Viewing course details for 2024 year of entry

How to apply

Code: MA: PGW99Z MSc: PGW99S PGCert: PGX99Z
Attendance: Part-time
Start: September 2024
Fees: £9,000 (UK) £14,000 (INT)
Duration: MA/MSc: 12-18 months PGCert: 12-week semester
Course Leader: Ruth Miller
Study mode: Online
School / Department: Business School

Currently Reading: Course overview

Why choose MA/MSc/PGCert Advanced Professional Practice (Negotiated Specialism) at Middlesex?

These negotiated professional practice work-based learning programmes are purposely flexible and are designed to be responsive to the changing work force development needs of the health, social care and education sectors and to the professional development needs of individual practitioners.

This is a flexible, work-based route to gaining a postgraduate qualification in professional practice, that can be customised to meet your needs and those of your workplace.

It is ideal for those who have completed previous accredited activity/qualifications/CPD as well as for those who have significant prior experience of work in the health, social care and education sectors.

We'll support you to reflect and build on your prior experience and experiential learning.

You'll also have the opportunity to design and lead a work-based project that has the potential to transform your own practice and that of others.

What you will gain

You will gain a postgraduate qualification in an area of specialist practice. After you complete the course, you'll be able to critically evaluate practice or organisational issues and apply creative problem-solving techniques, advanced inquiry and action planning. You'll be able to effectively engage, and communicate with relevant stakeholders and academic audiences, and take responsibility and leadership for practice/service development initiatives.

Finally, you will learn to critically reflect and evaluate your own practice and systematically plan professional development.

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Top 6

UK university in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024

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Silver Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 Award

For very high-quality student experience and student outcomes

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Expert teaching staff

Learn from subject specialists and experienced tutors to develop your advanced professional skills and knowledge

The Dame Janet Ritterman Bursary.

Nursing and midwifery students enrolled on an undergraduate or postgraduate course at Middlesex University for the 2024-25 academic year could be eligible to apply for The Dame Janet Ritterman Bursary.

This bursary has been kindly sponsored by the Chancellor of Middlesex University, Dame Janet Ritterman and is to the value of £1,000. If you match the defined criteria then you are eligible to apply by completing and submitting the form below.

Amount: 2 x £1,000 bursaries

Eligibility: Applicants must be a first, second or third year student studying nursing or midwifery at undergraduate or postgraduate level, and enrolled in their course in September 2024. The bursary is open to both UK or International students. Full terms and conditions can be found below.

Please note, priority will be given to those who are from the following groups:

Refugees and/or asylum seekers, care leavers, those who can demonstrate financial hardship or to those who are the first in their family to go to university.

The closing date to apply is Sunday 27 October 2024.

Apply now

About your course

Our negotiated professional practice work-based learning courses are flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the health, social care and education sectors, and to the professional development needs of individual practitioners.

Throughout this course, you'll develop your knowledge and critical understanding of theoretical concepts that can be applied to give new insight into real work contexts and complex issues.

You'll study ethical principles, values and codes of practice and explore how these can be critically applied to your practice and that of others. You'll also explore the influence of current policy, organisational context, quality imperatives and workplace priorities on practice development.

You'll also explore relevant methodologies and improvement strategies for developing practice/service in health, social care and education settings.

This course is delivered entirely online through distance learning.

Modules

All modules are delivered through online distance learning.

This module is designed to enable you to critically evaluate your personal and professional development needs as a part of your programme. The goal will be to create a professional development portfolio in which you critically reflect on your development and critically discuss its relevance to the aims and needs of your studies and your practice in the workplace. You will critically reflect on your current practice and create planning for future continued professional development when considering your own work/practice context and practice. The professional development portfolio will facilitate an investigation of your unique professional experience and context to enable you to decide on your own priorities and goals, and to develop a future strategy for achieving these. There will be an opportunity to reflect on the way learning has contributed to current work practice, and to evaluate the contribution of professional engagement with peers and professionals.

This module is a culmination of your Masters study and provides the opportunity to synthesise professional and academic learning. It will support you to undertake a substantial work based project that is designed to develop your own professional practice and address a practice, organisational or service issue that you have already identified in your workplace or professional field. Building on your understanding of advanced practitioner inquiry methodologies, you will be encouraged to consider improvement and leadership strategies to support the successful management of your project with the potential to deliver real outcomes that can transform practice.

This module is designed to develop your understanding of a range of advanced inquiry and research methodologies appropriate for practitioners, in order to design a real work based project or practice development activity that has clear objectives related to your own professional development or the development of practice in your setting. you will be expected to focus on specific service, organisational or practice related issues and take initiative and leadership. It will explore approaches to advanced practitioner inquiry and innovative research methods appropriate for your area of practice. It will enable critical reflection upon your position as a ‘practitioner or insider researcher’ and the ethical implications that could arise during the project.

The aim of this module is for you to review and reflect on past and current learning experiences, and your ongoing professional development. This module will allow you to undertake tasks that develop the skills of reflection and critical analysis that are necessary for study at level 7. The module will also engage you in a process of recognising experiential and certificated learning leading to accreditation of learning, which gives individuals access to the full range of postgraduate University awards.

This module will support your to undertake a small work based project or activity that is designed to systematically develop areas of your own and/or others professional practice. You will plan, carry out and evaluate a small project and critically discuss the learning gained, as well as outcomes of the project for your area of practice and setting. The focus of the projects are negotiated and can be related to individual or team practice development aims. As these small projects are not usually research based it is not envisaged that formal ethical approval will be required. However relevant workplace permissions will still need to be gained.

To find out more about these courses, please download:

Register your interest

Teaching

The course is taught entirely through online distance learning. Modules are supported through an online approach, involving online workshops, supported online peer interaction, tutor support and guided self-study.

Most modules run over 12-week semesters, from October to January or January to May. The final project module runs over 2 semesters.

The course is delivered by our experienced academics and industry partners in person and via digital platforms.

This is a distance learning course, you can study from anywhere with an internet connection.

Your part-time course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.

We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

Teaching vs independent study

In a typical year, you’ll spend about 600 hours on your course.

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework and presentations.

You have a strong support network available to you to make sure you develop all the necessary academic skills you need to do well on your course.

Our support services will be delivered online and on campus and you have access to a range of different resources so you can get the help you need, whether you’re studying at home or have the opportunity to come to campus.

You have access to one to one and group sessions for personal learning and academic support from our library and IT teams, and our network of learning experts. Our teams will also be here to offer financial advice, and personal wellbeing, mental health and disability support.

All modules are assessed through coursework that is directly relevant to your own practice and work context. Key assessment requirements are:

Structured reflection on professional development
Designing a project proposal
Undertaking a practitioner inquiry/work-based project
Producing a project written report and seminar presentation.

You'll evaluate your work, skills and knowledge and identify areas for improvement. Sometimes you'll work in groups and assess each other's progress.

Each term, you'll get regular feedback on your learning.

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Our facilities

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

How can the MA/MSc/PGCert Advanced Professional Practice (Negotiated Specialism) support your career?

As this course gives you the skills and experience you need to apply directly to your current service or practice, the range of projects can vary. Below are just some examples of previous student projects:

Improving compliance to clinical guidelines (2016)
Developing strategies to improve workforce retention across North London Clinical commissioning groups (2016-19)
Developing a Direct Referral pathway into the Camden Rapid Response Team (2018)
Production of a toolkit for disseminating learning from Mental Health homicides for NHS England (2017)
Our university's postgraduate courses have been recognised for their ability to support your career.

Career progression

Past students tell us how the MSc and their work-based project in particular has helped their career progression and promotion. e.g. promotion to Consultant midwife.

Career paths

Some of the roles our graduates have gone on to work in include consultant midwife, chief executive of a housing trust and bereavement lead for a large NHS trust. Previous students have worked for NHS trusts, local authorities, and large charities, and become self-employed therapists and education consultants.

MDXWorks

MDXworks, our employability service, will help you make the most of your experience and connections to achieve your career goals. You'll have unlimited access to one-to-one advice and support from specialists in your sector plus 24/7 online support. You can also make the most of events and networking opportunities, on and off campus.

Global alumni network

You’ll be studying with students from 122 countries who’ll become part of your personal global network. You'll learn how to work with a global mindset and make invaluable connections on your course for your chosen industry.

Entry requirements

For the MA and MSc

Entrants will be experienced practitioners currently working in health, social care or education settings. You'll normally be expected to have a first degree or be able to demonstrate the ability to study at post degree level through previous study or CPD.

As this is a progression course, you will be expected to have:

Credits from previous modules at graduate or postgraduate level that are relevant to the area of professional practice and negotiated specialism (up to 30 credits can be used from graduate level. Credits from a previous completed master's or Batchelor’s cannot be re-used)
At least 5 years experience as a (senior) practitioner relevant to the area of professional practice and negotiated specialism that could be considered and may be recognised through RPL processes
English Language proficiency IELTS 6.5.

For the PGCert

Entrants will be experienced practitioners with relevant experience currently working in health, social care or education settings, usually with a first degree (post-qualifying).

At least 30 credits at postgraduate level, from relevant accredited activity, gained in the last 5 years (or able to evidence currency)
And/or at least 3 years experience as a practitioner relevant to the area of professional practice and negotiated specialism that could be considered and may be accredited at postgraduate level through RPL processes
English language proficiency IELTS 6.5.

We welcome students from the UK, EU and all over the world. Join students from over 167 countries and discover why so many international students call our campus home:

Quality teaching with top facilities plus flexible online learning
Welcoming north London campus that's only 30 minutes from central London
Work placements and networking with top London employers
Career support to get you where you want to go after university.

MA/MSc

As this is a progression course, you will be expected to have:

Credits from previous modules at graduate or postgraduate level that are relevant to the area of professional practice and negotiated specialism (up to 30 credits can be used from graduate level. Credits from a previously completed master's or Batchelor’s cannot be re-used)
At least 5 years experience as a (senior) practitioner relevant to the area of professional practice and negotiated specialism that could be considered and may be recognised through RPL processes.

PGCert

Entrants will be experienced practitioners with relevant experience currently working in health, social care or education settings, usually with a first degree (post-qualifying).

At least 30 credits at postgraduate level, from relevant accredited activity, gained in the last 5 years (or able to evidence currency)
And/or at least 3 years experience as a practitioner relevant to the area of professional practice and negotiated specialism that could be considered and may be accredited at postgraduate level through RPL processes.

English Language

You'll need good English language skills with a proficiency of IELTS 6.5. to study with us.

Visas

Please note, due to restrictions placed on students with a Student route (formerly tier 4) visa undertaking part-time study by the UKVI, courses requiring a placement cannot be studied by international students.

Apply as early as possible to make sure you get a place. You can submit your application before you receive your final qualification.

Watch our step-by-step video how to apply for postgraduate taught courses.

Personal statements

Make sure that you highlight your best qualities in your personal statement that are relevant to this course. Such as your ability to be forward-thinking, creative and collaborative.

Interviews

You won’t be required to attend an interview for this course.

Fees and funding

UK students¹

^MA/MSc