Human Anatomy MSc

This 12-month program offers a rare opportunity to learn anatomy from dissection and experience in teaching human anatomy. This is an ideal stepping-stone to a career in anatomy teaching and research.

With this highly regarded qualification, you will gain major transferable skills through an intensive on-campus dissection course and develop teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

What will you study?

This program has two main strands.

Develop your in-depth knowledge of human anatomy through dissection

Anatomical knowledge will be learned to a level to teach undergraduate and postgraduate students and professions allied to medicine. This strand will involve the dissection of a body in groups of three to five students over two semesters.

A major component of this course involves self-directed learning. When there are no scheduled lectures or tutorials, students are required to spend their time in the lab, fully engaged in the process of dissecting and learning anatomy from their assigned dissected body.

Additionally, there will be regular "surgeries" where teaching staff will be present to offer guidance and support during the dissections.

Learn to teach anatomy

The second strand is anatomy teaching, covering the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching anatomy to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Alongside theoretical lectures and workshops in the first semester, you will focus on observing the teaching of anatomy to medical undergraduate students.

In the second semester, you will be involved in preparing and carrying out teaching sessions for both small and large groups of students. You will compile an end-of-year teaching portfolio based on:

• The theoretical material you learn
• The observations you make
• The practical experience you have gained
• The experience that you will gain can be used towards an application as an associate fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Embryology course

Complementing these strands will be a lecture-based embryology course. This will provide you with an understanding of normal human development and how normal development can go wrong, manifested in commonly observed congenital abnormalities.

You will also study:

• Neuroanatomy
• Embryology
• Anatomy law and ethics
• Medical imaging
• The health and safety of embalming procedures and handling bodies
• The legal and historical aspects of anatomy in Scotland and the UK
• An introduction to the ethics of using bodies in medical education

Why choose Edinburgh?

Anatomy expertise with a rich history

There is a long and distinguished tradition of anatomy teaching in Edinburgh, reaching back to 1505 and the first recorded use of a body for dissection. Today our courses are taught by leading academics who are passionate about teaching and research, and who are making an impact on an international level.

Outstanding facilities

The department has undergone extensive refurbishment and is well-equipped with facilities to preserve, maintain, and use fixed and frozen human material for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. We have a recently established Research and Development Area, which is used by external clinical companies and surgeons for training and research purposes.

World Leading Research

The University of Edinburgh is fourth in the UK based on the quality and breadth of its research with its qualifications valued internationally. The 2021 Research Excellence Framework exercise results reveal that nearly 90 per cent of the University’s research activity is in the highest categories, which are classified respectively as ‘world-leading and ‘internationally excellent.’ Edinburgh is home to numerous highly respected research centres, of which many of our academics are active members. These include the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and the Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research.