School of Health in Social Science

MScR Health Humanities and Arts

An innovative MSc by Research programme that explores health and wellbeing through the lens of arts and humanities practice and knowledge.

Name MScR Health Humanities and Arts
Start Date September
Mode of Study 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time 
Programme Director Marisa De Andrade

Please check the postgraduate Degree Finder to see the specific entry requirements, start date and application deadlines. 

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The MScR Health Humanities and Arts is offered as a one-year full-time programme or as a two year part-time programme, and explores health and wellbeing through the lens of arts and humanities practice and knowledge. The programme’s key strength is its wide range of cross-disciplinary courses, allowing you to tailor the programme to your interests, and have a great deal of flexibility in terms of subject and medium of the final dissertation.   

Incorporating critical social scientific approaches, it investigates how arts and humanities knowledge and practice might enhance and challenge understandings of health and wellbeing in relation to topics such as health research, health practitioner training and self-reflection, policy making and politics. What is or should be the role of arts and humanities in researching and responding to global health challenges? Can health policy be improved through engagement with arts and humanities approaches? What kind of dialogue and impact should arts and humanities knowledge have with medicine? Can arts and humanities approaches transform how we respond to and promote wellbeing? 

Our programme offers the possibility to work with and be supervised by a range academics whose background in both therapeutic practice and research is compatible with the student's proposed area of research. Your supervisor will meet regularly with you throughout the period of study, with the focus and content of supervision meetings negotiated jointly depending on your needs.  

Why choose this programme?

The School of Health in Social Science at the University of Edinburgh has a long tradition of using humanities and arts approaches in working with health, well-being, and ill-health experiences and in its research methodologies and methods. The MScR Health Humanities and Arts builds on the school’s strengths in leading innovative cross-disciplinary teaching in health. 

 

On this programme, you will explore how a range of arts and humanities approaches - from film-making to music, and from literary studies to philosophy – can enhance our understanding of health and wellbeing and enrich our knowledge of individual and community experiences of health and illness, while challenging pervasive structural issues in society. This programme is at the cutting-edge of a rapidly developing discipline and offers collaborative, student-led approaches to learning, teaching, and research.    

A vibrant and inclusive research environment

The University of Edinburgh is a world-leader in research and innovation and an international centre of academic excellence. Students on this programme will become part of an active and diverse research community in the School of Health in Social Science and will have access to the wide-range of learning environments and outstanding resources that the University has to offer. Our postgraduate researchers work in close proximity to each other, enabling them to pool their expertise and knowledge to tackle complex challenges and push the boundaries of discovery. Students will be encouraged to engage with a wide range of seminars, talks, and events, and often have the opportunity to present their own research at national and international conferences. Our student-led postgraduate research blog provides a snapshot of the activities and events our PGR students organise and are involved in.

Find out more about ongoing research in our School

The School of Health in Social Science offers several fully funded MScR and PhD studentships each year. A variety of scholarships are available, which vary from full scholarships covering tuition fees and a stipend to cover living expenses, to partial scholarships.

Find out more about our scholarships and funding opportunities

Beyond the programme 

On successful completion of this programme, you will have gained in-depth knowledge of this growing field and the associated research and practice skills that will enable you to conduct high-quality research in this and other areas, such as further postgraduate study.  

Graduates of this programme may be interested in career opportunities in areas such: health advocacy, art history and heritage, applied arts with a health focus, journalism, bioethics, medical sociology, medical anthropology, health policy, health management. The programme is also suitable for the professional development of those already working in fields such as medicine, healthcare, social work, nursing, education, creative practice and the arts.   

Further Study Opportunities

The MScR Health Humanities and Arts builds on the school’s strengths in leading innovative cross-disciplinary teaching in health. 

The MScR is a comprehensive foundation for PhD study, which will equip you for academic positions in counselling and psychotherapy. Students with prior professional qualifications can also enhance careers with the addition of highly developed conceptual, analytical and research skills through this programme.   

Find out more about our postgraduate Health options