Advanced Professional Practice (APP) PgCert, PgDip and MSc

Are you an experienced allied health professional? Do you predominantly have an interest in rehabilitation where your remit crosses boundaries of usual clinical specialities? Do you want to develop your expertise as a clinician but also as an educator, researcher and leader?

If so this ACP pathway may be for you. This full-time programme will enhance your clinical knowledge and develop your research skills to enable you to critically reflect on your practice in various areas of rehabilitation, thereby optimising your clinical practice and enhancing service delivery.

Additionally, through exploration of links between research, theory, policy and practice, you will become an effective leader, educator and advanced practitioner.

If you don’t want to commit to part-time study of the entire master's, you can develop your educational portfolio over a longer period of time by undertaking staged study that leads to the award of Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) after one year of study, Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) after two years of study and full Masters (MSc) after three years of study.

Each stage can be studied 1 starting in September. You could even just take one or more CPPD modules for your professional development and return to complete your course at a later date. 

For information on Vice Chancellor's Excellence Award which offers £5000 fee reduction for self-funded international students please click here

Induction 18th and 19th September 2024 online.

You will benefit from a course designed to incorporate a multidisciplinary perspective, necessary for leading in today’s global health care systems. You will study key modules in clinical leadership, learning and teaching, evidence-based practice and research.

Clinical oriented modules will include a bespoke mix selected from our Advanced Clinical Practice named specialist pathways in Cardiovascular Health, Critical Care, Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, Neurological Rehabilitation, and Pelvic Health.

This will give you the opportunity to select modules that directly relate to your area of current and future practice.

Year 1 example module selection below is for someone who works in neuro ICU (note this will be discussed with you in advance.

This course can be studied 1 year full-time, starting in September.

Career Prospects for Advanced Professional Practice Graduates

Following successful completion of this advanced practice programme, you will be fully prepared for a leadership role as an advanced practitioner in your relevant clinical profession (e.g. nursing, occupational therapy or physiotherapy) and within your clinical specialism.

Our graduates typically go on to senior clinical leadership positions within a range of healthcare settings, with many gaining prominent positions to pioneer service development at regional, national or international levels.

With increasing global demand for advanced practitioners, our graduates enjoy excellent employability and opportunities for career advancement. This master's will give you the relevant knowledge and skills to step into these positions. Designed to meet the needs of global healthcare organisations and employers, our graduates have excellent prospects in the UK and internationally, making them sought-after professionals in their preferred countries.

This programme is ideal for senior clinicians and clinical leads who are looking to take their clinical career to the next level, or in a new direction into management and service innovation, or academic research and education.

Professional Registration

To register as a healthcare professional in the UK you will need to hold a relevant pre-registration qualification. Though the MSc APP is not considered a pre-registration programme and therefore does not provide direct eligibility to register as a healthcare professional in the UK, the programme may be used alongside your international pre-registration qualifications to support your application for registration.

If you are seeking to register as a healthcare professional in the UK we recommend that you contact the relevant regulator for your profession to explore the current requirements. For allied health professionals (AHPs) information on international applications to the Health and Care Professions Council can be found on the HCPC website.

For nurses and midwives, more information on international applications to the Nursing and Midwifery Council can be found on the NMC website.

Rights to Work in the UK for International Students

International students graduating from this programme who hold UK professional registration may be eligible to apply for a Health and Care Worker Visa that provides the right to work within the UK healthcare sector. This visa also provides the right for dependants to come to the UK and exemptions from UK health insurance surcharges.

Further information about the current benefits of the Health and Care Worker Visa and rules for applying can be found at the UKVI website.

Information on further visa options is available on our Post Study Work Options webpage.

• Pre-registration degree in a relevant allied health profession and at least 2 years of post-qualification work experience and 1 year in the specialism you have applied for.

The course uses a range of flexible and engaging approaches to assessment. You'll be assessed through exams, critical essays, portfolios, oral presentations, and your dissertation.

The choice of the specific type of assessment will be appropriate to the intended learning outcomes of the taught modules. The assessment strategies will balance the need to demonstrate knowledge and competencies with more in-depth and critical approaches to learning.

Such assessment approaches will include examinations, presentations of relevant clinical case scenarios, and coursework, which will take the form of critical assessment of literature and research, critical essays, and the development of the selected portfolio of learning.

Finally, the dissertation provides demonstration of an ability to synthesise and critically evaluate current research underpinning clinical practice, and to develop and undertake relevant research as well as its dissemination.