School of Health Professions

MSc Advanced Professional Practice (Health and Social Care Professions)

Duration

1 year
Course type

Full-time, Part-time route available
Study location Plymouth
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Are you a health or social care professional looking to develop your key advanced practitioner knowledge and skills? You'll develop your current knowledge and expertise, linking it to contemporary literature, theory and research and apply it to your area of practice. Our range of programme optional modules, shared across a large range of named pathway awards, give you the flexibility and choice to tailor your learning to your workplace.

Key features
  • Study alongside an interprofessional range of health and social care professionals from a variety of backgrounds, for example allied health professionals, nursing, medical and social care.
  • Choose from optional modules in a range of specialist areas such as management of long-term conditions (service delivery), practice education and evaluating outcomes. Specialist modules such as injection therapy can be taken as individual CPD options. Further options are also available from our named pathways .
  • Complete the programme in a year, with a one year full-time study option. Alternatively, balance work and caring commitments by studying part time over two years and up to a maximum of six years. The full-time route is suitable for international students, who will be supported to choose optional modules with non-clinical assignments.
  • Make the most of our approach to blended learning, which combines short study blocks and distance learning technologies with face-to-face teaching, enhancing the learning process by allowing time for reflection. Study comprises a mixture of lectures, practicals, seminars and tutorials.
  • A range of assessments are used across our modules, designed to link your knowledge and skills to your area of practice. This will also enable you to develop advanced practitioner skills, including evidence-based case studies, portfolios and service delivery proposals as well as written and oral work.
  • Learn from research-active teaching staff with national and international reputations in their specialist area. You’ll be encouraged to join the faculty’s research groups, nested under the Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research , and will work with our experienced staff on your own research project.
  • Choose from three award pathways with full and part-time options: postgraduate certificate (PgCert), 60 credits; postgraduate diploma (PgDip), 120 credits; and masters (MSc), 180 credits.
  • Train and practice your professional healthcare skills in an inspiring purpose-built environment, InterCity Place .
*As this programme is designed for qualified practitioners there is no requirement of a clinical placement component. Neither the programme nor any of its pathways lead to eligibility to apply for registration with a regulatory body.
Please note that when you enrol on this programme, you always enrol to study the master degree but we offer three exit awards: PgCert, PgDip and MSc.

Course details

  • Programme overview

  • Postgraduate Certificate
    To achieve a postgraduate certificate, you will need to obtain 60 credits. This must include the core module and two optional modules of your choice.
    Core module
    ADV702 Applying Evidence to Practice 20 Credits
    Optional modules
    Optional modules can be two 20 credit modules or one 40 credits – 40 Credits
    Optional modules can be chosen from the masters level modules A-Z list . Please contact the Professional Development Unit Admissions Team to discuss your options.
    Postgraduate Diploma
    To achieve a postgraduate diploma, you will have first completed the PgCert and need to obtain an additional 60 credits (to give 120 credits in total). This must include the core module and two optional modules of your choice.
    Core module
    ADV715 Project Design for Research 20 Credits
    Optional modules
    Optional modules can be two 20 credit modules or one 40 credit – 40 Credits
    Optional modules can be chosen from the masters level modules A-Z list . Please contact the Professional Development Unit Admissions Team to discuss your options.
    MSc
    To achieve a full master degree, you will have first completed the PgDip and need to obtain an additional 60 credits (to give 180 credits in total). This must include the core module.
    Core module
    ADV716 Research Dissertation 60 Credits
The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry.

Every postgraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the programme aims, the programme structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest programme structure and may be subject to change:

MSc Advanced Professional Practice (Health and Social Care Professions) overarching programme specification_6312

Entry requirements
You’ll normally have a first degree (BSc (Hons) at 2:2 or above or European first cycle equivalent) in a related academic area to the award.
You may be a health or social care professional with a first degree or have related academic degrees. If you do not have a degree but have appropriate experience related to the programme or to any of the chosen pathways you may be eligible to apply.
You must also provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English in accordance with the University’s Admissions Code of Practice – IELTS requirement is 6.5 average with a minimum of 5.5 in each category. If you need to improve your English language to get onto a degree course at the University of Plymouth, you can book a pre-sessional academic English course .
You’ll be assessed individually for your ability to study at this level and therefore an interview may be necessary. You’ll normally be required to submit a short piece of writing as part of the admissions process.
AP(E)L:
Claims for credit for prior learning, whether certificated or experiential, are accepted and will be assessed following University regulations and faculty procedures.
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS):
This programme is equivalent to 90 ECTS credits (second cycle) with 30 ECTS credits at postgraduate certificate, 60 credits at postgraduate diploma and 90 credits at masters degree. Each 20 credit module has the equivalent of 10 ECTS credits and assumes a notional student effort of between 200–300 hours.
Successful completion of this pathway does not lead to eligibility to apply for registration with a UK-based regulatory body.
We welcome applicants with international qualifications. To view other accepted qualifications please refer to our tariff glossary .

Fees, costs and funding
Student 2024-25 2025-26
Home £11,000 £11,350
International £19,000 £19,550
Part time (Home) £1,220 per 20 credit module £1,260 per 20 credit module

Full time fees shown are per annum. Part time fees shown are per a number of credits. Please note that fees are reviewed on an annual basis. Fees and the conditions that apply to them shown in the prospectus are correct at the time of going to print. Fees shown on the web are the most up to date but are still subject to change in exceptional circumstances. More information about fees and funding .
Additional costs
Please be aware that there may be additional costs to undertaking your studies relating to printing of course materials, and requirement for an initial outlay for travel and accommodation in respect of practice placement. If you have any questions regarding these costs please contact pduadmissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
International
If you are studying on a programme where placements are integral to your study there are costs associated with travel and accommodation. Please speak with the programme admissions tutor to find out more.
In order to cater for the needs of the NHS workforce, this full-time programme is also available as a part-time programme, which is flexible in nature and allows up to five years for students to complete the full MSc. For this reason, students on the programme are unable to claim support via the Student Loans Company Postgraduate Loan. The SLC stipulates that only full-time programmes without a part time equivalent can be funded. If you think that you will have trouble funding your place on the programme, we would recommend a discussion with your employer to see whether any financial support can be granted.

Tuition fee discount for University of Plymouth graduates

If you studied your undergraduate degree at Plymouth, you may be eligible for a fee discount if you complete your postgraduate studies here as well.
  • 10% or 20% discount on tuition fees for home students
  • For 2024/2025 entry, a 20% discount on tuition fees for international students (International alumni who have applied to the University through an agent are not eligible to receive the discount)

How to apply

Apply online

Applying for this programme
Applications for the full-time or part-time programme starting September 2025 need to be completed via the link above.
Applicants for the part-time programme (starting before September 2025) need to complete the application via the Postgraduate Application Form. You will also need to provide a copy of your degree (or higher) certificate(s). Please return the form and certificate(s) copies to pduadmissions@plymouth.ac.uk
The deadline for the receipt of international applications is 30 May 2025 for entry in September 2025.
Any questions please contact:
Professional Development Unit
4th floor, Rolle Building
University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth, PL4 8AA
What happens after I apply?
After your application is received, it will be processed and sent to the Programme Lead for a decision to be made on your suitability to study. You may be asked to provide additional information or to take part in an interview (for overseas students this may be by telephone or video conference). Once this decision has been made, you will be sent an email either confirming your place on the programme, or rejecting your application and giving the reasons for this decision (you may request further feedback in order to improve your chances of selection at a later date).
Please note that you will be enrolled on the full MSc programme. You may choose to exit with the qualification of PgCert upon completion of an appropriate 60 credits, or a PgDip upon completion of an appropriate 120 credits. More information is contained within the programme specification.
For applicants with disabilities
If you have a disability and would like further information about the support provided by the University of Plymouth, please visit our Disability Services webpage.

Update: application process

Please note that there has been an update to the application process for our masters programmes.
Any part-time applications for programmes starting before September 2025 need to continue to use the Postgraduate Application Form and any additional information forms as required. Full details can be found on our admissions homepage .
Part-time applications for September 2025 and beyond need to apply online via the link on the relevant programme page.
Any full-time applications for programmes starting in September 2025 need to apply online via the link on the relevant programme page.
 

People

Studying MSc Advanced Professional Practice – what's in it for me?

Injection therapy

Injection therapy

Our injection therapy module enables relevant health professionals to provide advanced assessment, intervention and management involving injections of Corticosteroid in neurological and musculoskeletal settings.
We currently run one injection therapy module as part of the Advanced Professional Practice programme:
Signpost in the mountain at sunset

MSc Advanced Professional Practice pathways

Both the School of Health Professions and the School of Nursing and Midwifery offer the MSc Advanced Professional Practice programme; together we offer a wide range of specialist and generic pathways to meet the educational needs of all health and social care professionals.
 

Additional information for international students

Postgraduate scholarships for international students

We offer several scholarships for international students who wish to study postgraduate taught (PGT) degree programmes.

English Language Centre

We offer a range of courses to help you develop your academic English language skills.
These include pre-sessional academic English courses for undergraduates, taught postgraduates and research students along with insessional language classes, tutorials and activities to support students who have English as a second language.