Medical Law and Ethics

Entry requirements

• A good 2:1 degree (or its equivalent) in a relevant subject (for example law (or in a degree in which law is a major component), anthropology, medicine and allied professions (nursing, pharmacy…), sociology and philosophy
• Students whose native language is not English must show evidence of general proficiency in the English language by normally achieving 7.0 or higher in IELTS with a minimum of 7.0 in the writing component and a minimum of 6.5 in all other components.
• Students from EU member states whose native language is not English may show evidence of general proficiency in the English language by normally achieving 102 or higher in TOEFL with a minimum of 27 in the writing component and a minimum of 25 in all other components.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The LLM in Medical Law and Medical Ethics is a multi- and inter-disciplinary programme that enables students to develop a critical appreciation of the legal and ethical issues raised by medical practice and science.

This course offers students from a wide variety of backgrounds the opportunity to develop their legal knowledge and skills in some of the most intellectually challenging and practically relevant areas of medical law and ethics. Whilst led by the Law School, the course is enables students to take a number of related modules from other schools, ensuring a broad appreciation of the law and ethics relating to medical practice and science. . The programme benefits from the research strength of CELLS, Durham’s Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences, which counts many of the leading medical lawyers and ethicists within its members.

During the first two terms of the course, you will study taught modules drawn from a wide variety of topics on medical law and ethics. You then complete your studies by writing a dissertation on a medical law related topic chosen by you and supervised by a member of staff with expertise in your selected subject area. Teaching is a mixture of lectures and smaller, student-led, seminar or tutorial groups. The dissertation is pursued by independent research with individual supervision.

We anticipate that students attending the course will be drawn from a broad range of countries and disciplines and that their previous academic or professional experiences will enrich the course. Membership of the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences is open to all students on the LLM and they are encouraged to participate in its activities.

Core Modules

• Contemporary Issues in Medical Law & Ethics – 30 credits.
• Applied Research Methods in Law - 15 credits
• Dissertation – 10,000/15,000/20,000 (60/75/90 credits respectively) on a Medical Law related topic.

Optional Modules (to provide a total of 180 credits) from Law, English, Philosophy, Anthropology, Economics, Sociology and Geography.

Information for international students

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Fees and funding

For more information see the course listing