The MA in Health, Cultures and Societies provides an exciting opportunity to explore issues around health, illness, wellbeing, and medicine. The MA provides advanced training in associated methods within a critical practice-oriented framework distinctive to the University and the city of Liverpool.
Introduction
Matters of health are simultaneously matters of society and culture. This cross-disciplinary MA focuses on Environmental Humanities, Arts and Mental Health and Critical Medical Humanities. The programme is closely linked to the Centre for Health, Medical and Environmental Humanities.
If you enrol for the programme you will benefit from research-connected teaching in a wide range of disciplines, including Archaeology, Anthropology, Classics, English, Geography, History, Law, Literature, Music, Medicine, Psychology, Public Health, and Sociology. The MA in Health, Cultures and Societies prepares you for innovative research within, between and beyond these disciplines.
As a graduate of this MA programme you will have the opportunity to enhance your future employment opportunities by engaging closely with the Centre’s external partners in the Liverpool and Merseyside region through collaborative research, student placements and internships.
The programme aims at offering a flexible and responsive curriculum, which integrates teaching and research. The MA is dedicated to developing confident, well-rounded, and intellectually open students. Its core modules ensure digital fluency, and its outward-facing, international scope helps to develops confident global citizens and future research leaders.
Who is this course for?
This MA is designed for graduates in arts and humanities, medicine or social sciences, who wish to expand their knowledge in the field of medical and health humanities. The programme is also suitable for intercalating medical students with an interest in this area.
What you'll learn
This is the right course for you if you are interested in:
Advancing your knowledge and understanding of the field of medical and health humanities
Cultivating an appreciation of the disciplines, subject areas and knowledge domains within and beyond the field of medical and health humanities
Developing an up-to-date, critical awareness of theoretical approaches, methodologies and debates and practices at the forefront of current research
Learning to think independently, critically and creatively with complex material and developing an interdisciplinary outlook
Advancing skills and professional insights which are relevant to employment and further academic (eg doctoral) study
Enhancing your understanding of the value of study of medical and health humanities and of its place and significance in the wider (professional, political and socio-cultural) world
Becoming a co-producer of knowledge relevant to the medical humanities field through engagement with external partners’ activity, culture and ethos.
Course content
Discover what you'll learn, what you'll study, and how you'll be taught and assessed.
Semester one
Students take 60 credits of required modules in Semester one.
Students may also consider taking some optional modules in Semester one. As this would result in a credit-heavy semester, optional modules would need to be discussed and agreed with the Programme Leader in advance.
Compulsory modules
RESEARCHING HEALTH, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES (HLAC700)
Credits: 40 /
Semester: semester 1
The core module ‘Researching Health, Cultures and Societies’ provides an introduction to the field of medical and health humanities. Broadly divided into the three components announced in the module title, it combines breadth (mind, body and health in history, philosophy and literature), diversity (global/comparative health cultures) and specificity (ethical, political and environmental practices in past and contemporary societies). This team-taught module builds on a wide range of disciplines and staff expertise in Classics, English, Geography, History, Medicine, Philosophy, and Public Health to provide a rich investigative terrain as well as a foundation in the key concepts, theories, questions and methodologies which will be examined in further depth in each themed module. It also draws on knowledge from outside the academy, in relation to health and environmental activism and medical ethics, for example, to integrate public-facing and professional learning with research-informed critical inquiry.
CRITICAL MEDICAL HUMANITIES (HLAC701)
Credits: 20 /
Semester: semester 1
This module is concerned with the critical examination of medical practice and policy-making and how knowledges and practices of health, illness, wellbeing and medicine are constituted, represented and governed at various scales (historical, political, economic, socio-cultural). Focussing especially on biopolitical, necropolitical and biosocial arrangements (the regulation, exploitation and structural violence in respect of the body, covering reproductive care, organ trafficking, treatments of drug and alcohol addiction, war, slavery and
the body in pain), the module interrogates conventional bio scientific approaches and explores new ways of knowing which decentre medical expertise and open up opportunities for critical collaborations between social sciences, humanities, medical and life sciences.
Optional modules
An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (SOCI517)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This 5 credit module is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Students are introduced to a critical understanding of discourse, which in turn encourages the analysis of language use in relation to questions of power in society. The module seeks to enable students’ engagement in such analyses, introducing them to appropriate methods and techniques, and providing them the opportunity to put these into practice.
Visual Data, Visual Analysis (SOCI518)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This module is organised around a review of the critical sociological literature on visual data and visual analysis. Drawing together existing research in this sub-field – which is growing rapidly in significance – the module focuses particularly on academic research that has sought to develop critical approaches to the production and deployment of visual data in specifically urban contexts.
OBSERVATION (SOCI533)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This 5 credit module will introduce students to observation and help them explore how they may draw on observational methods in their own research
PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATIVE PRACTICE (SOCI540)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
How does one integrate photography into a research project, and how can this be in a creative and aesthetically impactful manner? In this module students will be introduced to photography as a visual method in the social sciences, particularly as a way to investigate social phenomenon. This module will also consider how photography works as a form of practice-based research, where creative practice affords us more opportunities to develop new insights into the social world.
DOING ETHICAL RESEARCH (SOCI571)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 1
This module will provide you with a good understanding of ethical principles underpinning formal ethical review (process) and the complexity of considerations that arise in the field (practice). The module will be delivered through a workshop that will provide the opportunity for student-led discussions on specific ethical issues related to your research. It will be assessed through a short critical review of an ethical issue(s).
Any optional modules listed above are illustrative only and may vary from year to year. Modules may be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved and staff availability. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed.
Semester two
Students take 45 credits of required modules and 15 credits of optional modules in Semester two.
Compulsory modules
ARTS, MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING (HLAC703)
Credits: 20 /
Semester: semester 2
The value of arts and culture in mental health and wellbeing has received unprecedented recognition over the past two decades and the place and contribution of artistic and cultural activity for the health of individual and society has never been a more pressing concern. But the role of arts and humanities in human flourishing has a long and rich history with much to teach present-day understandings and practices. This module will draw on thinking and perspectives from across the ages, classical to modern, and on a wide range of disciplines, including film, literature, medicine, music, philosophy, psychology, to explore critically the relation of arts to health and wellbeing. It will also feature arts-led practice and practice-led research, involving professionals and practitioners from within the Liverpool City Region, with its fine history in the arts and in healthcare
HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES (HLAC702)
Credits: 20 /
Semester: semester 2
Global crises such as climate change, infectious diseases, plastics and other forms of pollution, and species extinction are signs of the unhealthy relationships between humans and their environments. These problems also raise serious questions about the possibilities for human and nonhuman health and wellbeing in an epoch that is increasingly known as the Anthropocene. This module explores the health dimensions of the human-environment relationship from the perspective of the environmental humanities. Drawing on interdisciplinary concepts, approaches, and methodologies, and taking an international view, the field of environmental humanities allows for multifaceted and critical exploration of the intersections between health and the environment.
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT (HLAC704)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module supports students through the preliminary development of their capstone project, from initial scoping activities, formulating an agenda, and identifying an approach through to generating an outline proposal and plan of work. By the end of the module, students will be prepared to embark upon the research, creative practice and/or professional reflection core to that project.
Optional modules
Using Foucault's Methods (SOCI515)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
Michel Foucault’s work has been influential in a wide range of disciplines. SOCI515 is a module that introduces students to the uses of Foucault’s theory and method within the social sciences. The module is structured to provide an insight into the ways Foucault’s technique and method have been taken up in sociology and applied to social research. Focusing on discourse as the cornerstone of Foucault’s methods our aim is to reconsider the status of ‘reality’ in the social sciences.
Focus Groups (SOCI516)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module will help students design, plan and carry out focus group discussions, and will cover both the theory, ethics and practice of focus group research. Particular attention will be paid to the analysis of verbal and non-verbal interaction.
Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (SOCI519)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
Ethnomethodology and conversation analysis are radical approaches to social inquiry. While distinct, ethnomethodology – the study of practical methods of action and reasoning, i.e. ‘ethno-methods’ – and conversation analysis – the study of ‘talk-in-interaction’ – are grounded in detailed investigations of how people in all manner of ordinary and specialised sites and settings organise their activities from within. Although this module will chart the development of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and situate them intellectually in wider fields of inquiry, its purpose is to provide an advanced, hands-on introduction to the unique way both approach the study of social practices via ‘tutorial problems’ centred on the analysis of interactional data collected as part of small-scale fieldwork exercises. Among others things, the module will look at how ethnographic research, observation and interviewing can be ‘repurposed’, that is, put to work in alternate ways when pursued ethnomethodologically.
Participatory Action Research (SOCI520)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module gives you the opportunity to plan a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project in preparation for your dissertation. Students will be given the opportunity to do this through Interchange, a charity that links students to 3rd sector organisations working in social welfare, social policy or criminal justice contexts. Students will not be encouraged to undertake a PAR dissertation unless they have completed this module.
RESEARCHING SENSITIVE SUBJECTS (SOCI522)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module encourages students to consider strategies and approaches when conducting research on sensitive subjects in the field of social scientific investigation. Students will engage with empirical, theoretical and methodological literature in relation to researching sensitive subjects. Case studies of research projects will be identified to demonstrate how practical, ethical and methodological obstacles can be negotiated and overcome. Students will identify specific sensitive topics for research and suggest approaches on how those projects might be undertaken. Students will also be encouraged to identify specific aspects of topics not to be researched and reflect on how and why such decisions might be taken.
Narrative Interviewing (SOCI524)
Credits: 10 /
Semester: semester 2
Narrative Inquiry represents an innovation in social research methodologies. It has proven particularly important for advancing how social scientists seek to understand constructions of meaning, the role of memory and the importance of temporality and identity. This module will introduce the student to key theoretical and methodological principles in conducting narrative research focusing primarily on interviewing. This module is an option for the Masters in Social Research Methods, and is also open for non-credited attendance to all postgraduate students in the university.
INTERVIEWING (SOCI526)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module on ‘interviewing’ gives participants an understanding of why, when, and how to use interviews in social research. The workshops will include opportunities for participants to understand when it is appropriate to use interviews in social research, to develop their own research questions, to learn how to prepare for and conduct interviews, as well as how to approach the analysis, and writing up of data. This learning on this module is underpinned by sociological theory and aims to provide an enhanced critical understanding of how different forms of interviews can be used to elicit different kinds of data, and how different ontological and epistemological positions in research impact on the data produced. The module is suitable for postgraduate students and research staff from all disciplines who require a period of additional supported study and reflection before they design and conduct their own interview based research project.
DOING ETHICAL RESEARCH (SOCI527)
Credits: 5 /
Semester: semester 2
This module will provide you with a good understanding of ethical principles underpinning formal ethical review (process) and the complexity of considerations that arise in the field (practice). The module will be delivered through a workshop that will provide the opportunity for student-led discussions on specific ethical issues related to your research. It will be assessed through a short critical review of an ethical issue(s).
Any optional modules listed above are illustrative only and may vary from year to year. Modules may be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved and staff availability. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed.
Summer period
Students then complete the Capstone Project (dissertation) over the summer period.
Compulsory modules
CAPSTONE PROJECT (HLAC705)
Credits: 60 /
Semester: summer
The Capstone Project represents the culmination of students’ interdisciplinary study and bespoke training in the MA Health, Cultures and Societies. It is where students bring to bear the skills, knowledge and confidence they have developed over the course of the Master’s programme. Building directly on the preparation developed in Advanced Methods, the Capstone Project is an opportunity to explore in depth a subject or topic chosen or devised by the student and agreed with a supervisor (by whom the student is guided throughout). Students advance the critical agenda established in the Project Development module by progressing towards desk-based or empirical research; applying theoretical knowledge and perspectives within a professional setting; or responding creatively to themes in health and medical humanities. Depending on the chosen project, the results may be presented in the form of a written dissertation, a research-informed report combined with learning diary or portfolio, or as a tied creative output with reflective commentary. Where possible, students may benefit from external professional contacts from the Liverpool City Region cultivated within the MA, working in collaboration, for example, with a health provider, charity or arts/cultural organization or regional archives.
Any optional modules listed above are illustrative only and may vary from year to year. Modules may be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved and staff availability. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed.
How you'll learn
Teaching is delivered through 2-hour seminars/workshops that take place weekly on campus. Seminars involve small and whole group critical discussions of issues arising from designated reading material. Seminars also involve collaborative analysis of academic, professional or creative texts (e.g. medical case reports, images of the body in art/medicine).
External partners in the fields of health, policy, arts and culture deliver various seminars and workshops within the programme, enabling students to make connections with relevant organisations in the Liverpool and Merseyside region. The average number of students in seminars varies depending on the module but between 6 and 12 students is the average.
The majority of students’ learning time is in self-directed study and independent research. This will include reading widely in the fields relevant to this subject area, researching appropriate resources in this field, acquainting yourself with relevant theoretical and methodological approaches to health and medicine, and developing individual research ideas.
Seminars/workshops are supported by a Virtual Learning Environment where students are encouraged to explore topics arising from sessions and connections between them and to make use of a bank of online resources.
How you're assessed
The assessments in this programme are designed to test knowledge and understanding of the field of medical and health humanities, foster interdisciplinarity and creative reflection, and encourage the translation of academic material for a range of audiences. Module assessments typically include, digital presentations (narrated PowerPoint, blogpost, podcast, wiki, academic journal entry or video-project) and/or a piece of extended writing (practice report, article for academic journal or magazine, philosophical dialogue or visual-literary creative piece). Assessments seek to help students communicate their ideas in an accessible and creative way to both general and academic audiences while honing their digital skills.
During the summer period, students build upon this work to produce a 15,000-20,000 word study – the capstone project – which may take the form of a dissertation, placement report/portfolio or creative project, and students will be encouraged to draw on the rich resources of the Liverpool City Region where appropriate.
Liverpool Hallmarks
We have a distinctive approach to education, the Liverpool Curriculum Framework, which focuses on research-connected teaching, active learning, and authentic assessment to ensure our students graduate as digitally fluent and confident global citizens.
Your experience
The MA in Health, Cultures and Societies is the master’s programme counterpart to the research and activity of the Centre for Health, Medical and Environmental Humanities. Spanning three faculties, the Centre supports researchers working at the intersections of the natural and social sciences, arts and humanities.
Support for students with differing needs from the Disability advice and guidance team. They can identify and recommend appropriate support provisions for you.
Why Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at University of Liverpool?
Fantastic on-campus facilities such as the Garstang Museum with its outstanding archaeological collections and GIS suite for archaeological drawing
Our extensive laboratories used for conservation, lithics, geomagnetism, stable isotope, trace elements, finds processing and sample preparation
An enviable library which has been built up since the Ancient World and Archaeology has been studied at Liverpool since the 1880s
Opportunities to learn ancient languages such as Greek, Latin, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian and Coptic
Archaeological projects based internationally, in Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Jordan, Turkey, Italy, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa, as well as in the British Isles
What students say...
The programme is really flexible and lets me follow my particular interests. The way the teaching is set up means students interact with academics from a variety of faculties and departments across the humanities and social sciences, so one week I’ll be learning from Classics tutors, and the next, from Philosophy. I love the variety and the opportunity to follow my own interests for the assessed work.
The programme provides academic training appropriate if you are seeking a career in the Higher Education sector. It also enhances graduate employability by engaging with The Centre for Health, Medical and Environmental Humanities’ external partners in the Liverpool and Merseyside region. The MA’s external health and arts partners provide (where feasible) student placements and opportunities for co-delivery of projects.
Graduates will have enhanced skills suitable to a wide range of employment and professional fields, especially where communication, collaborative endeavour, critical thinking and research are key components of the role. The required modules emphasise public-facing thinking and activity (regionally, nationally and internationally) as well as encouraging co-production. They are designed to enhance digital fluency and foster skills such as organisation, teamwork, time management, personal initiative and responsibility which will be transferrable to future work environments within a global context.
Career support from day one to graduation and beyond
In addition to a career in Higher Education, the MA forms a background for careers elsewhere in education as well as in:
The cultural sector
Health care
Therapeutic care
Politics
Third sector industries.
Fees and funding
Your tuition fees, funding your studies, and other costs to consider.
Tuition fees
UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland)
Full-time place, per year
£11,700
Part-time place, per year
£5,850
International fees
Full-time place, per year
£24,100
Part-time place, per year
£12,050
Fees stated are for the 2025-26 academic year.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support.
If you're a UK national, or have settled status in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for a Postgraduate Loan worth up to £12,167 to help with course fees and living costs. Learn more about fees and funding.
Additional costs
We understand that budgeting for your time at university is important, and we want to make sure you understand any course-related costs that are not covered by your tuition fee. This could include buying a laptop, books, or stationery.
We accept a 2:2 honours degree from a UK university, or an equivalent academic qualification from a similar non-UK institution. This degree should be in a relevant field of study, such as Arts and Humanities, Medicine or Social Sciences. Intercalating medical students may also apply.
International qualifications
If you hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, but don’t meet our entry requirements, a Pre-Master’s can help you gain a place. This specialist preparation course for postgraduate study is offered on campus at the University of Liverpool International College, in partnership with Kaplan International Pathways. Although there’s no direct Pre-Master’s route to this MA, completing a Pre-Master’s pathway can guarantee you a place on many other postgraduate courses at The University of Liverpool.
International applicants who do not meet the minimum required standard of English language can complete one of our Pre-Sessional English courses to achieve the required level.
English language qualification
Requirements
IELTS
6.5 overall, with no component below 6.0
TOEFL iBT
88 overall, with minimum scores of listening 19, writing 19, reading 19 and speaking 20. TOEFL Home Edition not accepted.
Duolingo English Test
120 overall, with no component below 105
Pearson PTE Academic
61 overall, with no component below 59
LanguageCert Academic
70 overall, with no skill below 65
PSI Skills for English
B2 Pass with Merit in all bands
INDIA Standard XII
National Curriculum (CBSE/ISC) - 75% and above in English. Accepted State Boards - 80% and above in English.
WAEC
C6 or above
PRE-SESSIONAL ENGLISH
Do you need to complete a Pre-Sessional English course to meet the English language requirements for this course?
The length of Pre-Sessional English course you’ll need to take depends on your current level of English language ability.
Liverpool bursts with diversity and creativity which makes it ideal for you to undertake your postgraduate studies and access various opportunities for you and your family.
To fully immerse yourself in the university experience living in halls will keep you close to campus where you can always meet new people. Find your home away from home.
Discover what expenses are covered by the cost of your tuition fees and other finance-related information you may need regarding your studies at Liverpool.
Contact us
Have a question about this course or studying with us? Our dedicated enquiries team can help.
