End of Life Studies Online distance learning

Around the world there is growing interest in end of life care, assisted dying, and the cultural values that surround death and bereavement. This postgraduate programme will offer you new and critical perspectives on end of life practice and policy, palliative care, cultural representations of death and dying, and related ethical questions.

Try a free taster course

Enrol on End of Life Care: Challenges and Innovation to get an introduction to the subject and studying here at the University of Glasgow.

Online 10-Credit Microcredential: End of Life Challenges and Palliative Care

• 10 weeks
• £599
• 50 CPD / 10 Academic Credits
• Entry points in September and April

On this 10-week fully-online Microcredential, you’ll be introduced to new critical perspectives from within the social sciences, humanities, and clinical disciplines.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach that encourages new ways of thinking, you’ll gain the tools to reflect on your own professional and personal encounters with dying, death, and grief.

Supported by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; their Fellows and Members will receive 50 CPD credits upon completion. You will also receive 10 postgraduate-level academic credits and a Higher Education Achievement Record from the University of Glasgow, which can be used towards a Masters level qualification in End of Life Studies.

For more information, see www.futurelearn.com.

2.1 Hons (or non-UK equivalent) in Social Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, Psychology, Death, Dying, Bereavement, Cultural Studies and Criticism, Mortuary Science, Funeral Studies and other Allied Health Professions.

Diplomas or certificates in any of the following may be accepted instead of academic qualifications and in complement with lower academic qualifications: Funeral Directors, Midwives, Doulas, Funeral Celebrants, Spiritual Care in Health Contexts, Grief Counselling, Loss and Bereavement Expertise, Palliative and Hospice Care, Compassionate Communities, Community Development, Voluntary Action and Organisations, Social Care, Social Enterprise. We may also accept applicants with relevant and substantial professional and/or industry experience even if they do not necessarily hold a relevant qualification.

Please include a 500 word personal statement detailing your relevant background and/or industry experience. You should state why you have applied for this programme and how your background/interests make you a good fit for the course.

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

• 6.5 with no subtests under 6.0
• IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Common equivalent English language qualifications for entry to this programme

TOEFL (ibt, mybest or athome)

• 90 overall with Reading 20; Listening 19; Speaking 19; Writing 21
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements, this includes TOEFL mybest.

Pearsons PTE Academic

• 59 with minimum 59 in all subtests
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

• 176 overall, no subtest less than 169
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Oxford English Test

• 7 overall with no subtest less than 6
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

LanguageCert Academic SELT

• 70 overall with no subtest less than 60
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Password Skills Plus

• 6.5 overall with no subtest less than 6.0
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Trinity College Tests

• Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEII Distinction with Distinction in all sub-tests
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

• Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

Alternatives to English Language qualification

• Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
  
  • students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have completed their degree in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.
• Undergraduate 2+2 degrees from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
  
  • students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.

For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

Pre-sessional courses

The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

• direct entry to your University programme for successful students (no need to take IELTS)
• essential academic skills to help you study effectively at University
• flexible entry dates so you can join the right course for your level.

For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

• Pre-sessional courses

We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

• Heriot Watt
• Kingston Upon Thames
• Middlesex University
• Manchester University
• Reading University
• Edinburgh University
• ST Andrews University
• UCL
• Durham.

For further information about English language requirements, please contact the Recruitment and International Office using our enquiry form

The programme is extremely well fitted to the needs of people already engaged in some way in matters relating to death, dying, bereavement, palliative care, and end of life care: as well as those who seek to move into these fields. We envisage a rich online learning community on the degree, made up not only of practitioners, but also social activists, those working in artistic and cultural media, as well as people pursuing their own personal development on a matter of pressing human interest. Graduates are likely to find employment in: