Program Overview

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MSt in Practical Ethics

The MSt in Practical Ethics offers high-quality training in practical ethics through flexible, part-time learning. This course is run jointly by the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Department for Continuing Education, and draws on the internationally recognised research and expertise of the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Ethox Centre.

About the Course

The course is highly interdisciplinary in character but the primary focus is ethical and philosophical. Students will learn how to apply rigorous philosophical analysis to real-life ethical problems and will be provided with a grounding in key ethical concepts and methods, as well as in major debates in practical ethics. Students will also have the opportunity for in-depth research on a topic of their choice.

Course Structure

• An overview of the course structure is provided below.
• Details of the compulsory and optional elements of the course are provided in the Course Components section.
• In this course, students undertake six taught modules and a dissertation.
• There is one compulsory module and a choice of five out of eight option modules.
• Each module will be taught over an intensive residential teaching week (~25 contact hours) in Oxford to include lectures, seminars, and discussion groups.
• Modules are normally provided in clusters, offering students options around the number of visits to Oxford each year.
• Online materials are available including essential readings, alongside forums where students can communicate and continue discussion when away from Oxford.

Attendance

• This course is part-time.
• You will be expected to attend six, five-day residential teaching weeks in Oxford over the duration of the course.
• Face-to-face teaching is often carried out in teaching rooms within the Department for Continuing Education but may be carried out in a college or other University venue.

Resources to Support Your Study

• As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources, and IT services.
• The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK.
• The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities.

Supervision

• The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Uehiro Oxford Institute and/or the Department for Continuing Education.
• It is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff.

Assessment

• Assessment for each module is based on one essay per module.
• Students will also complete a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor.

Graduate Destinations

• Specific career paths include posts relating to public policy development, to clinical ethics and research ethics within hospitals and health care facilities, the development of ethical technology and software, the teaching of ethics in a professional context, as well as enhancing career development more broadly in a range of fields through deep engagement with relevant ethical issues.

Course Components

Compulsory Study

• Compulsory module: Ethical Concepts and Methods

Options

• Option modules:
  • Artificial Intelligence Ethics
  • Climate, Environment and Animals
  • Data and Digital Ethics
  • Ethics of the Beginning and End of Life
  • Neuroethics
  • Philosophy, Psychiatry and Mental Health
  • Research Ethics and Empirical Ethics
  • Well-Being, Disability and Enhancement
• The compulsory module runs yearly and five of the eight option modules should run each year.

Dissertation

• You will also complete a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor.

Entry Requirements

Proven and Potential Academic Excellence

• The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown.
• You can use our guidance to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
• As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
  • a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any subject.
• However, in the absence of an appropriate undergraduate degree, sufficient relevant professional experience and/or other educational attainment may be considered as evidence of suitability in some circumstances.

English Language Proficiency

• This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level.
• If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement.
• The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.

Funding

• For entry in the academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.
• If you apply by the January deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships.

Costs

Modular Course Fees

• The fees for this course are charged on a modular basis.
• You will pay an annual course fee and an additional fee for each module studied.
• A minimum of two annual course fees are payable for this course.

Additional Costs

• Please note that this course requires that you attend in Oxford for six, five-day residential teaching weeks over the duration of the course and you may incur additional travel and accommodation expenses for this.

Living Costs

• In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

College Preference

• Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college.
• The following colleges accept students on the MSt in Practical Ethics:
  • Blackfriars
  • Campion Hall
  • Christ Church
  • Jesus College
  • Kellogg College
  • Pembroke College
  • Regent's Park College
  • Reuben College
  • St Catherine's College
  • St Cross College
  • Wycliffe Hall

How to Apply

• Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application, including advice to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
• If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline eg under the January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance.

Application Fee Waivers

• An application fee of Ł75 is payable for each application to this course.
• Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
  • applicants from low-income countries;
  • refugees and displaced persons;
  • UK applicants from low-income backgrounds;
  • applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

Completing Your Application

• You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.
• If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department.

After You've Submitted Your Application

• Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page.
• Whether or not you have secured funding will be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.