In this interview, we sit down with Richard Boulton, Programme Director of our Medical Ethics, Law and Humanities MSc programmes.
Academic interests and expertise
Can you tell us about your academic and research background?
I’m a sociologist by background, and my work focuses on how people experience healthcare — the everyday routines, cultures and relationships that shape what happens in practice. I’ve explored a wide range of themes over the years, from how teams navigate change to how theory helps us understand the human side of clinical work. My research sits between social theory and real‑world experience, and I’ve worked closely with healthcare professionals as well as within more humanities‑focused spaces. That mix means my work pays attention not just to systems and improvement, but also to meaning, narrative and lived experience.
How do you see your field evolving over the next decade?
Over the next decade, I expect the fields of medical ethics, law and humanities to expand rapidly as healthcare becomes more complex, more global, and more technologically driven. We are already seeing rising demand for people who can navigate the ethical and legal challenges of AI in healthcare, genomic medicine, data governance, public health emergencies and inequalities. At the same time, the medical humanities are becoming increasingly central to how clinicians, policymakers and researchers understand patient experience, communication, and the social impact of medical decision‑making.
Why this course?
What makes this postgraduate programme unique within its field?
What makes our programme unique is the way we bring together medical ethics, law and the humanities in a genuinely integrated way. While some universities offer ethics and law, and others focus on medical humanities, it is rare to find all three combined into a single degree that allows students to explore healthcare from ethical, legal, historical and cultural perspectives at once. Our location within City St George’s also gives students access to exceptional resources, including the St George’s Archives and Special Collections, which hold centuries‑old medical records, rare books, artworks and pathological specimens from the university’s long history as a medical school. Being based on a working hospital campus makes this even more distinctive; students study in an environment where the ethical and legal issues they are learning about are part of day‑to‑day clinical practice.
Are there opportunities for students to tailor the programme based on their specific academic or career interests?
One of the strengths of this programme is its flexibility, allowing students to shape their learning around the themes, sectors or career paths that matter most to them. Through a wide choice of specialist and optional modules, enabling them to focus on the ethical, legal, global or humanities-based dimensions that best align with their goals.
Students also have considerable freedom to design their dissertation or final project around a topic that aligns with their academic interests or future ambitions. Many use this as an opportunity to delve deeply into emerging ethical or legal challenges, examine issues arising from their own professional practice, or collaborate with external organisations on research with real world impact.
We actively encourage students to personalise their academic journey — whether they are preparing for clinical roles, policy work, research, education, or careers in the wider health, legal or cultural sectors. The programme provides both structure and space, supporting each student to build a pathway that reflects their goals and strengths.
Career paths
What career paths have graduates from this programme typically followed?
Graduates move into a wide range of roles across healthcare, policy, research, education and the broader cultural and public sectors. Many use the programme to enhance their existing clinical, allied health or public health careers, while others transition into roles involving ethics support, governance, patient advocacy, regulatory work or health policy analysis. Several graduates have also pursued further academic opportunities — including one student who was awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at Harvard. Others have gone on to roles in research centres, NGOs, professional bodies, and cultural or heritage organisations that engage with the history, communication and social impact of medicine.
Tips for offer holders
If you could highlight one thing that students should look forward to in this programme, what would it be?
Students consistently feedback that the most rewarding part of the programme is the chance to engage with complex ethical, legal and cultural questions in a genuinely interdisciplinary environment. They enjoy the mix of perspectives in discussion, the freedom to explore ideas that matter to them, and the experience of studying these issues on a working hospital campus where the themes of the course feel real and immediate.
What advice would you give offer holders as they prepare to join this course?
My advice is to come in with curiosity and a willingness to explore ideas from different angles. You don’t need to have an ethics, law or humanities background — just an openness to thinking deeply about the issues that shape real clinical and social experience. Be ready to read widely, question confidently, and bring your own professional or personal insights into discussions; your perspective will enrich the group. And don’t worry about having all the answers at the start — what matters most is engaging with the material, asking good questions, and allowing yourself to grow as you discover new ways of understanding healthcare.