Veterinary medicine is a rapidly evolving discipline, comprising a wide range of specialist areas. Research in veterinary medicine is directly relevant to the improvement of health and welfare of domestic animal species and the protection of public health.
The R(D)SVS has an international reputation, and its clinical services - Hospital for Small Animals (dog and cat and exotics, zoo and wildlife) and Large Animal Hospital (equine and livestock) - are among the most influential centres for clinical care in the UK and Europe. It is best placed to advance the skills of the sector due to the skills in primary, secondary and tertiary care medicine and surgery, and its extensive research activities in all aspects of veterinary medicine.
Veterinary practitioners are under pressure to maintain high standards of practice while also keeping abreast of the latest developments. In response to the increasing requirement for support in developing advanced clinical skills, this new distance learning programme is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at veterinarians in practice.
The modular, portfolio approach allows the greatest flexibility to meet the needs of the modern practitioner. The goal is to provide the student with the skills and knowledge required to be highly effective practitioners and to enable them to act as leaders and mentors within the veterinary community.
Online learning is aimed at people who want to study for a postgraduate qualification alongside ongoing work or other commitments. You can study at times most convenient to you. Most of our students continue in their employment while they study.
The courses are taught in distance learning mode and are completed entirely online. The teaching is quite varied, including: online lectures, tutorials, specialist external lectures, scientific group discussions, case studies, problem-based learning scenarios, literature based research, computer-assisted learning and quizzes.
The programme is delivered part-time by online distance learning over a minimum period of three years and a maximum period of six years. You may undertake the programme by intermittent study (flexible progression route), accruing credits within a maximum time limit of two years for the Postgraduate Certificate, four years for the Postgraduate Diploma and six years for the MVetSci.
In summary, the completion times are as follows:
The programme is modular in structure, offering a flexible student-centred approach to the choice of courses studied. You can choose to take a particular species track in the elective course, ie courses focussed on companion animals, exotic zoo and wildlife, equine or production animals. Equally, you can choose to take a mixed-practice approach by selecting courses that meet your individual professional needs.
Each year will consist of three 11-week terms structured into two blocks of five weeks of study with a week in between for independent study and reflection. One block of five weeks will equate to 10 credits of course material. This framework is designed to fit in with the part-time nature of the programme, giving you time to reflect on your learning and lessening the impact of the additional requirements that studying will place on the your working life.
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.
This programme provides graduates with the scientific knowledge and practical skills to carry out the work of advanced veterinary practitioners.
The programme aims to support students as they:
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS) Clinical Training Programmes provide an opportunity for qualified veterinary surgeons to undertake a period of advanced clinical training in a variety of disciplines under the guidance and supervision of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, European and American veterinary specialists.
Our Senior Clinical Training Programmes (residencies) are designed to train research-literate clinicians with specialist knowledge and expertise in their chosen field thereby giving them the opportunity to pursue career goals in teaching, research, clinical service and/or specialist practice. The majority of our programmes are approved by the relevant UK and European Colleges (see individual programmes).
The most recent UK RAE results confirm the College as the UK’s top research medical school and its top research veterinary medical school.
Our research aims to enhance understanding of disease processes in animals and to translate that understanding into improved therapies for both animal and human disease.
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies offers state of the art clinical facilities for the treatment of large and small animals in the Small Animal and Large Animal Hospitals and the Riddell-Swan Cancer Imaging Centre, with diagnostic support from our on-site Veterinary Pathology Unit.
The School also has excellent large and small animal and exotics first opinion practices as well as a working dairy farm.
Our online Clinical Education programme takes advantage of our world-renowned expertise to enhance your abilities to teach and assess students in a clinical environment.
This is an ideal programme for those with an educational role in relation to healthcare professionals and veterinary practitioners, including doctors, nurses, dental practitioners, those involved with veterinary education or associated scientists (biomedical or social).
Our aim is to help you reflect upon, and share thoughts about, your practice, while increasing your understanding of how to apply educational theories and evidence from the literature. As a result you will learn the knowledge and skills you need to deliver, develop and research high-quality clinical education in your own discipline.
This programme is affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.
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.
Please contact us for further information and dates of the next online open days.
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 tutorials online and you will be expected to use self-directed learning, peer-discussion boards, tutorials, peer presentations and other similar e-learning activities to help engage with and get the most from the course materials.
Year 1: certificate
Courses include:
Year 2: diploma
One core course:
Choose 2 from the following electives:
Please note that elective courses will only run with a minimum of 10 students. You will be notified in advance if an alternative course choice is required.
Year 3: masters
A research report of approximately 15,000 words. You can choose to submit this as a paper for publication with a supporting commentary.
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 participants reflect-upon and share insights about their practice, to understand and apply educational theories and evidence from the literature, and to help participants develop a good solid foundation in clinical education and educational research upon which they can continue to build their own academic career.
In veterinary management of animals, anaesthesia (rendering animals unconscious to permit procedures) and analgesia (reducing the pain an animal is suffering) have vital importance in improving animal welfare, as well as permitting the ongoing developments in medical and surgical advances.
Knowledge and advances in anaesthesia over the last 20 years have been considerable. We can use techniques to block sensation locally or over a region of the body not just total unconsciousness. We have an array of drugs and methods of drug administration available to us in our fight against pain. Anaesthesia has always carried risks, and we have an increasing availability of monitoring equipment to help us monitor the physiological function of the body during anaesthesia with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality in our animals.
The University of Edinburgh is offering this unique opportunity for an entirely online MSc to study these advances, during which students can gain knowledge and understanding in the equipment, drugs and techniques associated with anaesthesia and analgesia. Our team can provide a wide range of clinical and research experience across many species.
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. Online students not only have access to Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community.
Expert tutors will support you through every stage of the programme and you can engage with fellow students in supportive and constructive online networks.
Your progress will be assessed through online presentations, essays, critical reviews of literature, student self- reflection activities, short-answer questions, scientific posters, group wiki events and peer review activities.
The programme is taught part time over 3 years, but its flexible nature will allow you a maximum of 6 years to complete it. There are also options for studying for a certificate (1-2 years) or a diploma (2-4 years).
Each year will consist of three 11-week terms, structured into two blocks of five weeks of study, with a week in between for independent study and reflection.
The Postgraduate Certificate year (Year 1) starts with a series of compulsory courses to give a foundation in veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia, then progresses to examine how this may be applied in a variety of species. In the Postgraduate Diploma year (Year 2), you have the choice of selected courses to tailor the programme to your requirements. A dissertation completes the final year, however, this is a very flexible course, which can be tailored to suit you (subject to approval).
Year 1
Compulsory courses:
You will also choose 2 out of 4 species-related courses in dogs and cats, equidae, ruminants, camelids and pigs or small mammals (e.g. rabbits, rats etc).
Year 2
You will choose courses to total 60 credits from the following:
In addition, you could choose to select additional species courses from Year 1.
Year 3
During the written reflective element of the programme you will have the opportunity to further develop your scientific skills and utilise scientific theory. The form of the dissertation may vary to suit individual candidates, subject to approval of a submitted proposal. The dissertation will be a piece of written work 10-15,000 words long, which may take the form of a research study, analysis of techniques used in previous clinical work or an extended literature review. A casebook or portfolio submission may also be permitted.
The MSc Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia is likely to be desirable for veterinary surgeons seeking employment in research environments (e.g. as Named Veterinary Surgeon or other roles) due to the key importance of anaesthesia and the emphasis on this from Home Office regulation of research work in the UK.
The MSc will be a different route for progression for veterinary nurses who have key roles in private veterinary practices with regard to veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia. This may be desirable for practices wishing to show a wide range of expertise amongst their staff and patient support for surgical procedures.
Our research aims to enhance understanding of disease processes in animals and to translate that understanding into improved therapies for both animal and human disease.
Research focuses on:
Most of our research is carried out within The Roslin Institute, which is incorporated with the School and is the major centre of research.
Studentships are of 3 or 4 years duration and students will be expected to complete a novel piece of research which will advance our understanding of the field. To help them in this goal, students will be assigned a principal and assistant supervisor, both of whom will be active scientists at the Institute.
Student progress is monitored in accordance with School Postgraduate (PG) regulations by a PhD thesis committee (which includes an independent external assessor and chair). There is also dedicated secretarial support to assist these committees and the students with regard to University and Institute matters.
All student matters are overseen by the Schools PG studies committee. An active staff:student liaison committee and a social committee, which is headed by our postgraduate liaison officer, provide additional support.
Students are expected to attend a number of generic training courses offered by the Transkills Programme of the University and to participate in regular seminars and laboratory progress meetings. All students will also be expected to present their data at national and international meetings throughout their period of study.
The Veterinary Campus at Easter Bush includes the new “state-of- the-art” Roslin Institute Building, the Small Animal and Large Animal Hospitals, the Riddell-Swan Cancer Imaging Centre as well as the New Vet School. Our facilities include: rodent, bird and livestock animal units and associated lab areas; comprehensive bioinformatic and genomic capability; a range of bioimaging facilities; extensive molecular biology and cell biology labs; café and auditorium where we regularly host workshops and invited speakers.
The RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP) is a flexible, modular approach to achieving veterinary postgraduate qualifications.
Credits are awarded by RCVS and not the University of Edinburgh, which means the programme is not eligible for a University of Edinburgh award.
You can design your own postgraduate certificate by choosing a combination of 10 credit elements that reflects your area of interest and are directly relevant to your work. As part of this consistent, flexible framework, you can choose modules from a number of accredited institutions in the UK.
You are also encouraged to support your study by undertaking appropriate continuing professional development (CPD) and working closely with a mentor or senior colleague with experience in the subject area and/or personal experience of undertaking veterinary postgraduate qualifications.
Assessment submission links and support materials are provided online via Blackboard Learn.
Online support materials include:
The programme is structured to allow sequential progression through the A module (foundation skills), B module (core skills) and C modules (advanced skills). While it is recommended that the Certificate is taken in this way, it is also possible to take the modules in any order.
The Certificate can be taken over 10 years, with each module taking between 1-2 years. It is possible to complete the full programme (60 credit equivalent) in one year, though this will depend on the assessment timetable for each module.
For most candidates the usual route of study is:
Candidates will demonstrate:
Typically, holders of the qualification will be able to:
Holders of the Certificate will have the qualities and transferable skills necessary for professional veterinary work. Candidates may elect to progress to a European Diploma following completion of the certificate
This programme provides flexible postgraduate study designed to specifically address the demand for online clinical animal behaviour teaching within a supported learning environment. The programme will utilise an evidence based approach to explore the potential motivations, management and treatment options for abnormal and/or problem behaviours commonly expressed by companion animal species living within a domestic environment.
The subject involves a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on knowledge and techniques from the fields of psychology, ethology, neurobiology, pharmacology and veterinary science. This programme will contain teaching and learning that is aimed at your academic preparation for a professional career working with companion animals in a variety of settings, including clinical animal behaviour counselling.
Our online learning technology is fully interactive, award-winning 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.
This MSc programme is modular in structure, offering a flexible student-centred approach to the choice of courses studied. You must complete a sufficient number of course credits to achieve the following awards:
You may undertake this programme by intermittent study (flexible progression route), accruing credits within the following maximum time limits:
Year 1: Certificate Courses
You will study Principles of Applied Animal Behaviour and Clinical Animal Behaviour along with either Anthrozoology (recommended for those continuing to Diploma/MSc) or one of two other elective courses.
Year 2: Diploma Courses
You will study Clinical Animal Behaviour in Practice along with two elective courses from a choice of 4.
Year 3: Masters
The dissertation element of the programme will allow further development of scientific skills and may take the form of a short research project, case studies relating to relevant professional experience or an extended literature review.
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.
Alongside the subject content, the programme will also enable the acquisition of a range of transferable skills, such as computer skills, report writing, giving online presentations and time and project management.
You will be able to:
Students are expected to find work in the field of companion animal behaviour and welfare as well as working in education, or as advisors with non-governmental organisations and governments.
Conservation Medicine is an emerging discipline that studies the complex relationships and interactions between animal health, human health and ecosystem health. This programme provides veterinarians with the skills and knowledge required to be effective practitioners of conservation medicine.
This programme is designed to address the demand for online training in conservation medicine and provides in-depth training in a modular flexible format, ideal for veterinarians who wish to achieve a world-class award while maintaining busy professional and personal commitments.
Participants will gain the capacity and necessary expertise to contribute effectively to this rapidly growing multidisciplinary field and to enhance career opportunities.
This programme is affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.
Our online learning technology is fully interactive, award-winning 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.
The programme is taught part time over three years, but its flexible nature will allow you a maximum of six years to complete it. Each year will consist of three, 11-week terms, structured into two blocks of five weeks of study, with a week in between for independent study and reflection.
It is also possible to complete the masters within two years by studying more than one course at a time so all taught courses are completed in year one, with the second year devoted to a dissertation project.
There are also options for studying for a certificate (one-two years) or a diploma (two-four years).
Expert tutors will support you through every stage of the programme and you can engage with fellow students in supportive and constructive online networks.
Your progress will be assessed through online presentations, essays, critical reviews of literature, student self- reflection activities, short answer questions, scientific posters, group wiki events, and peer review activities.
Year 1
Year 2
You will study two core courses - Veterinary Techniques and Interventions for Conservation Medicine, and Wildlife Disease Management - plus four optional modules from a choice of ten.
Year 3
During the written reflective element of the programme students will have the opportunity to further develop their scientific skills and utilise scientific theory. This written element allows a choice of either a written dissertation, a casebook relating to relevant professional experience, a personal portfolio of reflective and practical activity, or a short research project.
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.
Graduates can use their conservation medicine qualification to enhance their career prospects in academia, research, governmental and non-governmental organisations and consultancies.
