Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

The MA is popular among health-care professionals keen to understand historical contexts in their profession, but also invites students from a range of academic backgrounds. 

Medicine, illness and welfare occupies a central place in all our lives. The MA is designed to enable students who want to understand the place of medicine and welfare in society and history (c1750-1980) and to engage with some critical debates. Students will have the opportunity to explore themes through various media including film, literature, and art, amongst others.

• How did culture and society respond to disease, health campaigns, new medical theories and innovations? Is there a relationship between medicine, welfare, ethnicity and identity?
• How is medical and lay knowledge of sickness and therapeutics formed?
• Can an understanding of these questions help in the development of current public health policy?
• The MA provides a comprehensive understanding of historical methodologies and their potential application to current debates about disease and welfare.
• The practical skills – project-management, writing with clarity and precision, and communication skills – garnered are essential for a range of careers including teaching, all forms of media, politics and academia.

View All Modules Here

The modules are taught through seminars and you will develop expertise in presenting, analytical thinking, effective communication, and writing with clarity and precision. 

Core Modules:
• Delving into the Archives: Critical Theories, Power and Practice
• Disseminating History

Option Modules:
• One Health, One World
• Dangerous and Deviant: Medicine and the Marginalised 
• Global History of Refugees
• Medicine, Culture and Society
• Madness and Civilization 
• Research Collaborations
• Sexuality and the State in Irish Drama and Culture
• Life on the Edge

The MA in Medicine and Welfare is a 90-credit programme.

Core modules include: Delving into the Archives: Critical Theories, Power and Practice (10 credits), and Disseminating History (10 credits).

Students can select from a range of options including: One Health, One World (10 credits); ‘Dangerous and Deviant’: Medicine and the Marginalised (10 credits); Global History of Refugees (10 credits); Medicine, Culture and Society  (10 credits); Madness and Civilization (10 credits); Research Collaborations (10 credits); Sexuality and the State in Irish Drama and Culture (10 credit); Life on the Edge (10 credits). 

MA History of Welfare & Medicine in Society (Z240) Full Time
EU          fee per year - € 7990
nonEU    fee per year - € 21520

MA History of Welfare & Medicine in Society (Z241) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 4800
nonEU    fee per year - € 10760

***Fees are subject to change

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.  

Students can apply for a prestigious, internationally recognised Wellcome Trust Masters Scholarship. Please contact the MA Director Dr Catherine Cox for further information. 

• ​A primary degree in an appropriate field such as a Bachelor of Arts, or in a cognate discipline such as medicine and nursing. You must supply details of any third level institutions you have attended and professional qualifications you have attained.
• Excellent academic grades 2H1 or an equivalent of a UCD GPA 3.2  NFQ Level 8.  Transcripts will be required
• You will be asked to complete a supporting statement outlining your reasons and motivation for wishing to undertake the course
• Two academic references from referees who are in a position to assess your intellectual ability, maturity and motivation.
• Candidates whose first language is not English are normally expected to have achieved an overall 6.5 in IELTS or equivalent with no individual band lower than 6.
• Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information: https://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/int%20pmp/

Dr Jane Hand  
Research Fellow, University of Warwick
MA 2011  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                The MA in History of Welfare and Medicine in Society was the perfect fit for me. It allowed me to develop my interests in the history of medicine and equipped me with the exciting research skills I needed to undertake further postgraduate study in this area. The lecturers are very enthusiastic about their areas of expertise and I found this really inspiring. Their commitment encouraged me to continue with further postgraduate study, before embarking on a career in academia. The MA was invaluable in preparing me for my career in research and introduced me to a lively and engaged community of researchers that have enriched my working life.

• MA History FT

The following entry routes are available:

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised