Public Policy courses

About Bioethics & Society Msc in Kings College London

Advances in biomedicine, neuroscience, and public health raise some of the most difficult ethical and societal questions today. The Bioethics & Society course allows you to study these questions drawing on concepts, theories, and methods from philosophy and the social sciences. This will enable you to understand how bioethics influences the world, and how you can make an impact in the world.

Key benefits

• The only UK course based in a social science department.
• Taught at King’s College London, one of the top-25 schools in the world (QS World University Rankings 2016).
• Taught in the heart of London, at King’s College Strand Campus.
• Offers a thoroughly interdisciplinary approach to bioethics that draws from key concepts, theories, methods and findings from philosophy and the social sciences.
• Lectures and seminars are given by internationally recognized faculty who consult for the World Health Organization, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and the U.K. Parliament Office of Science & Technology, among others.
• Collaborates with other departments at King’s to serve students’ individual needs and interests and create exciting career streams of optional modules.
• Offers a rigorous methods training in qualitative and quantitative research methods and critical policy research.
• Provides skilled supervision to develop competence in executing a small-scale independent dissertation research project.
• Offers a rich programme of guest lectures and seminars, including the KCL / UCL Joint Bioethics Colloquium, and the GHSM Seminar Series.
• Offers individualised career support to build a strong CV, helping students to identify opportunities to present their work, do internships, and secure funding.
• Collaborates closely with King’s College Careers & Employability Office to enhance the employability of our students with targeted sessions.

Description

The course is taught in the heart of London, with immediate access to King’s hospitals and laboratories, and close to government, health policy think-tanks, patient advocacy groups, medical and scientific societies, and the private health sector. We offer a unique ‘real-world’ approach to bioethics, allowing students to understand the social and political contexts in which bioethical controversies arise and proposed solutions are developed. In the course of their studies, students are equipped with essential knowledge and skills to make a contribution to resolving bioethical problems. In addition, internship opportunities enable students to gather practical insights and to build professional networks.

Career prospects

Graduates from this course have gone onto the following destinations:

• Government (e.g. Department of Health, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Health Research Authority, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology)
• Policy consultation (e.g. Nuffield Council on Bioethics, King’s Fund, UK Biobank Ethics & Governance Council)
• National and international NGOs (e.g. disease charities such as Cancer Research UK or British Lung Foundation, Council on Health Research and Development, Gates Foundation)
• International Organizations (e.g. World Health Organisation, UNESCO)
• Teaching (e.g. through Teach First)
• Hospital or research administration (e.g. research ethics office at universities)
• Leadership positions in health care (for trained professionals)
• Academic work in bioethics or sociology (e.g. our PhD program in Social Science, Health & Medicine)

Career destinations

Students who complete the Bioethics & Society course to a high standard are expected to have numerous career paths open to them. For example, in government, national and international NGOs concerned with medicine and health, as ethics consultants in hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, and in think-tanks. Students can also continue on to a PhD in bioethics or social sciences. The programme also enhances existing careers in clinical practice, biomedical research, public health, or health policy. We collaborate closely with the Careers & Employability Office at King's College London to enhance the employability of our students, and we organise targeted Careers sessions with guest-speakers from relevant fields.

Academic qualification equivalents

• A baccalaureate degree from a recognized degree granting institution

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS   :    6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each skill
• TOEFL :    92 overall with a minimum of 23 in writing and 20 in each of the other skills
• PTE      :    62 overall with a minimum of 59 in each communicative skill

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King's College London The Average Tuition Fees And Other Expenses

UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) requires students to have a budget of at least £1,265 per month in addition to tuition fees.

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