Bioethics and Medical Jurisprudence

Entry requirements

A good (UK first class or upper second class honours) bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline;

AND

EITHER a master's degree in ethics, law, or a cognate discipline, at Merit level or the overseas equivalent

OR a suitable period (normally at least three years) of validated professional experience in a relevant field;

1. a sample of written work demonstrating ability in the area of philosophical bioethics or medical law [2,000 - 5,000 words], and a brief outline of your proposed research topic [1-2 pages] View our research proposal guidelines
2. A copy of your CV
3. two academic references,
4. official transcripts and certificates from your previous degree programmes,
5. a 500-2,000 word provisional research proposal indicating the area you are interested in pursuing,
6. and, for candidates for whom English is not their first language, a demonstrated proficiency in English, evidenced by an IELTS score of 7 or equivalent, with a minimum writing score of 7, or equivalent. The certification must have been awarded in the two years prior to entry.

Applications are considered from September each year for admission the following September's intake. As places are limited on this programme each year, applicants are advised to submit their application as soon as possible to give them the best chance of securing one of these places. Applicants who clearly fulfil the criteria but who cannot be offered a place will be asked whether they would like to wait for possible cancellations in the on-going round and/or like to be considered again in a year's time. Selection will be made on the basis of academic merits and promise, and it can involve interviews and/or other types of preliminary on-site performance evaluation.

Months of entry

September

Course content

National, regional, and local governments, organisations, and authorities are beginning to realise that they need highly trained people in healthcare ethics and law. This means now is a good time to aim for the highest academic qualifications in the field.

Traditional graduate studies for a research degree do not offer the ethical and legal knowledge or the comprehensive methodological training needed for cutting-edge research into bioethics and medical jurisprudence. A more structured approach is called for.

This programme is designed to provide a solid skills basis for independent research, and to guide participants steadily towards the completion of a structured doctoral thesis, which is based on publishable journal articles and book chapters. The programme itself is unique in its combination of group sessions in research methods and presentation events which are designed to ensure a genuine sense of community among the participants, and friendly but consistent supervision by world-class scholars in the field.

The topics and themes which are covered during the group sessions in Year 1 address the diverse challenges of doctoral research in health law and ethics (e.g. refining your research question; scoping the literature; doing interdisciplinary research; exploring methodologies in bioethics; getting published).

Our entire community of doctoral scholars cohort meet six times during the year to present their ideas and research papers. We encourage staff and students at all stages of their learning to attend our BMJ presentation events so that doctoral scholars can become accustomed to presenting their research to a diverse audience. Our doctoral scholars are a vital element in the research culture of the School.