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The University of Edinburgh: Surgical Sciences (Online Learning)

Institution The University of Edinburgh View institution profile
Department School of Clinical Sciences
Web https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying
Study type Taught

Summary

This three year, part-time, fully online programme is jointly offered by the University of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

The programme offers you the unique opportunity to have direct contact with international students, tutors and experts in the different surgical specialties from across the world, widening your understanding of evidence-based surgical and academic surgery practice.

There are University awards of:

  • Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert: 60 credits)

  • Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip: 120 credits)

  • Master of Science (MSc: 180 credits)

Year 1 and 2 each consist of 3, 20 credit courses. These Certificate and Diploma years cover the UK Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum, offering a solid base for your preparation for the Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) examination, with additional emphasis on acquired knowledge and its application.

How will I be assessed?

Each course in the programme includes topic-specific activities. These include:

  • practical case studies

  • online discussions facilitated by experienced tutors

  • directed readings

Assessments and course tasks are specifically designed to develop key skills such as clinical, communication and academic skills. Students will approach academic and scientific writing with a strong evidence-based approach while learning to prepare specific written assignments for each course, for an authentic learning experience. Some tasks offer the ability to draw on students’ clinical experiences and expertise, regardless of where in the world students are.

We offer several MCQ tests and clinical case studies to support your preparation for the MRCS examination.

Year 3 consists of 1 year-long 60 credit, course. You can opt to take either the Dissertation course or the Evidence-Based course.

The Dissertation course is a single, in depth, piece of original research assessed by iterative written coursework assignments throughout the year. You have latitude to choose your own research topic and methodology. You will develop a research question; collect analyse and critically appraise your own data; and write this up in the form of a substantial project report.

The Evidence Based Surgery course has a taught component at the beginning of the year which focuses on research skills. The project is shorter in duration and length, and based around open access datasets. You will develop a research question based around open access datasets, manipulate and analyse the already available data and write a project report in a standard publication format. We assess Evidence Based Surgery by iterative written coursework assignments throughout the year.

For further details about the programme please see our programme website.

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

MSc

University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh. Extraordinary futures await.

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50, and placed 27th in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.

Our position as one of Britain’s leading research universities was reaffirmed by the results of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, ranked 4th in the UK for research power (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions), with 90% of our research activity classified as world leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Our …

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