Surgical Writing and Evidence Based Practice (Online Learning) PgCert, PgProfDev

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. Applicants would be recommended to set aside 100 hours for each 10 credits of study.

The programme consists of two 10 credit courses and two 20 credit courses. All 4 courses (60 credits) are required to complete the certificate. Alternatively, you can opt to take individual courses as Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD).

The courses offered are:

• Writing in Surgery (10 credits)
• Reviewing the Evidence Base in Surgery (10 credits)
• Understanding Publication and Peer Review (20 Credits)
• Evidence Based Practice (20 credits)

Postgraduate Certificate Qualification

To gain the Postgraduate Certificate Qualification you need to complete all of the above 4 courses.

Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD)

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 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 Postgraduate Certificate.

Although PPD courses have various start dates throughout a year you may only start a 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 Postgraduate Certificate programme.

Please contact the programme team for more information about available courses and course start dates.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

The programme’s learning outcomes have been mapped onto the SCQF11 level characteristics.

This programme aims to equip students with evidence-based tools to be able to write in a scientific academic style, undertake critical appraisal/peer review, editing and literature reviews to understand evidence-based practice. On graduating from this programme, students will be able to write a manuscript for publication.

Many students on the programme will be in full-time employment looking to enhance their professional and academic development. Knowledge and skills in research and academic writing are important for a career in clinical and surgical sciences and provide a solid foundation for future academic work.

Surgical and non-surgical applicants may be attracted by the BJS and our University's reputation. The programme can enhance careers by equipping individuals with evidence-based tools to write a manuscript for publication. Our courses also offer opportunities for continual professional development and optional content for other online masters programmes.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

An accredited medical degree (MBChB or equivalent) recognised by the General Medical Council in the UK, or an equivalent national body, or a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a subject related to healthcare, medical writing or publishing.

We may also consider your application if you have a UK 2:2 honours degree or its international equivalent, in a subject related to healthcare, medical writing or publishing and you have relevant work experience. If your experience is in medical writing or publishing it must total three, or more, years. Please contact the programme team to check before you apply.

Students from China

This degree is Band D.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 65 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 7 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money

  • taking out a loan

  • family support

• personal savings

• income from work

• employer sponsorship

• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Edinburgh Surgery Online offer a broad range of scholarships, which range in their value and eligibility criteria.

• Edinburgh Surgery Online Scholarships

The University of Edinburgh offers a small number of scholarships to outstanding candidates. These are very competitive. We publish data on the success rate for scholarship applications to help you understand the level of demand.

• Scholarship applications - success rate data

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Scholarship Search

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding