The University of Edinburgh – College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Clinical Management of Pain (Online Learning) MSc, PgCert, PgDip, PgProfDev
Online
MSc
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
21 Aug 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
14 Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 5,700 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
* estimated annual tuition for clinical management of pain: MSc/ PgCert | PgDip: N/A
Key Summary
The Clinical Management of Pain programme aims to tackle the ‘real-world’ challenges faced by clinicians, with a strong focus and connection to patients and working in practice. It is a multidisciplinary programme that aims to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of clinicians working with people experiencing pain using up-to-date evidence in a modern teaching environment.
Our part-time, fully online programme offers you a wide range of educational opportunities. With a flexible and broad selection of options, from single courses through to Masters of Science degrees, we offer you a unique opportunity to have direct contact with international students, lecturers, tutors and experts in pain management from across the world, to widen your understanding of pain in a variety of clinical contexts.
Developed for working clinicians
Our programme is delivered entirely online with no requirement to attend the University of Edinburgh campus. It was designed specifically for online delivery and learning, and, our online platform allows working clinicians from a range of professions, backgrounds and countries, the opportunity to learn together whilst meeting their personal and professional commitments.
High-quality teaching
The University of Edinburgh has a growing portfolio of established and highly regarded online distance learning postgraduate programmes, with thousands of students currently taking advantage of this mode of education.
Expert clinicians and educationalists who hold postgraduate qualifications in teaching and learning, as well as recognition as Fellows or Senior Fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), will teach and support your learning.
Many of our core teaching staff have been recognised in national teaching awards and have received recognition by our students in the annual Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) teaching awards (with nominations for Best Support Staff, Best Tutor and Best Course).
Our programmes are affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.
Our aim is to equip graduates with:
- comprehensive knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices which underpin quality pain management.
- an ability to critically appraise the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of pain management strategies in a range of health settings.
- the skills required to integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines and apply these to your professional practice to meet the complex biopsychosocial needs of patients with pain.
You can be assured that your professional and career development will be enhanced in the following areas:
- Advanced clinical practice
- Clinical leadership
- Research
- Training and Education
Further study
After completing this programme, you may wish to consider applying for a PhD or other research programme.
Our programme is structured around an academic year that consists of three 12-week terms. You will be expected to complete each level of the programme within the academic year with the Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and MSc awards given at the point of exit from the University.
If the completion of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master's degree does not align to your current goals, you have the option of enrolling for Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) that would allow you to take a single course of study to enhance a particular element of your clinical practice.
Year One
In Year One, you will gain a solid, theoretical understanding of the biological, psychological and social concepts that drive, develop and maintain pain.
Through the Year One compulsory courses, you will deepen your critical evaluation and analysis skills and develop your ability to link research to practice.
You will also gain generic academic skills in academic writing, presentation giving and literature searching.
Year Two
Building on Year One courses, you will deepen your understanding and ability to critically analyse literature and reflect this in practice, build your inter and multidisciplinary working knowledge and further develop your transferable academic skills.
You will have some choice of courses, and you will be able to select courses that are of best value to your personal and professional development.
Year Three
In Year Three, you have several options available depending on your personal, professional and academic goals.
You may wish to select from a curated choice of elective courses — all focused on measuring impact in your clinical practice — or you may wish to focus on a project that identifies a real-world problem and is structured to allow you to reflect on the process and reproduce your methods for future work.
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
UK government postgraduate loans
If you live in the UK, you may be eligible for a postgraduate loan for online study from one of the UK’s governments.
If you intend to apply for a UK government loan you should apply for the 3-year Masters option.
Study options
- MSc | 3 years
- PgCert | 1 year
- PgDip | 2 years
Part-time intermittent study
- PgProfDev | 2 years
How online learning works
This degree programme is taught entirely online. There is no need to come to the city or University campus.
All learning and teaching takes place within our virtual learning environment (VLE). Through the VLE, you can:
- access all your learning materials and study resources, including e-books and library resources
- interact with your tutors and classmates
An online degree from the University of Edinburgh is academically equivalent to an on-campus postgraduate degree and involves the same level of work overall. The qualification you get is of equal value. Your degree certificate will not mention that you studied the programme online.
Time commitment
This programme is designed to be fully flexible to fit around your schedule. You can study in your own time and access all your learning resources, such as reading lists, discussion forms and slides from anywhere in the world.
If there are live online sessions, you can watch a recording later in the virtual learning environment at a time convenient to you.
Typically, you will need to dedicate around 10 to 20 hours per week to your programme although managing this is up to you. This may also vary from course to course, and the time commitment may increase when assignments are due.