Family Medicine (Online Learning) MFM

The Master of Family Medicine (MFM) is an innovative online Master's degree. To help you achieve your potential we will equip you with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to deliver quality clinical care in family practice. You will also learn about family medicine as an academic speciality and develop specific academic skills.

We aspire to empower our learners to promote the development of compassionate and values-based family medicine that has a real impact on the individuals and communities that we serve.

Through the provision of excellence in family medicine education, the MFM delivers Global Health targets including the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (part of Sustainable Development Goal 3) and the World Health Organisation’s vision for strengthening primary healthcare. To achieve the WHO vision, family doctors will play a pivotal role within health systems around the world providing leadership to primary healthcare teams.

Whilst studying at the MFM, you will join a diverse community of family medicine practitioners from around the world resulting in enhanced learning.

Our experienced team of tutors and administrators will support you and ensure you make the most of the learning experience. We look forward to welcoming you to our growing family medicine community at the University of Edinburgh.

Online learning

This blended distance learning programme is delivered via the LEARN platform. Students have access to comprehensive learning materials as well as the University of Edinburgh’s library resources. Online tutorials are delivered regularly by experts in the field.

A flexible bespoke opportunity to train and practice

This part-time Master of Family Medicine programme has been designed with working professionals in mind, with the majority of the teaching through distance learning. The study commitment is approximately 10 - 15 hours per week, to allow busy doctors to continue frontline duties while they enjoy interactive and problem-based learning modules specially designed for them.

The online programme runs over three academic years and is complemented by one week of face-to-face teaching in both the certificate and diploma years (Years 1 and 2). This approach gives the flexibility of online learning, with the opportunities to apply that learning and gain valuable feedback through the contact teaching period. Attendance is not compulsory but it provides the unique opportunity to travel and view the practice of family medicine in other countries whilst meeting and learning from your tutors and fellow students. Currently, this contact session takes place in Edinburgh around June but may be moved online in specific cases, such as was required during the pandemic.

Global online community

An important benefit of this program is the online community which allows the student often working as a single practitioner to share experiences of managing many different and difficult clinical scenarios and innovative treatment practices with students from around the world through active discussion boards, blogs, group work and videos. Doctors who have completed the programme have spoken of the strength of support and encouragement that they gained from being able to share and learn together even though they are working in isolated places.

We are globally recognised for our research, development and innovation and we’ve provided our students with world-class teaching for more than 425 years.

An Edinburgh degree works for you

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50 and placed 22nd in the 2024 QS World University Rankings.

Our graduates are ranked 26th in the world by employers1.

Excellence in research

The University of Edinburgh has an international reputation for innovative research across a wide range of disciplines.

According to the results of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), the University is ranked fourth in the UK based on the quality and breadth of its research - known as research power - and is Scotland’s top-ranked institution.

The REF2021 results reveal that nearly 90 per cent of the University’s research activity is in the highest categories – 4 star and 3 star – which are classified respectively as ‘ world-leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’, a growth of 10 percentage points since the previous REF in 2014.

Innovation in teaching

The latest report from the Quality Assurance Agency awarded us the highest rating possible for the quality of the student learning experience. We are always working to develop innovative approaches to teaching in order to discover the methods that work best for students, including e-learning techniques and peer-assisted learning.

Experts in online learning

We offer the largest portfolio of postgraduate online degrees in the UK2, welcoming more than 8,000 online students since 2005. Our flexible and supportive programmes are well-established and an increasingly popular choice for students looking to balance further study with professional or family commitments.

Beautiful capital city

Ranked in the world’s top 10 student cities3, Edinburgh is a compact city with excellent transport links, which makes it easy to get around and to travel to other parts of Scotland.

Large enough to offer something for everyone, but small enough to feel like home, Edinburgh is a modern, sophisticated and beautiful European city with a diverse, multicultural community.​

Facilities and support to help you succeed

You will have access to one of the largest and most important academic libraries in the world, housing over 1.8 million printed volumes. You’ll also benefit from 30 open-access computer labs with 24-hour access across key locations, as well as free laptop loans.

We offer a free Student Counselling Service and a University Health Centre, and our Student Disability Service provides a range of support for students with disabilities. We also offer excellent childcare services, making it easier to juggle parenthood and study.

Impressive global community

Our ambitious internationalisation strategy ensures the teaching and research we deliver offers global benefits. We’re ranked in the world's top 20 most international universities4. Students from two-thirds of the world’s countries study here.

We collaborate with a host of world-leading institutions in fields as diverse as e-science, engineering, life and medical sciences, and arts and culture. We’re also a member of the global research network Universitas 21 and the European networks Coimbra Group and LERU.

Leading on social responsibility and sustainability

We are committed to being a world leader in addressing global challenges including poverty, climate change and the growing demand for energy, food and water.

As Scotland’s first Fairtrade University, we have been promoting better conditions for farmers and communities in developing countries since 2004.

We have championed environmental sustainability since the early 1990s and were a founder signatory to the Universities and Colleges Climate Commitment 2009 and to the 10:10 campaign.

The University is host to several Global Academies committed to tackling issues related to health, justice, environment, and agriculture and food security. The Academies cross boundaries in research and teaching, adopting a multi-disciplinary response to challenging global issues.

1QS World University Rankings 2024 2Higher Education Statistics Agency 2017/18 3QS Student Cities 2023 4Times Higher Education, World’s Most International Universities 2022