Programme structure

Online teaching is complemented by a one-week summer school in July each year. This is optional and non-credit bearing, but is an opportunity to visit Edinburgh, meet colleagues and tutors and learn from our vibrant Global community of family practice. 

Link to view course summary

Link to view each course in detail

Online Learning

Each online learning course runs for 10 weeks with a one week reading break. There will be online activities such as discussion forums, blogs and group work that will augment the teaching, as well as live and interactive online tutorials.

Time requirements

We've designed the programme to remain flexible and allow our students to continue with their existing commitments. Most of our students are in their mid-careers and have other responsibilities at work and at home, so they find the 10-15 hours a week that we recommend for study is quite manageable.

The Masters programme is designed to run for the full three years with the courses studied in order. Each course connects to the next and builds skills and competencies.

There are a number of learning activities within each course.  These include weekly discussion boards that you can contribute to in your own time.  There is a live and interactive lecture once each week so that you have direct contact with your tutors.  These are mostly around midday UK time.  Each of these tutorials is recorded for those who cannot attend. 

Link to read more about assessments

Completing studies earlier or later than 3 years

The Masters programme is designed to run for a full three years, however there is the option to exit with a Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits, usually 1 year) or Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits, usually 2 years). To get access to this option, please apply to the full Masters programme first, choosing the ICL (Invoiced at Course Level) option in the right-hand column of the application page.

Link to application page

The ICL option on the application page mentions '6 years', which just means you have up to six years to complete your learning and exit with an award, not that you have to wait for six years to graduate. Some of our students with significant career and personal responsibilities prefer to have more time so they can learn when they are able to, or even take a period of time off altogether, with ample time to graduate. If your situation then changes, you can still graduate after three years, provided you've completed the required number of credits (180).

An ICL option also means that rather than being billed per year (for three years in a row for the Masters programme), you would be billed per course, allowing you to easily exit after one or two years.

In summary, an ICL option is a pay-as-you-go payment model that allows students flexibility in the way they study and pay for their education allowing for exiting with a PG Cert, a PG Dip, 3-year Masters or 6-year Masters exit.