Clinical Education (Online Learning) MSc, PgCert, PgDip, PgProfDev

Our award-winning online learning technology is fully interactive and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from the comfort of your own home or workplace.

Our online students not only have access to Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.

We host online open days where prospective students and applicants can meet some of the tutors and students, and experience the online tutorial rooms.

Studying online at Edinburgh

Find out more about the benefits and practicalities of studying for an online degree:

• Postgraduate online learning

There are three courses at the certificate stage and three at the diploma stage. This is followed by your thesis in the third year.

We deliver lectures and live conversations online. You will be expected to use self-directed learning, peer-discussion boards, live conversations, peer presentations and other similar e-learning activities to help engage with and get the most from the course materials.

During term time, you should be prepared to spend an average of 15-20 hours per week engaged in study, with study time intensifying prior to submission of your assignments.

Accelerated routes are available in discussion with the programme team.

Year 1: Certificate

Courses previously offered include:

• Principles of Teaching and Learning
• Assessment, Examinations and Standard Setting
• The Curriculum

Year 2: Diploma

You will study Research in Clinical Education along with 2 elective courses. Please see the programme structure links below, for the choice of elective (optional) courses.

Please note that elective courses will run subject to demand. You will be notified in advance if an alternative course choice is required.

Year 3: Masters

The third year consists of either: three 20 credit courses, one 20 credit course plus a 40 credit quality improvement project proposal course, or a dissertation research project.

Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD)

Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) is aimed at working professionals who want to advance their knowledge through a postgraduate-level course(s), without the time or financial commitment of a full Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate.

You may take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses over two years through our PPD scheme. These lead to a University of Edinburgh postgraduate award of academic credit.

Alternatively, after one year of taking courses you can choose to transfer your credits and continue on to studying towards a higher award on a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme. Although PPD courses have various start dates throughout a year you may only start a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme in the month of September. Any time spent studying PPD will be deducted from the amount of time you will have left to complete a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate programme.

Please contact the programme team for more information about available courses and course start dates.

• Read more about how the programme is structured

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

This programme has been designed to enhance your prospects as a teacher and instructor in human or animal health.

It promotes high quality clinical education by helping you to:

• reflect upon and share insights about your practice
• understand and apply educational theories and evidence from literature
• develop a good solid foundation in clinical education and educational research upon which to build your academic career

Jenny Rossdale

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A primary clinical qualification, such as an MBChB, BVS, BDS, Bachelor of Nursing, or a UK 2:1 honours degree in a relevant subject, or their international equivalents.

We will also consider your application if you have a biomedical science qualification or a non-university professional qualification, such as Registered General Nurse, with appropriate clinical experience.

You must be currently teaching in clinical or educational settings.

Students from China

This degree is Band D.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 65 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 7 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Tuition fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money

  • taking out a loan

  • family support

• personal savings

• income from work

• employer sponsorship

• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

The University of Edinburgh offers a small number of scholarships to outstanding candidates. These are very competitive. We publish data on the success rate for scholarship applications to help you understand the level of demand.

• Scholarship applications - success rates

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

• Online Learning Scholarships

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding