Continuing professional development 

End of Life Studies CPD

There is global growing interest in end-of-life care. These courses will offer you new and critical perspectives on the contemporary challenges and innovations in end-of-life practice and policy, palliative care, cultural representations of dying and death, and related ethical questions.

    Duration: 10 weeks per course

Why this course

  • These courses are part of our online distance learning MSc/PGDip/PGCert in End of Life Studies programme and are available to be taken as individual courses.
  • They follow a semester timeline and you have the freedom to work at your own pace (apart from assignment deadlines)
  • You will have full access to a wide range of learning tools.  These include reading material, interactive exercises, expert interviews, tutor-led videos, and weekly live seminars.

    • The End of Life Studies Group at the University of Glasgow is internationally renowned for its research excellence. All courses are taught by Group members.

    All courses are designed for and delivered on the FutureLearn platform.

    Try a free taster course

    Enrol on End of Life Care: Challenges and Innovation to get an introduction to the subject and studying here at the University of Glasgow.

    Online 10-Credit Microcredential: End of Life Challenges and Palliative Care

    • 10 weeks
    • £599
    • 50 CPD / 10 Academic Credits
    • Entry points in September and April

    On this 10-week fully-online Microcredential, you’ll be introduced to new critical perspectives from within the social sciences, humanities, and clinical disciplines.

    Taking an interdisciplinary approach that encourages new ways of thinking, you’ll gain the tools to reflect on your own professional and personal encounters with dying, death, and grief.

    Supported by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; their Fellows and Members will receive 50 CPD credits upon completion. You will also receive 10 postgraduate-level academic credits and a Higher Education Achievement Record from the University of Glasgow, which can be used towards a Masters level qualification in End of Life Studies.

Course structure

You can choose to take any one of the six courses we offer as part of our MSc End of Life Studies programme, each worth 20 postgraduate-level academic credits:

September – December

Many countries, including the UK, have either legalised or are considering legalising, assisted dying. This course addresses the global debate about the ethics, pragmatics, and social ramifications of lawful assisted dying. The course will provide essential background about the history of the 'euthanasia debate' and how it has changed over time.

Learners will be sensitised to global variations in the form the debate takes, the type of medicalised 'assistance' advocated for and, in some jurisdictions, offered as well as the real and potential implications for health and social care providers. Theoretical ideas will also be introduced which will enable learners to understand the increasing prominence of assisted dying in end-of-life debates.

This course sets out the demographic, epidemiological and policy dimensions of delivering end of life care in the global context, taking account of differing settings, such as home, hospital, care home, and hospice. It explores the rise of the modern field of hospice and palliative care, examining core elements, debates and models of service organisation and practice. We will examine the current evidence on the global development of palliative care, the relevant indicators, the methodological challenges and the applications of evidence to global policy making processes. The course also considers the roles of key agencies and non-state actors in advocating for palliative care as a human right and an aspect of Universal Health Coverage. Selected case studies of end-of-life care delivery in Japan, India, and Scotland are covered to understand the efficacy of specific interventions such as the Liverpool Care Pathway, Hospice Medicare and the World Health Organization (WHO) pain ladder.

January – April

This course examines the rapidly growing interest in the creation of public health approaches to end-of-life issues that seek to make care of the dying and bereaved 'everyone's business'.

We will explore how many countries, organisations, and individuals around the world are attempting to complement the role of professional services by mobilising community assets in the face of dying, death, and bereavement. At the same time we will critically evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of this type of community intervention and the extent to which it is sustainable.

Case examples, such as the neighbourhood networks in Palliative Care (Kerala, India) and Compassionate Neighbours (London, UK) will be examined in detail. The course also considers related forms of community intervention - such as the interest in death cafes and death doulas - that are gaining popularity around the world.

By 2050, the world's population of people aged 60 years and older will double to over two billion. How will we respond to this unprecedented demographic shift? This course sets out the demographic, epidemiological, and policy dimensions of ageing towards the end of life including decline, dependency, and death. It examines how super-ageing centenarians are creating a '5th age'. It situates associated age-related care needs in the global context, critically considering why dying in old age continues to be neglected in research, policy and practice.

We consider differing care settings, such as home, hospital, care home, and hospice, palliative care for older people, and the historical, social, and cultural changes to expectations of healthy ageing, caregiving, and autonomy in late life. The course also examines core elements, debates and models of ageing into end of life care within selected international case studies.

April – July

This course examines how death and dying have been represented in popular culture (film, TV, mainstream fiction), visual arts (fine art, photography) and literary genres (creative non-fiction) over the last half century. Learners will be introduced to methods of visual and literary analysis and learn to identify specific cultural tropes used to represent the end of life. There will be in-depth case studies from different artistic genres and different countries, examining the maker's motivation, the specific form chosen, and the reception. Learners will be able to choose a specific artistic genre to examine in more depth and will create a piece of work in that genre for assessment.

This course introduces learners to three foundational components of end-of-life care research: theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and ethical considerations. The course identifies classic and contemporary concepts, issues, and debates within end-of-life research.

It will sensitize learners to the close relationship between theory, methods, and ethics in end-of-life research, and consider intended as well as unintended consequences of conducting end of life research within local, national, and international contexts. The course prepares learners to conduct qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research about dying, death, and bereavement, including developing a fully articulated research proposal.

Programme alteration or discontinuation The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme. For more information, please see: Student contract.

Course alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all courses as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a course. For more information, please see: Student contract.

Career prospects

These courses are well suited to the needs of people already engaged in some way in matters relating to death, dying, bereavement, palliative care, and end of life care. As well as those who seek to move into these fields. We have a rich online learning community of practitioners, social activists, those working in artistic and cultural media, and people pursuing their own personal development on a matter of pressing human interest.

Graduates are likely to find employment in:

  • Non-government organisations concerned with end-of-life care policy, service design and management.
  • International health organisations, particularly those with a focus on ageing and end of life care.
  • Government agencies and departments that take responsibility for end-of-life care strategies and provision.
  • Creative industries that focus on matters of death and dying in film, literature, public engagement, exhibitions and installations.
  • Emerging new professional groups: such as end-of-life/death doulas, funeral celebrants, and other end-of-life practitioners.

Find out more about careers paths and opportunities.

Fees & funding

Tuition fees for April 2025 entry

Single Course (20 credits)

  • Home/EU/International: £1,589

Tuition fees for September 2025, January 2026 and April 2026 entry

Single Course (20 credits)

  • Home/EU/International: £1,667

Entry requirements

Normally a 2:1 Honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject, if you are unsure whether your degree is suitable, you can email the programme team to discuss.

Applications from candidates with relevant and substantial professional and/or industry experience are welcomed even if they do not necessarily hold a relevant qualification.

Please include a 500 word personal statement detailing your relevant background and/or industry experience. You should state why you have applied for this programme and how your background/interests make you a good fit for the course.

How to apply

To apply for a course, you must apply online. We cannot accept applications any other way.

Documents

As part of your online application, you also need to submit the following supporting documents:

  • A copy (or copies) of your official degree certificate(s) (if you have already completed your degree)
  • A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained
  • Official English translations of the certificate(s) and transcript(s)
  • One reference letter on headed paper. This should typically be an academic reference but in cases where this is not possible, then a reference from a current employer may be accepted instead. . If you already have a copy of a reference on letter headed paper, then please upload this to your application. If you do not already have a reference to upload, then please enter your referee’s name and contact details on the online application and we will contact your referee directly.
  • Evidence of your English language ability (if your first language is not English)
  • Any additional documents required for this programme (see Entry requirements for this programme)
  • A copy of the photo page of your passport

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Guidance notes for using the online application

These notes are intended to help you complete the online application form accurately; they are also available within the help section of the online application form. 

If you experience any difficulties accessing the online application, see Application System Help.

  • Name and Date of birth: must appear exactly as they do on your passport. Please take time to check the spelling and lay-out.
  • Contact Details: Correspondence address. All contact relevant to your application will be sent to this address including the offer letter(s). If your address changes, please contact us as soon as possible.
  • Choice of course: Please select carefully the course you want to study. As your application will be sent to the admissions committee for each course you select it is important to consider at this stage why you are interested in the course and that it is reflected in your application.
  • Proposed date of entry: Please state your preferred start date including the month and the year. Taught masters degrees tend to begin in September. Research degrees may start in any month.
  • Education and Qualifications: Please complete this section as fully as possible indicating any relevant Higher Education qualifications starting with the most recent. Complete the name of the Institution (s) as it appears on the degree certificate or transcript.
  • English Language Proficiency: Please state the date of any English language test taken (or to be taken) and the award date (or expected award date if known).
  • Employment and Experience: Please complete this section as fully as possible with all employments relevant to your course. Additional details may be attached in your personal statement/proposal where appropriate.
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