Paediatric Emergency Medicine (Online Learning) MSc, PgCert, PgDip, PgProfDev

Our online learning technology - Learn Ultra - is a fully interactive, award-winning platform. It enables students to communicate with our highly qualified teaching team, programme team and fellow students from the comfort of your own home or workplace.

Students access course content and resource lists, and are guided through clinical topics by completing clinical exercises, participating in discussion boards and working towards major assignments. The vast majority of work is self-directed following our problem-based learning approach and we do not deliver live lectures/teaching sessions. Online group facilitation sessions are offered when appropriate to the course.

Assessment in Years 1 and 2 will take place through coursework including clinical exercises, participation in the online discussion boards, and submission of major assignments such as essays and PowerPoint presentations. Having gained skills in critique, analysis and presentation, students in Year 3 combine these through the completion of a dissertation (Written Reflective Element) or project proposals (Advancing Special Interests in Paediatric Emergency or Critical Care Medicine) based on a topic that interests them. In addition, the concurrent "Management Issues" course provides leadership and committee experience as preparation for senior roles in the workplace (see Year 3 courses for further details).

There are no technical requirements for students.

The programme team support our students throughout their studies, and course tutors provide academic guidance and feedback. You will also be part of a learning community with your peers in the programme. We encourage and provide opportunities for students to interact with one another and work together in small groups.

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

Studying online at Edinburgh

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

• Postgraduate online learning

You may choose to study to Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MSc level. Each year of study is structured into three terms and students will study a mixture of compulsory and optional courses.

Year 1: Certificate courses

You will study a wide range of topics relevant to the practice of Paediatric Emergency Medicine in three Fundamentals in Paediatric Medicine courses. These courses emphasise the basic science underpinning pathophysiology of childhood illness and injury and related care. You will also explore ethical issues, child protection and the theory of resuscitation.

Year 2: Diploma courses

In Year 2, students will study a core course and then have the choice of taking courses in a Paediatric Emergency Medicine or Paediatric Critical Care pathway:

• Paediatric Medical Emergencies (core course)
• Paediatric Emergency Medicine Pathway: Surgical Emergencies and Trauma/Anaesthesia and Sedation and Additional Topics in Paediatric Emergency Medicine
• Paediatric Critical Care Pathway: 2 courses in Paediatric Critical Care Medicine

Courses in Year 2 build on the key skills introduced in Year 1. There is a greater emphasis on diagnosis and treatment. Critical appraisals of the literature and in-depth analysis of what we do and why will form key elements of your learning.

Year 3: Masters courses

In Year 3, students will study as follows:

Management Issues in Paediatric Emergency Medicine (core course)

and either: Written Reflective Element or Advancing Special Interests in Paediatric Emergency or Critical Care Medicine

Management issues in Paediatric Emergency Medicine (core course)

This course introduces key skills required of a senior clinician including leadership, departmental management, and group/committee work.

Working in small groups, the key areas of study are: *departmental organisation *surge demand *risk management *change management *data management and usage

Written Reflective Element (optional course)

You will complete a dissertation (literature review or brief literature review plus an audit) in your chosen area, and produce an abstract and poster on a focused aspect of your academic work.

Advancing Special Interests in Paediatric Emergency or Critical Care Medicine (optional course)

You will develop two project proposals (service evaluation and local engagement) in your chosen area of special interest and complete written work, presentations and a reflective report.

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.

PPD credits and credit transfer

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 completing one year of courses, you can choose to transfer your credits and continue studying towards a higher award on a Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, or Postgraduate Certificate programme.

Starting PPD

Although PPD courses have various start dates throughout the 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.

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 help you achieve a successful career in paediatric emergency medicine with a high-quality qualification and the latest understanding and knowledge.

Many of our students find their postgraduate studies help their career development, such as securing consultant positions. Our alumni frequently present their Written Reflective Element projects at national and international conferences, and publish their work in academic journals.

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.

An accredited medical degree (MBChB or equivalent) plus one year of postgraduate clinical experience (for example, FY1 in UK, or equivalent elsewhere). You must have an ongoing commitment to the clinical care of children, and be actively attending to children in emergency situations.

We will also consider your application if you have a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a subject relevant to the practice of Paediatric Emergency Medicine (for example, Nursing, Physician Assistant, Paramedic Science). You must be actively involved in the management of ill and/or injured children and demonstrate advanced level care equivalent to medical practitioners.

All applicants must include details of all their experience working with ill and/or injured children in acute settings in their application. Please ask your referee to confirm this experience in the reference they supply.

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, and your residency 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