Critical Care (Online Learning) MSc, PgCert, PgDip, PgProfDev

This programme is 100% online, allowing you to study at times that suit you. You can study for 15-20 hours per week, enabling you to balance study with work and family commitments.

Our online learning technology is fully interactive, award-winning and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from your own home or working environment.

Our online students not only have access to the University’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.

Studying online at Edinburgh

Find out more about the benefits and practicalities of studying for an online degree:

Watch our video to learn more about studying online

More information about postgraduate online learning

You will experience detailed coverage of the essentials of the clinical management of critically unwell adults through the compulsory elements of the programme.

At the same time, you will develop expertise in accessing, interpreting, and integrating the findings of clinical research into clinical care.

You will study core clinical subjects including, but not limited to:

• recognition and resuscitation of the critically unwell adult
• daily management of the critical care patient
• advanced organ support
• trauma
• toxicology
• burns
• sepsis

You will have the opportunity to customise your experience by selecting from a wide range of elective courses based on “Edinburgh Strengths”. These currently include:

• Neurological Critical Care
• Maternal Critical Care
• Cardiac Critical Care (for emergency and elective patients)
• Perioperative Critical Care
• Cutting Edge Critical Care: Research and Clinical Practice in a changing world
• Core Clinical Practice in Emergency Medicine
• Transplant Critical Care
• Critical Care Recovery
• Leading Change in the Acute Healthcare Setting

The MSc in Critical Care is a part-time, online programme taught over 3 years.

You can exit the programme after year 1 with a postgraduate certificate, year 2 with a postgraduate diploma or year 3 with a Masters in Science.

Under the PPD scheme, you can study single or multiple courses in the same block as it would run for the PGCert, PGDip, or MSc route.

Schedule of courses for PPD students

Critical care clinicians and academics in NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh will primarily deliver the teaching to you. However, international experts from other institutions will also contribute to your on the programme.

Year 1 - Postgraduate Certificate

Students will take six core courses.

Year 1 compulsory courses:

• Fundamentals of Organ Failure
• Unlocking the Literature: Clinical Trials
• Core Clinical Practice in Critical Care
• Trauma, Toxicology and Temperature
• Sepsis and Infection
• Human Factors in Critical Care

Year 2 - Postgraduate Diploma

You will take two core courses and three elective courses.

Year 2 compulsory courses:

• Advanced Critical Care
• Unlocking the Literature: Evidence to Practice

Year 2 elective courses include:

• Neurological Critical Care
• Maternal Critical Care
• Cardiac Critical Care
• Transplant Critical Care
• Core Clinical Practice in Emergency Medicine
• Cutting Edge Critical Care: Research and Clinical Practice in a changing world
• Critical Care Recovery
• Leading Change in the Acute Healthcare Setting

Year 3 - MSc

In order to attain the MSc award, you will complete a Masters dissertation.

There are two options available for students:

1. Complete a supervised dissertation (systematic review, primary research project, comprehensive clinical guideline, or quality improvement project)

OR

1. Select up to four relevant elective courses and conduct a Critical Care related independent project.

Award options

For information on award options currently being offered, please see the links provided in the table below.

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.

1. You will be able to demonstrate comprehensive knowledge covering the main areas of critical care medicine.
2. You will be able to apply clinical reasoning and integrate knowledge with practice in a wide, and often unpredictable, variety of clinical contexts.
3. You will be able to demonstrate criticality, creativity and problem-solving in the areas of academic and clinical critical care.
4. You will be able to summarise and communicate complex information using a variety of methods and with a range of audiences.
5. You will be able to demonstrate substantial autonomy and take responsibility for your own work.

The programme will enhance your understanding and clinical knowledge in Critical Care, and improve your academic capabilities, providing opportunities to develop your career.

As a graduate of the programme, whether you are a nurse, doctor, paramedic or other allied health professional, your professional and career development will be enhanced in the following areas:

• advanced clinical practice
• clinical leadership
• research
• training and education

By combining academic excellence with the University of Edinburgh’s world-class reputation, graduates from our programme are well placed to continue and advance their clinical careers within the NHS or other health services, pursue advanced academic study, or work in industry. Equally, graduates can expect to be academically confident and may choose to pursue academic careers in related fields.

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.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in medicine (MBChB or equivalent), nursing, dietetics, physiotherapy, or any other allied health care profession involved in the management of critically ill patients.

In addition applicants must demonstrate experience of working with critically ill patients for a period of more than 3 months. This information should be contained in your referee's letter.

We may also consider your application if you have experience of working with critically ill patients or a closely related area for at least 3 years. In such cases, you may be admitted to certificate level only in the first instance.

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

Tuition fees

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

Royal College of Physicians Scholarships

The University of Edinburgh, in partnership with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, is offering a number of scholarships to eligible students.

• Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh - UK and International Scholarships

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

Edinburgh Global Online Learning Masters Scholarships

The University of Edinburgh is offering twenty Masters scholarships for eligible part-time distance learning Masters programmes offered by the University. Please read the eligibility criteria carefully before you apply.

The deadline for Edinburgh Global Online Learning Masters Scholarships is Monday 3 June 2024.

• Edinburgh Global Online Learning Masters Scholarships

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding