MA/PGDip/PGCert Medical Ethics and Law

The programme will introduce you to a variety of rival moral theories - all of which have their strengths and their weaknesses - as well as providing you with a range of analytical tools with which to assess different ethical and legal claims. It will also help you to communicate ethical and legal arguments to others in a clearer way.

Although ethical issues are rarely out of the headlines, much public debate about ethics in the media is (with occasional honourable exceptions) of very poor quality. It often consists of sound-bite rhetorical assertions followed by counter-assertions, without any real examination of the ethical reasons for either position. Our courses will help you to construct, categorise and criticise different ethical arguments and to spot common fallacies. As well as critiquing others' arguments you will have plenty of opportunity to practise putting forward your own arguments in classroom discussion as well as in your written assessments. Ethics at Keele is a participatory activity, not a spectator sport!

Assessment

Each of the four taught modules is assessed through a 5,000-word essay. The essay question is chosen from a list reflecting the main themes of the module, enabling you to focus on the issues that are most interesting or relevant to your work. For each essay, you may submit a plan on which feedback is provided. In addition, you will receive written feedback on each of your essays. This approach aims at helping you to improve your performance as you progress through the programme. For the dissertation module, you will be allocated a supervisor to provide support and advice during the writing process, and attend a one-day Research Methods Workshop in Semester 1. You will also gain PGCert and PGDip awards in this course.