Medical Law MA

Our Medical Law MA course focuses on the legal questions raised in the context of medicine. These include debates about assisted reproduction, abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia, psychiatric ethics and mental health law, organ donation and the allocation of scarce resources. The course is supported by the UK's first Centre of Medical Law and Ethics and listed as one of the top 10 places to study Medical Law in the World. ** The Medical Law MA is a pathway of the Medical Ethics & Law MA programme. Applications for this pathway must be made to the generic Medical Ethics and Law MA programme. In the first line of your personal statement, please state if you are interested in applying for the Medical Law pathway. The pathway is selected after you have enrolled at the start of the course. **

Key benefits

• The most up-to-date legal scholarship applied to a very wide range of medical issues.
• The course discusses controversial issues such as euthanasia and abortion with a balanced approach.
• Supported by the UK's first Centre of Medical Law and Ethics and its distinguished team of academic staff members, teaching is conducted in small seminar groups of less than 30 to encourage active student participation.

“Professor Penney Lewis joined the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's in 1995. She administers and writes for the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics blog which contains news and comment on topics in Medical Ethics and Medical Law.”

Professor Penney Lewis, Medical LawShow more

Course essentials

This course examines in depth the legal questions raised by medical practice and science. The Medical Law pathway forms a part of the MA Medical Ethics & Law course, which was founded in 1978, and is an important part of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, the first of its kind in the UK. This is a time of great interest in medical ethics and law. Huge questions are raised by advances in fields such as genetics and assisted reproduction. In a changing moral climate, debates about conflicts between mother and fetus, or about physician-assisted suicide, are very much alive. There are challenging questions about psychiatry, about the allocation of scarce medical resources, about the boundaries of the market in medicine, and about the law and ethics of medical research. This course is designed for medical or legal professionals, graduates of a relevant discipline and those embarking on further research in this area. You will study the methods of reasoning and analysis in law and examine selected areas of health care and medical practice from a medical law perspective.

Base campuses

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Waterloo Campus

Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties

Regulating bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

Entry requirements

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Teaching & structure

Teaching methods - what to expect

Full-time students are required to complete the programme over one academic year and to write the examinations for each module in January or May of that year. Coursework will be required for some modules and Dissertations are due by late August the same year. Part-time students are required to complete the programme over two academic years, with Dissertations due by late August of the second/final year of study.

Assessment

• Course Work
• Dissertation

Structure

Required modules

You are required to take the following modules:

Dissertation in Medical Law (60 credits)

Medical Law 1: Consent, Refusal & Request (15 credits)

Optional modules

In addition, you are required to take 100 credits from a range of optional modules, which may typically include:

Medical Law II: Negligence & Misadventure (15 credits)

Mental Health and Capacity Law: The Civil Context (15 credits)

Criminal Law and Mental Disorder (15 credits)

Law at the End of Life (15 credits)

Law and Reproduction (15 credits)

Moral Theory is Medical Ethics (20 credits)

Human Rights Law: International & Transnational Perspectives (40 credits)

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Careers

Employability

Many alumni have gone on to work in policy related positions including positions at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Human Tissue Authority, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Department of Health. Several alumni have also worked in the BMA Ethics Department, for the GMC, Progress Educational Trust, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the King’s Fund, and medical defence societies. Others have found academic positions in law schools and research centres, some teaching ethics and/or law in medical schools.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £10,500 per year (2021/22)

Part time: £5,250 per year (2021/22)

International:

Full time: £23,460 per year (2021/22)

Part time: £11,730 per year (2021/22)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

When you receive an offer for this course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. The deposit will be credited towards your total fee payment.

The UK deposit is £500.

The INTERNATIONAL deposit is £2,000. 

• If you receive an offer before 1st April and 30th June, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer..

• If you receive an offer between 1st July and 31st July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.

• If you receive an offer on or after 1st August 2021, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.

• If you receive an offer from late August onwards, payment is due within 2 days of receiving the offer.

  If you are a current King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

• Books if you choose to buy your own copies
• Library fees and fines
• Personal photocopies and/or binding costs
• Printing module handouts
• Society membership fees
• Stationery
• Graduation costs

Funding

• Course essentials
• Entry requirements
• Teaching & structure
• Careers
• Fees & Funding

This course examines in depth the legal questions raised by medical practice and science. The Medical Law pathway forms a part of the MA Medical Ethics & Law course, which was founded in 1978, and is an important part of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, the first of its kind in the UK. This is a time of great interest in medical ethics and law. Huge questions are raised by advances in fields such as genetics and assisted reproduction. In a changing moral climate, debates about conflicts between mother and fetus, or about physician-assisted suicide, are very much alive. There are challenging questions about psychiatry, about the allocation of scarce medical resources, about the boundaries of the market in medicine, and about the law and ethics of medical research. This course is designed for medical or legal professionals, graduates of a relevant discipline and those embarking on further research in this area. You will study the methods of reasoning and analysis in law and examine selected areas of health care and medical practice from a medical law perspective.

Base campuses

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Waterloo Campus

Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties

Regulating bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

Loading...

Teaching methods - what to expect

Full-time students are required to complete the programme over one academic year and to write the examinations for each module in January or May of that year. Coursework will be required for some modules and Dissertations are due by late August the same year. Part-time students are required to complete the programme over two academic years, with Dissertations due by late August of the second/final year of study.

Assessment

• Course Work
• Dissertation

Structure

Required modules

You are required to take the following modules:

Dissertation in Medical Law (60 credits)

Medical Law 1: Consent, Refusal & Request (15 credits)

Optional modules

In addition, you are required to take 100 credits from a range of optional modules, which may typically include:

Medical Law II: Negligence & Misadventure (15 credits)

Mental Health and Capacity Law: The Civil Context (15 credits)

Criminal Law and Mental Disorder (15 credits)

Law at the End of Life (15 credits)

Law and Reproduction (15 credits)

Moral Theory is Medical Ethics (20 credits)

Human Rights Law: International & Transnational Perspectives (40 credits)

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Employability

Many alumni have gone on to work in policy related positions including positions at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Human Tissue Authority, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Department of Health. Several alumni have also worked in the BMA Ethics Department, for the GMC, Progress Educational Trust, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the King’s Fund, and medical defence societies. Others have found academic positions in law schools and research centres, some teaching ethics and/or law in medical schools.

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £10,500 per year (2021/22)

Part time: £5,250 per year (2021/22)

International:

Full time: £23,460 per year (2021/22)

Part time: £11,730 per year (2021/22)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

When you receive an offer for this course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. The deposit will be credited towards your total fee payment.

The UK deposit is £500.

The INTERNATIONAL deposit is £2,000. 

• If you receive an offer before 1st April and 30th June, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer..

• If you receive an offer between 1st July and 31st July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.

• If you receive an offer on or after 1st August 2021, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.

• If you receive an offer from late August onwards, payment is due within 2 days of receiving the offer.

  If you are a current King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

• Books if you choose to buy your own copies
• Library fees and fines
• Personal photocopies and/or binding costs
• Printing module handouts
• Society membership fees
• Stationery
• Graduation costs

Funding

Application closing date guidance