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.
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.
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.
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 structure
Core modules:
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.
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.
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.
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 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
At least one of the following:
A 2:1 undergraduate degree
Active enrolment on an intercalated UG/PG medical degree programme
At 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 role
Successful 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 Humanities
What skills and knowledge you would bring to the course
What skills and knowledge you would hope to acquire
The tuition fees for 2025/26 academic year have not yet been finalised, they will be displayed here once approved.
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).
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