Postgraduate studies Language and Communication in Healthcare

Students will acquire state-of-the-art knowledge and skills that are marketable in the healthcare sector, such as talking about health and illness knowledgeably and empathetically, facing health crises and promoting preventive care.

Postgraduate studies in Language and Communication in Healthcare follow the modern trend in research and education called medical humanities. These are interdisciplinary studies, combining philological topics (in linguistics and literary studies) with issues in health sciences and several other disciplines (sociology, psychology). The programme will be conducted in English—at the Faculty of English at AMU.

The studies will emphasise practical knowledge and skills. Students will acquire or develop professional skills for effective communication of information about health and treatment, crisis support as well as health promotion. Students will also improve their command of English. They will obtain modern knowledge and the ability to apply it for the common good of health and quality of life.

Apart from experienced staff from the Faculty of English, who have done research in medical humanities and published internationally in the field of medical humanities (e.g., on the language of psychotherapy, audio description, specialised medical discourses, communication in patient care, medical translation). The programme will be taught by invited experts from other AMU units, and—as guests—from academic centres in Poland and abroad. We also plan the participation of experienced practitioners in professions where language is a tool for the pursuit of health and well-being.

Graduates will get a chance to secure employment in such professions as:

  • patient's assistant
  • interpreter accompanying the patient
  • medical journalist
  • health educator
  • audio describer
  • art therapist
  • communication expert supporting people with disabilities
  • standardised patient

Study programme

Courses

  • Medicine and healthcare in popular culture and literature: reading and speaking practice
  • Medical vocabulary in English
  • Communication in healthcare: theory and practice
  • Language and communication in psychotherapy
  • From specialist medical language to lay language about health and disease
  • Inclusive communication
  • Audio description for persons with sight loss
  • Professional coaching for communication in healthcare
  • Theatre for training in medical simulation
  • Communication with a patient with dementia
  • Healthcare communication across cultures
  • Narratives and metaphors about health and disease
  • Intergenerational communication about health and disease
  • New technologies supporting communication in healthcare
  • Medical discourses in texts in English across centuries
  • Medical anthropology in global perspective
  • Writing for medical sciences in English
  • Meeting practitioners of jobs related to communication in healthcare
  • Invited experts’ lectures on communication in healthcare

Meeting dates

First semester

  1. 1.03.2025: 8:30-15:15 + 2.03.2025: 10:15-15:15
  2. 22.03.2025: 8:30-15:15 + 23.03.2025: 10:15-15:15
  3. 5.04.2025: 8:30-15:15 + 6.04.2025: 10:15-15:15
  4. 26.04.2025: 8:30-15:15 + 27.04.2025: 10:15-15:15
  5. 10.05.2025: 8:30-13:30 + 11.05.2025: 10:15-15:15
  6. 24.05.2025: 8:30-13:30 + 25.05.2025: 10:15-15:15
  7. 8.06.2025: 10:15-15:15

Further information

For additional information concerning the programme, please e-mail dr Magdalena Zabielska.

Admission

Start date of classes: March 2025
Number of places: 15–20
Duration: 3 semesters
Fee: 8700 PLN in total; I semester 3000 PLN; II semester 3000 PLN; III semester 2700 PLN
Admission rules: Candidates will be admitted on a first-come first-served basis
Required documents: a copy of bachelor's or master’s degree certificate
Link to admissions website