Postgraduate study
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

One Health (Online Learning) MSc, PgDip (ICL), PgCert (ICL), PgProfDev

Awards: MSc, PgDip (ICL), PgCert (ICL), PgProfDev

Study modes: Part-time Intermittent Study

Online learning

Funding opportunities

Programme website: One Health (Online Learning)

When you're learning in an international environment you get exposed to so many things, you get exposed to so many perceptions and you come to understand that actually the world is different. That has had a great impact on me in being able to understand the challenges of my country [Uganda].

Salaviriuse Ahimbisibwe MSc One Health current student
Salaviriuse Ahimbisibwe               MSc One Health current student

One Health sits at the interface between human, animal and ecosystem health.

As such, it is a fast-evolving subject area, well suited to preparing professionals looking to tackle the wide range of intractable and highly complex health challenges of the 21st century.

This programme is delivered fully online, making the most of the University’s pioneering, award-winning online learning environments.

Who is this programme for?

This programme is suitable for a wide range of professionals, whose disciplinary backgrounds can include the health, biological, environmental and social sciences.

Why Edinburgh?

We were the first UK University to address the need for One Health professional training by providing a dedicated Master’s programme.

Launched in 2014, this MSc programme capitalises on the many strengths of the University of Edinburgh across multiple disciplines to deliver world-class teaching in One Health and provide the key training and skills required for a successful career in this emerging field.

In the national Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (2020), we received a 100% student satisfaction rating, reflecting the hard work the team puts in to build and support the learning community who come together to teach and learn on this programme.

The One Health programme is part of the Global Health Academy, and we share many elective courses with other programmes in the Academy.

This provides a great deal of flexibility allowing you to personalise your studies to reflect your professional interests and career aspirations.

As well as learning from our expert tutors, you will join with students from around the world on a number of different master’s programmes to share experiences and knowledge.

This programme is affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.

As an online programme, the flexible and part-time format allows participants to achieve a world-class award while maintaining busy professional and personal commitments.

Our online learning technology is supported by our investment in our Digital Education Unit who have extensive experience of pedagogy in today’s age of digital connection.

They work closely with the teaching staff to deliver a fully interactive, award-winning experience that 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 the University of Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.

The teaching provides a blend of theoretical and practical education to provide the foundation for a career in One Health.

A variety of innovative techniques and approaches to teaching are used, including:

  • online lectures
  • case studies
  • discussion forums
  • personal or group activities

You will have a unique opportunity to learn from internationally recognised specialists, both within the University of Edinburgh and from local and international organisations.

Studying online at Edinburgh

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

The MSc One Health programme is delivered part-time by online learning, over a maximum period of six years.

The programme begins in September and is structured to allow progression through Certificate, Diploma and MSc. However, it is also possible to finish at the Certificate or Diploma level.

Length of programme

The Certificate is usually studied over 1-2 years, the Diploma 2-4 years and the full Masters can take from between 3-6 years to complete, depending on how much time you have to dedicate to studying per academic year.

The programme’s flexibility is much appreciated by students, who can also opt to take time out for employment or family reasons.

Courses

The Certificate comprises four compulsory courses. Each 20-credit course is taught over a period of ten weeks, while the 10-credit courses are taught over a five-week period.

For the Diploma a selection of courses totalling 60 credits must be made from a selection of courses. Each 20-credit course is taught over a period of ten weeks, whilst the 10-credit courses are taught over a five-week period.

Up-to-date information on the elective courses is available from the course website:

MSc dissertation

The MSc dissertation can take the form of a short research project or a literature review.

Supervision for this element of the programme will be provided by existing research staff and subject experts currently employed by the University of Edinburgh.

Candidates may also be encouraged, where appropriate, to work closely with senior staff at their home institutions or other suitably qualified approved experts.

Postgraduate Professional Development

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.

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.

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MScOne HealthUp to 6 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyProgramme structure 2023/24
PgDip (ICL)One HealthUp to 4 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyProgramme structure 2023/24
PgCert (ICL)One HealthUp to 2 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyProgramme structure 2023/24
PgProfDevOne HealthUp to 2 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyProgramme structure 2023/24

The One Health MSc aims to provide interested professionals with the knowledge, skills and awareness required to work within a One Health framework that recognises the importance of interdisciplinary working and the interrelatedness of human, animal and environmental health.

Graduates from our programme can expect to enhance their prospects in:

  • academia
  • research
  • government departments
  • non-governmental organisations
  • international development
  • the private sector

Despite being a relatively new field, and indeed approach, One Health is rapidly gaining global recognition, and our students have already reported improvements in career development through studying on the programme.

You will be better able to drive the development of novel career pathways as this field continues to evolve in response to the complexity of the health challenges we face.

This exciting programme offers you a broad scientific training and the opportunity to advance One Health past the theoretical level to the practical level and beyond, bringing much needed attention to the social, political and operational issues that ultimately will be key determinants for success.

On completion of this MSc, graduates are likely to have developed their ability to provide advice on policy development and implementation, a contribution whose relevance and significance is becoming increasingly recognised by governments and NGOs.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in veterinary medicine, medicine, life/biological sciences, biomedical science, ecosystem health, environmental sciences, agricultural science, social science or economics.

Students from China

This degree is Band D.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that 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 62 with at least 59 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:

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).

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. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Application fee

None.

Deposit

None.

Additional programme costs

None.

Tuition fees

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MScOne HealthUp to 6 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyTuition fees
PgDip (ICL)One HealthUp to 4 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyTuition fees
PgCert (ICL)One HealthUp to 2 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyTuition fees
PgProfDevOne HealthUp to 2 YearsPart-time Intermittent StudyTuition fees

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.

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
  • Easter Bush
  • Edinburgh
  • EH25 9RG
Programme start date Application deadline
9 September 2024 23 August 2024

We encourage you to apply at least one month prior to entry so that we have enough time to process your application. If you are also applying for funding then we strongly recommend you apply as early as possible.

You must submit one reference with your application.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
  • Easter Bush
  • Edinburgh
  • EH25 9RG