Applied and Professional Ethics

In your first semester you’ll be introduced to principles and approaches in the study of ethics, and look at key workplace issues such as professional responsibility. You’ll also look at important topics such as environmental and business ethics.

You’ll build on this knowledge in the following semester, when you’ll look at issues such as confidentiality, consent, contracts and diversity. Across the year you’ll be able to swap one module for an independent project, usually related to your line of work.

Throughout the degree you’ll be deepening your knowledge, improving your skills and gaining a new perspective on ethical issues. You’ll showcase all of this in your dissertation, where you’ll independently research a topic of your choice. You’ll submit this before the end of the programme in September.

If you choose to study this degree part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.

Course structure

These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Modules Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Introduction to Ethics: Reasons, Motivation, Obligations and Happiness 15 credits
• Professional Issues 1 15 credits
• Agents and Professional Responsibility 15 credits
• Dissertation 60 credits

Optional modules

• Professional Issues 2: Privacy and Confidentiality 15 credits
• Professional Issues 3: Consent and Contracts 15 credits
• Justice: Fairness, Equality and Diversity 15 credits
• Global Environmental Ethics 15 credits
• Business Ethics 15 credits
• Professional Ethics Project 15 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Applied and Professional Ethics MA Distance Learning in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Applied and Professional Ethics MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

This degree is taught entirely online, so there are no lectures or seminars. You won’t even have to attend Leeds at any point during the course, although if you can travel there may be chances to meet other students. Instead, you’ll used specially designed interactive teaching materials and participate in structured collaborative activities. You’ll contribute to discussion groups in our Virtual Learning Environment, so you can share experiences and perspectives with students from different backgrounds worldwide.

Read more about Online Distance Learning

Assessment

Because you study online, you won’t have to take any exams during this programme. Instead, most of the time you will be assessed using essays and coursework assignments. You’ll receive support from our tutors and be able to discuss your work with them before you submit it. Group projects, presentations and regular contributions to discussion forums may also be used to assess your progress in some modules.