If you’re an experienced practitioner looking for a professional edge, then our course is the first step you need to work up to a master’s degree.
You have the opportunity to take a shortened study programme at level 7 that will give you a stimulating and engaging learning experience, equipping you with the knowledge and skills to be an innovator in your field.
We make it easier for you to reach your academic potential because flexibility and choice sit at the heart of our programme, so you can fit your studies around your busy life.
Why Choose University of Cumbria
Choose bespoke modules to suit your individual needs, create your own programme title and select whether you want to study full or part-time, at one of our campuses or from your own home.
Whatever your area of professional practice, our multidisciplinary modules enable you to evidence your learning in relation to your workplace.
As a result of this flexibility, your day-to-day working practice will benefit straight away from your academic learning.
- We're amongst the UK's leading universities health and social care departments
- Choose to study at our Carlisle or Lancaster campuses or complete the course entirely by distance learning
- Study on a modular basis and so you don’t need to commit to the full course – learning at your own, comfortable pace
- Range of modules to choose from to suit your interests and employment needs
- Taught by experienced practitioners and academics, who have extensive experience of working in the NHS and a range of other occupations
- Close support and guidance throughout your studies from a personal tutor
- Tutors carry out national and international research, are members of national advisory bodies and publish papers in their areas of expertise - which will enhance your learning
- Interactive online classrooms give you the opportunity to debate and discuss real life scenarios and experiences with fellow students, so you'll never feel like you're studying in isolation
- We’ve extensive experience as CPD distance learning providers and have a well-established online study skills package for you to use
- Bring your previous university credit with you – whether from us or another institution. We have generous allowances for the accreditation of prior learning (APL)
You can study gradually at a pace to suit you, starting with a single module and building towards your Post Graduate Certificate (60 credits). If you wish to study further, you can advance onto a Post Graduate Diploma (120 credits) and then a full Masters degree (180 credits).
Our aim is to see you become the best practitioner you can be and so we endeavour to give you the freedom and choice to study in a way that fits with your interests and lifestyle, even module-by-module, with support right along the way.
Course outline
Course summary
You'll choose the modules that are most relevant to your work, gaining 60 credits overall. Taking this option will require you to complete a proposal form indicating the proposed title, providing evidence that at least 60% of the credit for the award is specifically focused upon the indicated subject area.
You will be required to attend one of the induction days prior to starting the first module of your course (distance learning students excepted). If you have studied at the University of Cumbria in the past two years, the requirement to attend the induction day may be waived. The closing date for applications is 5 working days prior to the module start date or, if this is your first module, 5 working days prior to the induction date.
Modules
Compulsory Modules
PgCert Practice Development: Acute and Critical Care
- Acute and Critical Care: Foundations for Practice
- Critical Care: Contemporary Issues
- Acute Care: Assessment and Management of the Acutely Ill Adult
- Advanced Pathophysiology and Disease in Practice
- Evidence Based Practice
PgCert Practice Development: Emergency Care
- Emergency Care: Care of Minor Illness and Trauma
- Emergency Care: Management of Acute Illness and Major Trauma
- Consultation and Physical Examination: Health Assessment Skills
PgCert Practice Development: Diabetes Management
- Diabetes: Management of Type 1
- Diabetes: Management of Type 2
- Management of Insulin Initiation
- Evidence Based Practice
PgCert Practice Development: Palliative Care
- Palliative Care Practice
- Pain and Symptom Management in Palliative Care Practice
- Evidence Based Practice
Optional modules
(subject to availability and demand)
- Action Learning: Principles and Application of in the Workplace
- Active Ageing
- Acute and Critical Care: Foundations for Practice
- Acute Care: Assessment and Management of the Acutely Ill Adult
- Advanced Approaches to Evaluation
- Advanced Assessment and Management of Common Childhood Illnesses
- Advanced Assessment and Management of the Acutely Ill Child
- Advanced Clinical Practice in Magnetic Resonance
- Advanced Pathophysiology and Disease in Practice
- Advanced Professional Practice, Business and Enterprise
- Advanced Statistics
- Anxiety Depression and Transdiagnostic Practice
- Applied Occupational Therapy
- Applied Physiotherapy (Neuro-Musculoskeletal Practice)
- Applied Physiotherapy Practice (Acute Care Pathways)
- Applied Physiotherapy Practice (Complex and Enduring Conditions)
- Assessment of Musculoskeletal Injuries
- Asthma Management
- Asymptomatic Screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV
- Being With Adversity
- Building Community Capacity
- Business and Enterprise Skills for Health and Social Care Professionals
- Business, Management and Commissioning in Public Health
- Case Management of Long Term Conditions
- CBT for Anxiety Disorders
- CBT for Depression
- Cervical Screening: Theory and Practice
- Changing Practice in Health and Social Care
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Development, Principles and Practice
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Theories and Interventions
- Clinical Anatomy and Physiology
- Clinical Judgement and Decision Making
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Common Childhood Conditions
- Consultation and Physical Examination: Health Assessment Skills
- Contemporary Criminology
- Contemporary Issues in Assessment and Planning in Advanced Social Work Practice
- Contemporary Issues in Effective Intervention in Advanced Social Work Practice
- Contemporary Issues in Evaluation and Review in Advanced Social Work Practice
- Contemporary Issues in Occupational Health
- Contemporary Physiotherapy Practice 2 – Acute Care Settings
- Contraception and Reproductive Sexual Health
- COPD: Diagnosis and Management
- Critical Care: Contemporary Issues
- Critically Reflective Practice in Nursing
- Critical Perspectives in Safeguarding and Child Protection
- Critical Perspectives in Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
- Cultural and Sociological Aspects of Child and Adolescent Well Being
- Curriculum Design and Development
- Demonstrating Evidence and Analysis in Practice
- Developing an Approach to Supervision
- Developing Occupational Therapy Practice
- Diabetes: Management of Type 1
- Diabetes: Management of Type 2
- Digital Health: Use of Technology in Health and Social Care
- Digital Health: Work-based Project
- Emergency Care: Care of Minor Illness and Trauma
- Emergency Care: Management of Acute Illness and Major Trauma
- Enhancing Quality Through Stakeholder Engagement
- Ethical Decision Making for Healthcare Leadership
- Evaluation Methods, Principles and Practice
- Evidence Based Practice
- Examination of the Newborn
- Exercise Rehabilitation and Treatment
- Exercise Testing and Prescription
- Facilitating Health Behaviour Change
- Forensic, Psychology, Offending Behaviour and the Criminal Justice System
- Foundations of Approved Mental Health Professional Practice in a Specialist Mental Health Setting
- Foundations of Supervision
- Fundamentals of CBT
- General Medical Ultrasound
- Global Issues and Public Health
- Gynaecological Ultrasound
- Health in Transition
- Historical and Philosophical Issues in Psychology
- Human Sciences Relating to Medical Imaging
- Implementing Psychological Research Techniques
- Independent Pharmacist Prescribing
- Infant Nutrition: Critical Perspectives
- Innovations in Nursing Practice
- Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Studies
- Interprofessional Working
- Introduction to Nuclear Security Management and Legislation
- Introduction to Occupational Therapy
- Introduction to Teaching, Learning and Assessment
- Introduction to Working with Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
- Leadership
- Leadership in Global Public Health
- Leadership in Public Health
- Leadership Skills for Nuclear Security Management
- Leading Evidence Based Community Learning Disabilities Nursing
- Leading Evidence Based District Nursing
- Leading Evidence Based General Practice Nursing
- Leading Evidence Based Health Visiting
- Leading Evidence Based Occupational Health Nursing
- Leading Evidence Based School Nursing
- Leading Evidence Based Sexual Health Advising
- Legal and Ethical Aspects of Occupational Health
- Life Sciences and Occupational Therapy
- Long Term Condition Care and Management
- Management - Managing Information for Organisational Effectiveness
- Management - Managing Within a Strategic and Organisational Context
- Management and Leadership: Theory and Practice
- Management of Finance, Resources and Business Planning in Health and Social Care Settings
- Management of Insulin Initiation
- Managing a Magnetic Resonance Facility
- Managing Change and Risk as an Employee and Practitioner
- Managing External Relationships in Nuclear Security
- Mediation and Conflict Resolution: The Principles for Use in the Workplace
- Medicines: Therapeutics and Pharmacology
- Migration and Health
- Multi-Agency Working in Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
- Multiprofessional Support of Learning and Assessment in Practice
- Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
- Negotiated Learning
- Normality for Child Bearing
- Obstetric Ultrasound
- Occupational Design
- Pain and Symptom Management in Palliative Care Practice
- Palliative Care Practice
- Perinatal Mental Health: Contemporary Aspects
- Personal Effectiveness in the Context of Leading Healthcare Organisations
- Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE Education)
- Perspectives on Mental Health and Exercise
- Physiotherapy Practice - Application and Evaluation
- Placement Shadowing Experience
- Pre-Hospital Care: Contemporary Issues
- Principles of Independent Prescribing Practice in the Context of Allied Health Professionals (Conversion for Supplementary Prescribers)
- Professional Values and Ethics
- Psychology of Violent Behaviour
- Public Health and Social Change
- Public Health in Practice
- Qualificatory Practice Unit for Coaching and Mentoring
- Qualificatory Practice Unit for the Practice Development: Acute and Critical Care Pathway
- Qualificatory Practice Unit for the Practice Development: Unscheduled Care Pathway
- Qualificatory Practice Unit 2: Best Interests Assessor (BIA)
- Qualitative Research Methodologies and Techniques
- Rehabilitation in Practice
- Research Skills and Methods
- Researching Academic Practice
- Respiratory Health Assessment
- Rhetoric and Reality of Child and Adolescent Development
- Scholarship and Research Methods
- Science and Instrumentation of Ultrasound
- Security of Radioactive Materials
- Security of Special Nuclear Materials
- Service Redesign in Integrated Care
- Settings in Forensic Psychology
- Social Work as a Vehicle for Cultural Transformation
- Soft Tissue Therapeutic Techniques
- Strategic Management Issues for Nuclear Security
- Strategic Planning and Management of Organisations
- Tackling Obesity
- The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the Role of the Best Interest Assessor (BIA)
- The Need for Nuclear Security Management
- Theories of Contemporary Society
- The Reflective Practitioner
- The Supervisory Relationship in Context
- Understanding Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
- Understanding Therapeutic Diversity
- Values and Principles of Approved Mental Health Professional Practice
- Vascular Ultrasound
- Work Based Learning
- Working with Experts by Experience
- Working with Specialist Populations in Forensic Psychology Settings
- Youth and Community Work: Graduate Diploma
- Youth Work: Practice and Skills
- Youth Work: Theory and Ideology
Programme Specification
Programme specification
For a detailed summary of all course content please read our programme specification for this course.
Assessment, Feedback, and Teaching and Learning methods
Full details are available in the programme specification.
Timetables
The teaching timetable should be available from the end of August. Access to the timetable is through the Student Hub – you will be able to access the Student Hub after you have completed online registration. The teaching day is 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday; please keep your other commitments open until confirmation of your teaching timetable, and bear in mind that many courses will offer placements or fieldwork which sometimes extends into the evenings and weekends.
Entry requirements
Have a question about our entry requirements?
Entry Requirements
See course specific entry requirements listed below.
Selection criteria
Admission criteria are outlined in the University Admissions Policy. Normally applicants will be required to hold an honours degree classification second-class honours, lower division or above in a related subject. For applicants who do not meet this requirement, non-standard entry criteria will apply. In such cases, applicants will be interviewed. This decision will be at the discretion of the programme leader. It is expected that such candidates will have evidence of successful study at level 6 (or equivalent) within the preceding 5 years.
Applications will be reviewed on an individual basis. Potential students will be offered advice by an academic tutor on the suitability of the award and their module choices, this will be dependent on factors such as currency of prior learning, and their personal and professional development needs. Students should be able to show the potential benefits of studying for the award and offer a rationale for their module choice.
Application information
Making your application
Applications should be made online directly to the university - visit our website or contact enquirycentre@cumbria.ac.uk for details and guidance. There is no official closing date but we would encourage you to apply as early as possible, as many courses are competitive.
* Most part-time students are invoiced by module in each semester. Modular billing enables you to study at a rate you can afford, and over a period of time which suits you. Please note that some course fees may be subject to inflation.
What makes a good application?
We consider all aspects of your application, not simply your qualifications and grades. We look at your academic background and performance, relevant experience (particularly for professional courses where some voluntary or paid experience is required) and your reference. Above all, we look for motivation, commitment and potential - evidence that you can benefit from study at higher education level.
Make sure you include:
- Relevant qualifications/evidence of ability: check our website for the specific entry requirements required for each course. Tell us your previous academic results and your projected grades.
- A supportive reference, from an employer or your school or college.
- A good personal statement.
Explain clearly what attracts you to the course and tell us about your wider interests and experience. If you are applying for a course that incorporates professional training and placements, you should include any relevant experience or visits you have made in the workplace. Highlight your individual strengths and qualities, personal skills, capacity for teamwork, contribution to the community and your enterprise, originality and determination. Select some activities which bring out these qualities.
What next?
When we receive your application, we will send you an acknowledgement and if you are successful at this stage you will get either - an offer (with an invitation to visit the campus to which you have applied), or - an invitation to interview on a particular date. If we are not able to offer you a place on your chosen course we will usually try to offer you a place on a similar course and will contact you to discuss this. Alternatively, if we think you are suitable, but cannot offer you a place on your preferred campus because of the level of competition, we will offer you a place at another campus if one is available.
And if I accept?
The admissions team will contact you and send further information from February onwards about accommodation, and from May/June onwards about preparing to join the university. If you have any other queries, please telephone the admissions offices for information and advice on 0845 6061144.
Deferred entry
We welcome applications for deferred entry on some courses. If you have specific plans during your year out, indicate these on your personal statement as they may be relevant to your course and could enhance your application.
International students
Please see the international pages of our website for full details of our entry requirements (including English-language skills) as well as contacts for advice and support.
From 2009 the UK Border Agency introduced a Points-Based Immigration System (PBS) for students coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
Students entering higher education will need to obtain a Confirmation of Acceptance (CAS) plus finance confirmation to obtain a Tier 4 student visa.
UK education providers are licensed by the UK Border Agency. When students apply for their visa (or entry clearance) they will need a valid Certificate of Acceptance of Studies from the university. Please note that a CAS is not a guarantee that a visa will be issued.
See the following websites for further details:
Student finance
We have a wide range of scholarships, bursaries, grants and funds available to support you throughout your studies with us. This includes the Cumbria Bursary - a non-repayable bursary designed to support first year students with a household income of less than £25,000.
Student FinanceAdditional costs
All students will need to purchase stationery, course books and personal equipment. Extra costs may also be applicable to cover field trips, membership fees etc.
Additional costsResources and facilities
As one of the UK's leading health departments, we can offer a high level of student support and a wide range of fantastic facilities to enhance your learning. Our expert academic and clinical practice staff are here to help you get the skills you need to advance your employment.
