercial law.

Medical Law and Ethics - compulsory courses

• The Fundamentals of Law and Medical Ethics (20 credits)
• Fundamentals in Bioethics (20 credits)
• Law and Ethics at the Start and End of Life (20 credits)

Medical Law and Ethics - core courses

• Clinical Negligence and the Law (10 credits)
• Global Health: Law and Policy (20 credits)
• Mental Health Law (20 credits)
• Shaping and Regulating Modern Healthcare (10 credits)

Optional courses - group 1

You can choose between 0 and 20 credits from the following courses:

• Communications Law (20 credits)
• EU Data Protection Law (20 credits)
• European Competition and Innovation (20 credits)
• International and European Law of the Media (20 credits)
• Regulation of Autonomous Systems: the Law of Robotics (20 credits)

Optional courses - group 2

You can choose between 0 and 20 credits from the following courses with the approval of your Programme Director:

• Banking and Financial Law: Case Studies (20 credits)
• Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)
• Corporate Compliance: Case Studies in Law & Ethics (20 credits)
• Comparative & International Corporate Governance (20 credits)
• Dispute Resolution Methods (20 credits)
• Information: Control and Power (20 credits)
• Information Technology Law (20 credits)
• International Law, Human Rights & Corporate Accountability (20 credits)
• Sustainable Capitalism and Investment (20 credits)

The dissertation

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move on to a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000-word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic within the options available in the programme.

Title

Your dissertation title will be agreed upon with your supervisor during your final semester of taught study. Dissertation topics must fall within the scope of your programme and will relate to specific courses that you have taken at Edinburgh. Supervision continues throughout the research and writing of the dissertation.

Aim

Your dissertation must demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage in critical analysis. More credit will be given for originality and evidence of independent thinking, whether in terms of the material used, or the manner in which it is presented.

Timing

The dissertation is written in the summer months (April to August) after the taught courses are successfully completed.