MSt in Practical Ethics

Course details

Overview

The MSt offers high-quality training in practical ethics, drawing on the internationally recognised expertise of the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Ethox Centre. 

The course is run by the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Department for Continuing Education, providing training in practical ethics through flexible, part-time learning. The course is highly interdisciplinary in character but the primary focus is ethical and philosophical. It focuses on the application of rigorous philosophical analysis to real-life ethical problems and provides a grounding in 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.

Quick links

• Ethics at Oxford
• Who is this course for?
• The course in detail
• Academic team
• Libraries
• Application details – how to apply, fees, scholarships and sources of funding

Practical Ethics at Oxford

The University of Oxford was ranked as the top university for the study of ethics by the Centre for World University Rankings in 2017, and has consistently ranked as the top university in applied ethics and normative ethics by the Philosophical Gourmet Report. Oxford's research in practical ethics is led by the Uehiro Oxford Institute, and the MSt in Practical Ethics course is led by the Uehiro Oxford Institute’s Professor Guy Kahane with additional teaching from the Medical Division’s Ethox Centre. Other researchers from the Uehiro Oxford Institute and beyond will contribute to the course, including Dr Cesar Palacios Gonzalez, Dr Jonathan Pugh, Professor Dominic Wilkinson, Professor Thomas Douglas and the Ethox Centre's Dr Mark Sheehan. There will be other occasional lectures by world experts such as Emeritus Sekyra and White’s Chair of Moral Philosophy, Jeff McMahan and Professor Julian Savulescu.

Research at the Uehiro Oxford Institute

MSt students participate in the life of the Uehiro Oxford Institute, a vibrant research centre in Practical Ethics with around 20 staff members working on a range of issues in Practical Ethics, and will also study under members of the Ethox Centre in the Department of Public Health.

You can learn more about some of the research going on at the Institute through videos, opinion pieces, and blogs, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for up-to-date information.

Who is this course for?

The course is relevant to students from a range of academic and professional backgrounds, including medicine and other health sciences, cognitive science, philosophy, bioethics and the legal and public policy sectors.

The course in detail

Course structure

The MSt in Practical Ethics is a part-time course consisting of six taught modules and a dissertation. There is one compulsory module and a choice of five out of eight option modules. Students will be assigned a supervisor throughout the taught elements of the course.

Compulsory modules:

• Ethical Concepts and Methods

Option modules:

• Well-Being, Disability and Enhancement
• Neuroethics
• Philosophy, Psychiatry and Mental Health
• Ethics of the Beginning and End of Life
• Research Ethics and Empirical Ethics
• Artificial Intelligence Ethics
• Data Ethics
• Climate, Environment and Animals

The core compulsory module and five out of the eight option modules (six modules in total) will run each year. We cannot guarantee that all eight option modules will be covered in any two year period. 

Each module will be taught over an intensive residential teaching week 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, texts and online lectures, alongside forums where students can communicate and continue discussion when away from Oxford.

Confirmed Timetable for the academic year 2024-25

Module 1. Ethical Concepts & Methods: 30 September 2024 – 4 October 2024 (core compulsory module for new starters only)

Module 2. Well-Being, Disability & Enhancement: 7 October 2024 – 11 October 2024

Module 8. Data Ethics: 10 March 2025 –14 March 2025

Module 5. Ethics of the Beginning and End of Life: 17 March 2025 – 21 March 2025

Module 4. Philosophy, Psychiatry and Mental Health: 9 June 2025 - 13 June 2025

Module 6. Research Ethics & Empirical Ethics: 16 June 2025 – 20 June 2025

Provisional Timetable for the academic year 2025-26

Module 1. Ethical Concepts & Methods: 29 September 2025 – 3 October 2025 (core compulsory module for new starters only) 

Module 2. Well-Being, Disability & Enhancement: 6 October 2025 – 10 October 2025

Module 5. Ethics of the Beginning and End of Life: 9 March 2026 – 13 March 2026

Module 7. AI Ethics: 16 March 2026 – 20 March 2026

Module 3 Neuroethics: 15 June 2026 – 19 June 2026

Module 9 Climate, Environment and Animals: 22 June 2026 – 26 June 2026

Course aims

The programme

• provides high-quality training in practical ethics, drawing on the considerable teaching and research strengths of Oxford in this area.
• offers students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking and analytical skills, and to build an in-depth knowledge of contemporary ethical and philosophical issues.
• is designed to accommodate philosophy graduates wanting to specialise in practical ethics and professionals with a background in other relevant areas (e.g. medicine or law) who either wish to transition to practical ethics or who desire training in practical ethics to supplement their career.
• is flexible, allowing students to complete the course part-time with short but intensive teaching sessions in Oxford, allowing employed professionals to complete the degree without disruption to their careers. 
• covers a wide range of topics within practical ethics, including both core issues in bioethics and medical ethics and emerging areas of research such as AI ethics, neuroethics and the philosophy of mental health.
• is research-led, taught by (and informed by the research of) leading contributors to current debates in practical ethics.

Assessment methods

Assessment for each module is based on one 3,500-word essay per module. Students will also complete a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor and the Course Director. The dissertation should not normally exceed 15,000 words.

Alumni reflections

 

Academic team

Course Director: Professor Guy Kahane 

Guy Kahane is Director of Studies at the Uehiro Oxford Institute. He is also a Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at Pembroke College, Oxford, and Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford. Professor Kahane was a recipient of a Wellcome Trust University Award (2009-2014), and has been a Research Fellow at the Uehiro Centre since 2005. He is also an Associate Editor of the Journal of Practical Ethics and was previously an Associate Editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics. Kahane has published over 100 articles, many of which have appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals in philosophy and science, such as Nous, Ethics, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Nature, PNAS, and Cognition. His research interests include practical ethics, metaethics, moral psychology and philosophy of religion. Kahane is also actively engaged in interdisciplinary empirical research into the neural and psychological processes that underlie moral decision-making.

Deputy Course Director: Dr César Palacios-González 

César Palacios-González is a Senior Research Fellow in Practical Ethics. His research interests include bioethics, philosophy of medicine, neuroethics, and applied philosophy. Dr Palacios-González graduated from The University of Manchester in 2016 with a PhD in Science Ethics, where he was part of the Wellcome Trust funded project 'The Human Body, its Scope, Limits and Future'. His doctoral work explored the ethics of human/non-human chimera research. Prior to coming to Oxford, he was a Research Associate at the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, King's College London, working on the Wellcome Trust funded project "The Donation and Transfer of Human Reproductive Materials". There he explored the ethics of Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques and In Vitro Gametogenesis.

Lead Tutor: Dr Jonathan Pugh

Jonathan Pugh is a Senior Research Fellow at the Uehiro Oxford Institute, and the Theme Lead for Ethics and Values at Reuben College. His research interests lie primarily in issues concerning personal autonomy in practical ethics, particularly topics pertaining to informed consent. Dr Pugh was previously a member of the UK Pandemic Ethics Accelerator, and the Parfit-Radcliffe Richards Fellow at the Uehiro Centre. He has published work in philosophical and medical journals on a number of topics in neuroethics, research ethics, public health ethics, the ethics of psychiatry, and clinical ethics. 

Presenters

Teaching staff and associates of the Uehiro Oxford Institute and guest speakers will present during the week-long intensive sessions.

Libraries and work spaces

Department for Continuing Education

The Department for Continuing Education is based at Rewley House in Wellington Square.

In addition to supporting the various aspects of the course that involve online learning, the Department has facilities available to students during their attendance in Oxford. In particular, the Department has a Graduate Room - a study space dedicated to graduate students with lockers, printing facilities and refreshments. The Graduate Room is accessible from 8.00am to 10.00pm (24hrs for students using the Department’s overnight accommodation). The Continuing Education Library, also located at Rewley House, has quiet study space and a ‘Reading Room’.

Uehiro Oxford Institute

The Uehiro Oxford Institute is based at Littlegate House in Saint Ebbe's Street.

There are a number of study desks available for MSt (and DPhil) students to use, as well as printing facilities during working hours and refreshments. These desks can be accessed at all hours once approriate permission has been activated on a student's University Card.  

Bodleian Libraries

Students have access to 26 libraries across the University, including the Bodleian Library (one of five copyright libraries in the UK, it holds 6,500,000 volumes and offers a unique research facility to the University), as well as numerous other specialist research libraries in Oxford. The Uehiro Oxford Institute also hosts a growing collection of applied ethics and other related books.

Application details

How to apply

Applications for this course should be made via the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions website. This website includes further information about this course and a guide to applying.

Please read our Terms and Conditions before submitting your application. 

Entry criteria

Applicants should check the University's Graduate Admissions page for the MSt in Practical Ethics Entry Requirements.

Fees and funding

Fees for the 2025-26 academic year

These rates (in pounds sterling) are for students joining in the 2025-26 academic year and will increase annually.

The annual award fee is due for every academic year (or part-year) attended; module or dissertation fees are due in advance as invoiced. Fees must be paid in accordance with the Terms and Conditions for the programme.

2 annual award fees: £5,230 (see notes 1 and 2)
plus 6 module fees: £13,170 (see notes 1 and 2)
plus dissertation fees: £6,585 (see notes 1 and 2)
Total = £24,985 (see notes 1 and 2)

Notes

1. The fee rates listed are for the academic year shown, and you should be aware that these rates will increase annually.
2. The illustration is based on the fee rates for the academic year shown; however, fee rates for attendance in future years will increase, so students attending for more than one year should expect the total to be higher than is shown in the illustration. The exact amount will depend on the fee rates set annually, and upon the years you are in attendance; these are normally published well before the start of each academic year, but for your own budgetary purposes you may wish to estimate a 5% annual increase on fee rates.
3. MSt students are matriculated and are full members of the Collegiate University; college fees are included within the MSt programme fees and are paid to the colleges on a student’s behalf.

Exceptionally, students may wish to complete the programme within one year and one term. If you plan to take this route, it is recommended that you discuss this with the Course Director in advance to assess the feasibility in your circumstances (please note that a minimum of 2 annual award fees applies).

Scholarships and sources of funding

Details of funding opportunities, including grants, bursaries, loans, scholarships and benefit information are available on our Sources of Funding page.

Further details can also be found on the University's Fees and Funding page.

Modules