Clinical Management of Pain (Online Learning) MSc, PgCert, PgDip, PgProfDev

Level: Postgraduate taught

Subject: Medicine

Year of entry: 2026

Study options

Mode of study

Online learning

Part-time
  • MSc | 3 years | Start date: September 2026
  • PgCert | 1 year | Start date: September 2026
  • PgDip | 2 years | Start date: September 2026
Part-time intermittent study
  • PgProfDev | 2 years | Start date: September 2026

Key facts

School

Edinburgh Medical School

College

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Accreditation

Not available

Apply now

15 October: Postgraduate Online Learning Essentials

Find out what it’s like to study online at Edinburgh, with insights into learning, community and the support available to online postgraduate students.

Register now

Open Days on Demand

Dive into an extensive selection of programme-specific session recordings hosted by our Academic and Professional Services staff.


About the degree programme

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.

Global Health Academy

The programme has enhanced my practice in a significant way. I've been able to secure more specialist jobs and I've also been able to offer patients much more advanced and evidence-based care.

Cecile Hosang MSc Clinical Management of Pain Graduate 2018

Tuition fees

Tuition fees by award and duration

Tuition fees for full-time and part-time options are listed for one academic year.

Part-time
Part-time intermittent study

Graduate discount

If you are a University of Edinburgh graduate, you will be eligible for a 10% discount on your tuition fees for this programme. You may also be eligible if you were a visiting undergraduate student.

Find out how to receive your graduate discount

Deposit

If you receive an offer of admission, this will be conditional as you will be asked to pay some of your tuition fees in advance as a deposit.

How and when to pay the deposit

  •  £250 (this contributes towards your tuition fees)

 

Funding opportunities

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
  • scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

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.

View details: UK government loans

Search for other funding opportunities

You can find scholarships, bursaries and other funding you might be eligible for on our Scholarships and Student Funding site.

Postgraduate funding opportunities

These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.

Qualifications

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a healthcare related subject such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, pharmacology, osteopathy, chiropractic and other allied healthcare professions involved in the management of pain in human patients.

You must currently be in a patient-facing, clinical role, working with human patients who have been experiencing pain. This may involve a range of conditions, but pain will be a significant factor in their presentation and management planning. You must have been in the role for at least three months at the time of applying and intend to continue in this role, or a similar role, for the duration of the programme.

We will also consider your application if you have a professional qualification, such as RGN, with at least three years of clinical experience working with human patients who have been experiencing pain.

International qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

English language requirements

You must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme.

This is the case for all applicants, including UK nationals.

You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following:

  • an English language test
  • a degree that was taught and assessed in English
  • certain professional qualifications

English language tests we accept

We accept any of the following English language tests, at the specified grade or higher:

  • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
  • Oxford ELLT: total 7 with at least 6 in each component.
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 145 with at least 135 in each component.
How old your English language tests can be
Tests no more than two years old

The following English language tests must be no more than two years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality:

  • IELTS Academic
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition)
  • Trinity ISE
  • Oxford ELLT
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced
Tests no more than three and a half years old

All other English language tests must be no more than three and a half years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality.   

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration.

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English-speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

How old your degree can be

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts.

This time limit does not apply to your degree if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country.

Find out more about our English language requirements

Find out about other English language qualifications we accept, including professional qualifications.

English language requirements

What you will study

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 Masters 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 transferrable 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.

Find courses for this programme

Find out what courses you can study on this programme and how each of them are taught and assessed.

The courses on offer may change from year to year, but the course information will give you an idea of what to expect on this programme.

Part-time
Part-time intermittent study

We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

During your time on the programme, you will have time to study independently and reflect on what you have learned and how you might apply your learning to your clinical practice. Each course in the programme consists of themed areas including a blend of:

  • short online lectures and podcasts
  • live lectures and guest speakers
  • practical case studies
  • directed readings
  • discussion board activities
  • group work

The interaction between students, clinicians and academics is promoted through facilitated discussion forums, which provide the opportunity for collaborative critical discourse and debate of current issues.

Assessment

Assessments have been specifically designed to provide you with authentic learning opportunities and offer the ability to draw on your personal clinical experiences and expertise, regardless of where in the world you are located. Assessments and course tasks include, but are not limited to:

  • written assignments
  • topic-focused short essays
  • the creation of clinical resources

There is the sense that what we are doing actually matters. Although the course is academic and wide-ranging, it is applicable at every stage.

Mandy More Graduate

Learning outcomes

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.

Support for your studies

You will have access to a range of support services if you need them throughout your degree.

We will assign you to a student adviser, and this should be the first person to contact if you need help. They can guide you to other University service teams depending on what support you need.  

How we support you

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.  

See 'Find courses' in Programme details for more information about study time commitment

Equipment and software needs

To study this online programme, you will need access to:   

  • a computer or laptop  
  • the internet  
  • the latest version of a web browser  

As an online student, you will have access to a range of software you can download to help you complete your coursework, including Microsoft Office 365. 

IT support is available if you have technical difficulties.  

IT and computing help

Support for online students

Further study

After completing this programme, you may wish to consider applying for a PhD or other research programme.

Applying for research degrees

Moving on to a PhD (advice from the University's Careers Service)

Graduate profiles

While we are already aware that the University of Edinburgh is regularly listed as one of the top universities in the world, it is always extremely satisfying to hear directly from our graduates about their experiences on our programme. Here are find short videos from some of our graduates:

Careers Service

Our Careers Service can help you to fully develop your potential and achieve your future goals. 

The Careers Service supports you not only while you are studying at the University, but also for up to two years after you finish your studies. 

With the Careers Service, you can: 

  • access digital resources to help you understand your skills and strengths
  • try different types of experiences and reflect on how and what you develop
  • get help finding work, including part-time jobs, vacation work, internships and graduate jobs
  • attend careers events and practice interviews
  • get information and advice to help you make informed decisions 

Visit the Careers Service website 

How to apply

You apply online for this programme. After you read the application guidance, select your preferred programme, then choose 'Start your application' to begin.

If you are considering applying to more than one programme, you should be aware that we cannot consider more than 5 applications from the same applicant.

When to apply

Programme start date Application deadline
14 September 2026 21 August 2026

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible so that we have enough time to process your application. This is particularly important if you are also applying for funding. Applications may close earlier than published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand.

For an application to be reviewed, it must be a complete application by the application deadline with all supporting documentation uploaded, including references and transcripts.

If you already have evidence that you meet the English language entry requirements, such as via an approved English language test, please upload this evidence at the time of your application. If you have not already met your English language requirements, please upload that evidence as soon as you have it.

Application fee

There is no fee to apply to this programme.

What you need to apply

As part of your online application, you will need to provide: 

You will also need to submit some or all of the following supporting documents:

When you start your application, you will be able to see the full list of documents you need to provide.

Apply

Select the award, duration and delivery mode you want to study. Then select the start date you want to apply for.

After you apply

Once you have applied for this programme, you will be able to track the progress of your application and accept or decline any offers.

Checking the status of your application

We will notify you by email once we have made a decision. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it might take a while until you hear from us.

Receiving our decision

What to do if you receive an offer:

General enquiries

Postgraduate Admissions Office

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

CMVM College Office

Usher Institute, Usher Building, The University of Edinburgh

5-7 Little France Road, Edinburgh BioQuarter – Gate 3

Edinburgh

EH16 4UX

futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0)131 651 7998

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