University of Aberdeen

The intercalated degree programme offers students an opportunity to study the perspectives of several of a wide range of disciplines on medicine, health and illness, including, for example: anthropology, divinity and religious studies, economics, education, history, law, literature, philosophy, politics and sociology.

It will improve students’ information retrieval, analytical writing, and presentation skills, and will enhance both their own self-awareness and their awareness of the social and cultural context in which they will later operate.

The University of Aberdeen’s Medical Humanities programme offers maximum flexibility for students to follow their own special interests. It consists of one-year’s worth of full-time study in the College of Arts and Social Sciences, comprising a research project and 10,000 word dissertation, and three taught courses.

At least two of the taught courses must be chosen from among those normally taken by Aberdeen MA students in their fourth year of study. One taught course may be a course normally taken in third year. The dissertation, and at least two of the taught courses, must be medicine/health related, but a free choice is possible for one taught course, allowing students to take any third or fourth year course in the College of Arts and Social Sciences, subject to the approval of the relevant Head of School. In some cases (eg for music performance or language courses), appropriate previous qualifications/experience may be necessary.

Other courses which might appeal (apart from non-health/medicine related courses in the disciplines mentioned above) include archaeology, film studies, geography, gender studies, politics, history of art, international relations, etc. Quite apart from the flexibility that the Aberdeen programme allows, it has the added advantage of allowing the intercalating students to mix in classes, seminars and tutorials with senior students in the College of Arts and Social Sciences.

Entry requirements

You must have successfully completed three years of an undergraduate medical degree.

Closing date

Please contact the course provider.