Edinburgh Medical School

Established in 1726, Edinburgh Medical School was the pre-eminent medical centre of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today it retains its status as a leading force internationally in basic-to-clinical translational research and teaching.

Edinburgh Medical School is a large medical school by UK standards, spread across several campuses and offering an enormous breadth and depth of research and learning opportunities. Interdisciplinary research and high-quality teaching are at the heart of our ethos.

See what our students & graduates think of their programmes:

We were ranked 20th in the world for Life Sciences and Medicine in the QS World University Rankings by subject 2020 and in the most recent Research Excellence Framework were in the UK top five by research power (Research Fortnight REF 2014).

By joining us for your postgraduate studies, you will become part of a global network of researchers, practitioners, students and alumni who continue the School’s tradition of pushing knowledge of Human Health to new frontiers.

Join our Postgraduate Virtual Open Days: 23 - 25 March 2021

Discover and explore what excites you, your ambition, how you will change the world, and let us guide you through your postgraduate study.

At our Postgraduate Virtual Open Days, you will have the opportunity to take part in more than 150 live webinars where you can discover the programmes we offer, discuss your options with our staff and students, and find out what postgraduate student life at Edinburgh is really like.
View the full programme and book your place now.

Breadth, diversity and flexibility

We offer enormous breadth and depth of research and learning opportunities:

• On campus learning: a varied portfolio of full-time taught masters and masters by research
• Online learning- we are one of the largest providers of online postgraduate programmes in the UK’s Russell Group, with a choice of over 40 programmes in the areas of Human, Animal and Ecosystem Health.
• Our flexible, online learning programmes are opening access to our expertise to over 1,000 students from 100 countries around the globe.
• Our online programmes are part-time, and offered as full masters, with many programmes allowing you to study towards shorter awards such a PG Certificates or PG Diplomas or even stand-alone courses.

Global influence

Medical research and teaching at Edinburgh has global impact, and benefits millions of individuals in areas such as sleeping sickness, childhood pneumonia prevention, reduction in blood transfusions, more effective cardiovascular and liver surgery, ovarian cryopreservation and stroke prevention and management.

Our suite of practical and clinically appropriate qualifications draws from our research to equip students with the cutting edge knowledge and skills needed to advance their careers and play leading roles in responding to health challenges across the world.

Our community

We aim to foster a close community of postgraduate students. Our on-campus students benefit from membership of our thriving postgraduate societies. If you study on campus as a master’s student, you will work closely with your classmates through tutorials, lectures and seminars, becoming part of a close-knit group over the duration of your programme.

However, distance is no barrier if you choose to study online. Our online learning postgraduates are a diverse group of students from all over the world, united by their academic interests. Using our award-winning interactive learning environments, our online students and tutors maintain a supportive virtual community that ensures you get the best from your studies. If you can’t attend your graduation ceremony in person you can even enjoy a virtual graduation at the same time.

Taught postgraduate programmes | The University of Edinburgh