Which programmes exist and what they cost
Medical writing education includes university degrees and certificates alongside professional and commercial training. Programme titles, availability, delivery formats and prices change, and searches under medical writing alone can miss related study in health or science communication.
University degrees and certificates
A 2013 directory of US health and science communication programmes included certificates, traditional and online master's programmes, and traditional and online doctorates. Traditional master's programmes were more numerous than doctoral programmes, and the sole online doctorate listed was Texas Tech's Technical Communication and Rhetoric programme.
In March 2013, the Medical University of Innsbruck's two-year MSc in Medical Writing was listed at approximately €15,000–18,000, with restructuring underway and a planned return that autumn involving about a week a year on site and the remainder online. Worcester's part-time PGCert in Medical Communications was listed at €1,800 for one year, comprising three 20-credit modules with weekend attendance and online work. The University of the Sciences offered an online medical writing master's at €38,000 and regulatory and marketing writing certificates at €13,500. Chicago's medical writing and editing certificate combined four three-day courses, on site or online; the listed prices were €1,150 per course and €4,250 in total.
The Innsbruck master's was subsequently announced for relaunch in October 2014 as a two-year programme combining summer and winter schools with distance learning, covering basic medical knowledge, scientific writing, medical communications and regulatory writing. International experts were to teach the programme, and students were to complete two professional documents, one as a first-year project and the other as a master's thesis. Planned teaching areas included drug development and regulatory affairs, medical communications, advanced English, quality assurance, and good clinical practice and medical ethics.
By 2019, a search for medical writing degrees found only three graduate programmes among its first 50 results that were not certificates or tracks within science writing degrees: the University of the Sciences, James Lind Institute and Medical University of Innsbruck. The University of the Sciences offered a non-thesis MS in Biomedical Writing; the James Lind Institute awarded a Professional Diploma in Medical Writing; Innsbruck showed no date for restarting its programme. Postgraduate diplomas were more common outside the US, with some comparable to master's degrees and others closer to certificates.
The 2019 programme options included:
| Institution | Programme and delivery details |
|---|---|
| University of the Sciences | Online MS in Biomedical Writing, 36 credits; marketing writing and regulatory writing certificates, 12 credits each |
| Medical University of Innsbruck | MSc in Medical Writing, two years and 94 credits; apparently not recruiting at the time |
| Johns Hopkins | MA in Science Writing with a medical writing track, and Certificate in Science Writing; nine online courses including a residency and thesis |
| University of Chicago Graham School | Online Medical Writing and Editing Certificate; five core courses and one elective |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Graduate Programme in Science Writing; one year, 17 courses and a summer internship |
| James Lind Institute | Online Professional Diploma in Medical Writing; 14 modules and 18 credits |
| University of Findlay | Three-credit course certificates in Fundamentals in Medical Writing, Clinical Trial Disclosure, or Medical Writing of New Drug Applications Clinical Modules |
| Lenoir-Rhyne University | MS in Writing with a graduate certificate in Narrative Healthcare |
Other options listed in 2019 included UConn's nine-credit online Certificate in Health Professions Education, Johns Hopkins' Health Communication Certificate, Bioscience Writers workshops and the Center for Professional Innovation and Education's Certified Medical Writing Professional programme.
Health communication study offered a wider field, including master's degrees, public health programmes, concentrations and certificates at graduate, undergraduate, professional development and post-master's levels. Certificate subjects included digital health communication and visual and digital health communication, and some certificates were restricted to students enrolled in or seeking a degree. Few certificate programmes required significant prerequisites beyond a bachelor's degree.
The University of the Sciences biomedical writing programme ended in 2022 when the university merged with St John's University. A December 2023 account identified two remaining US medical writing certificate programmes, at the University of Chicago, established in 1999, and University of California San Diego Extension, established in 2016. The UCSD programme covered regulatory writing, journal publication, continuing education and grant writing; by 2022, a faculty member reported that it had awarded certificates to more than 50 students.
In 2024, Chicago added a Professional Certificate in Healthcare Communication covering medical copywriting, patient education and continuing education for health professionals. Chicago and UCSD offered programmes for professionals with advanced biomedical or life-science degrees seeking work outside academia, covering regulatory documents, research grants, journal submissions and writing and editing ethics.
Finding programmes
Search results can omit relevant programmes because of providers' search-engine optimisation and the searcher's location. In a 2019 comparison, healthcare communication degree returned the most relevant results among the first 50 hits and led to a directory of more than 65 US degree programmes.
Commercial and specialist training
Training providers include professional associations, commercial companies and individual practitioners. A medical writing employer recommended Management Forum's three-day introduction to medical writing and sent staff to its courses as well as EMWA conferences. In 2015, she found online courses lasting five or six weeks at approximately €1,500–2,000 and suggested comparing their cost with the additional freelance business that training might bring.
Online and specialist options described in 2024 included Emma Hitt Nichols's The 6-Week Course and Prospology coaching for healthcare professionals and scientists entering freelance medical writing. The University of Washington offered a Specialization in Regulatory Medical Writing; RAPS and the Center for Professional Innovation and Education provided training on specific regulatory documents; ISMPP offered publication-related courses including copyright; Write Medicine taught continuing medical education content development; and the Medical Copywriting Programme addressed pharmaceutical advertising and healthcare professional marketing.
The online options identified by training providers in 2024 included Health Writer Hub for health and freelance writing, Emma Hitt's medical writing courses, Sarah Nelson's coaching, CME Pro for continuing medical education resources and Medcomms Networking for medical communications resources and networking.
Regional provision
A 2024 overview characterised US provision as practical and industry-focused, European programmes as often more academically grounded, and Asia-Pacific provision as expanding alongside medical writing roles.
In Australia, the Australian Writers' Centre offered general writing, editing and journalism courses online and in person, the University of Sydney offered medical writing units within postgraduate programmes, and the University of Queensland offered relevant biomedical and health-science courses. Health Writer Hub and Coursera also provided courses accessible from Australia.