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If you are a therapeutic radiographer, dosimetrist or other healthcare professional working in radiotherapy and oncology, this course can help you develop your knowledge of radiotherapy planning. It’s a highly focused course that gives you a thorough understanding of the key practices surrounding simulating and evaluating radiation doses for radiotherapy.
You gain an in-depth understanding of current and future radiotherapy planning issues and, crucially, develop the ability to apply critical thinking skills to practice. You gain general critical thinking and literature skills as well as more specific planning theory and plan evaluation skills.
Your studies cover core modules involving fundamental planning theories, plan evaluation, advanced planning and image guided radiotherapy. We also introduce you to research skills, which you use to produce a final dissertation.
The course is delivered using our virtual learning environment, known as Blackboard. You don't need to attend the university and you can study via the web in your own time, which means you can fit the course around your clinical work. The web-based learning materials are designed to help improve your radiotherapy knowledge, as well as share experiences with other students through our e-based discussion forum. If you are not confident with computers, help and support is available.
For some modules there is a requirement to produce a plan for the course and you must have access to a clinical radiotherapy planning environment. This helps support the demands of your postgraduate work.
You may be eligible to apply for accreditation of work-based projects and prior certificated learning, which will count towards your final award.
Study individual modules
You can study individual modules from our courses and gain academic credit towards a qualification. Visit our continuing professional development website for detailed information about the modules we offer.
Professional recognition
This course is accredited by the College of Radiographers.
The postgraduate certificate (PgCert) is achieved by successfully completing 60 credits.
The postgraduate diploma (PgDip) is achieved by successfully completing 120 credits.
The masters (MSc) award is achieved by successfully completing 180 credits.
Postgraduate certificate core modules
Plus a further 15 credits from the optional modules list
Postgraduate diploma core modules
Plus a further 15 credits from optional module list.
Masters
We use various assessment methods, supporting the development of both your academic and professional skills.Short online activities are used to promote engagement with the distance learning materials, provide support for the final assignment and facilitate online discussion with fellow peers. Other methods of assessment include
As a graduate of this course you gain a deeper understanding of current and future radiotherapy planning issues and gain the ability to apply critical thinking skills to practice. This can help you to advance to more senior radiotherapy roles.
Our MSc in Cancer Biology and Radiotherapy Physics is ideal if you wish to pursue a career in cancer research and/or cancer therapy involving ionising radiation.
With around 40% of all cancer cure cases involving radiotherapy and the UK soon to have a proton therapy service, the need for multidisciplinary scientists in this field has never been greater.
We aim to develop multidisciplinary scientists to create the necessary skill base that will drive radiotherapy forward in the UK.
This course will enable you to train as a multidisciplinary scientist in this area by covering a variety of subjects in content that is delivered by staff with a range of expertise, including physicists, biologists, engineers, clinicians and oncologists.
Our collaboration with The Christie will allow you to undertake unique research projects in its radiotherapy facilities that cannot be carried out anywhere else in the UK or most of Europe.
This course aims to help you develop:
You will be taught by academics from the University and clinical scientists at The Christie, meaning both fundamental science and its clinical application will be covered equally.
Units are delivered in one-week blocks with a mix of face-to-face content delivery and hands-on practical sessions.
There will be a number of assessed and non-assessed activities to develop your key skills and expand your knowledge base.
There is an also online pre-course element, which will be the beginning of your multidisciplinary scientific journey.
After the taught units, there is an supervised research project that will put into practice the key skills and knowledge acquired in the taught component.
The taught units will be assessed through multiple choice exams and practical assessments.
The research project will be assessed through the submission of a short report and oral presentation.
The taught component, which includes the five core and three optional units, will amount to 120 credits of the 180 credits required for an MSc qualification.
The remaining 60 credits will be obtained through a supervised research project.
Core units
Optional units
Much of the course content is delivered through a collaboration with The Christie .
Our collaboration with The Christie means you will have access to an MRI image guided radiotherapy linear accelerator and a proton therapy centre incorporating a dedicated research room for your research project.
You will also be able to access a range of library and IT facilities throughout the University.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service .
Individual taught units from this MSc can be offered to industry and healthcare professionals as part of a career and professional development programme. Please contact us for further information.
This course will help you gain the knowledge and skills to become a leading healthcare scientist in the public or private sector.
It may also be of interest if you are a healthcare worker in the field of radiotherapy who wishes to advance your career.
The master's qualification gained could act as a stepping stone to further academic qualifications or careers involving medical science research.
If you are a non-radiotherapy graduate who would like to become a registered therapeutic radiographer, this postgraduate course in radiotherapy and oncology will prepare you to become one. By graduating from this course, you are allowed to register for this role through the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
By qualifying in this area you are able to respond to the increasing demand for therapeutic radiographers in the health service. Medical, technological and professional advances in radiotherapy mean the role of the therapeutic radiographer is ever changing.
Your on-campus training is based at the £13 million purpose-built Robert Winston Building. Here you use the state-of-the-art virtual environment for radiotherapy training (VERT). It creates a life-size 3D replica of a clinical environment. We also have 20 networked eclipse planning computers and 10 image review licences with specialist staff on hand to teach you radiotherapy planning and image matching. We are one of the only universities outside of the USA that can offer these facilities.
You get real insights into all aspects of radiography with our professionally approved teaching programme. You learn from a lecturing team who are all qualified radiographers involved in research at a national level.
In addition to this expertise, we invite guest lecturers to teach that are leaders in their field. You also meet and hear from ex-patients who share their experiences of treatment.
As part of the course, you gain important clinical experience in one of our nine participating hospitals. This gives you the knowledge, skills and confidence to undertake and develop your professional role.
Clinical placements may be taken in
To begin with, your studies focus on the theoretical knowledge you need for your clinical experience. We encourage you to question and analyse, not simply accept the theory wholesale. You also learn to look at the complete picture from the view of the patient, healthcare team and associated scientific principles.
You gradually learn to apply theory to practice and tailor treatment to each patient by accurately targeting high dose radiation beams and sparing surrounding normal tissues.
Your studies enable you to develop and adapt your clinical expertise through reflective practice. You learn to analyse and evaluate your experience as you gain and develop new skills and competencies and to look for areas that need changing.
The course is designed in response to recent government initiatives to modernise healthcare education, increase recruitment into the health service and improve cancer care services.
Radiotherapy open days
To build your knowledge and understanding of radiotherapy and oncology you may be interested in attending an open day at one of our partner hospitals. More information about current opportunities to attend a hospital open day are shown here
CPD online
CPD Online, part of our CPD Anywhere™ framework, is being offered free to new graduates of this course for 12 months, as part of our commitment to support your lifelong learning.
CPD Online is an online learning environment which provides information to help your transition into the workplace. It can enhance your employability and provide opportunities to take part in and evidence continuing professional development to help meet professional body and statutory requirements.
For further information, visit the CPD Anywhere™ website at http://www.shu.ac.uk/faculties/hwb/cpd/anywhere.
Care experience
Before you apply for health courses, we require you to have gained some practical experience relating to your subject area. Download our applicant experience guidelines for information about the kinds of experience we expect you to have and the best places to gain it. Evidence of the experience gained, understanding of the profession and a genuine, reasoned commitment to studying a professional course must be explicit in your personal statement to be selected for interview.
This course is pending accreditation by the College of Radiographers.
This course is subject to approval by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Graduates are eligible to apply to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and apply to become members of the Society and College of Radiographers. You must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in order to practise as a therapeutic radiographer in the UK.
Year one modules
Year two modules
After successfully completing the course and registering with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) you will be qualified to work in radiotherapy departments throughout the UK and overseas. Opportunities exist to specialise in particular areas of clinical practice such as management, quality assurance , treatment planning and patient information/counselling.
Alternatively, you may choose to enter the teaching profession.
If you are a therapeutic radiographer or another healthcare professional working within radiotherapy and oncology, this course offers you the opportunity to progress in your specialism. The modules cover a wide range of topics relevant to this area of clinical practice, allowing you to tailor the course to your own career development needs.
Some of the modules you can take are radiotherapy specific, while others take a wider perspective and look at the interdisciplinary nature of approaches in oncology. All modules are designed to support your continuing professional development and the development of skills needed to plan and evidence this.
Opportunities for both independent study and work-based learning are included as part of the course structure. Both allow you to negotiate learning objectives that can be centred on your own area of interest within the workplace.
You may also be eligible to apply for accreditation of work-based projects and prior certificated learning, which will count towards your final award. Please contact us for more information.
Study individual modules
You can study individual modules from this course and gain academic credit towards a qualification. Visit our continuing professional development website for more information.
Professional recognition
The course is accredited by the College of Radiographers.
The postgraduate certificate (PgCert) is achieved by successfully completing 60 credits. The postgraduate diploma (PgDip) is achieved by successfully completing 120 credits. The masters (MSc) award is achieved by successfully completing 180 credits.
Postgraduate certificate core modules
Plus a further 30 credits from optional modules - see list
Postgraduate diploma core modules
Plus a further 30 credits from optional modules - see list
Masters
We use various assessment methods, supporting the development of both your academic and professional skills.Short online activities are used to promote engagement with the distance learning materials, provide support for the final assignment and facilitate online discussion with fellow peers on the module. Other methods of assessment include
The course is designed to be clinically relevant to therapy radiographers and other healthcare professionals working in cancer care. Your studies are designed to be in line with current drivers and agendas focused on staff development and career progression.
You will be able to take advantage of an increasing number of opportunities related to role development and extension, and skills mix across the various healthcare professions working in radiotherapy and oncology.
Additional Entry Requirements:
A satisfactory criminal records check will be required.
This course will allow individuals to retrain in the area of radiotherapy and oncology. It is not suitable for people already holding a qualification in therapeutic radiography.
Students normally complete a PgDip in two years. Some choose to return to progress to an MSc on a part-time basis.
Radiography is a caring profession that calls for technological expertise. Therapeutic radiographers use radiation to give radiotherapy treatment to patients with cancer. If you are considering this career move, it is essential that you have good interpersonal skills as radiographers have to interact with other healthcare professionals as well as with patients and their families, many of whom may need considerable reassurance.
This course will focus on the professional elements required of a therapeutic radiographer. The aim of the course is to further develop the analytical, theoretical and practical skills of an honours graduate so that they can demonstrate the necessary attributes required for a registered therapeutic radiographer. This will enable employment within the UK.
This course uses a wide range of learning and teaching methods, based on a problem based learning approach with students working independently and collaboratively. The teaching and learning strategies are designed to enable independent progress within a supportive framework. Clinical work-based learning will be undertaken, on a rotational basis, within regional cancer centres in hospitals in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, and your personal performance will be assessed. These placements will take place over May to September. In general, you will be assessed by a variety of methods including case studies, essays and presentations. Normally there are fewer than 15 students on this course, this ensures individuals receive excellent support and guidance. Joint teaching with other courses is utilised within this course. This allows individuals to benefit from a shared teaching and learning approach where discussion and experiences between students can occur.
All academic modules will be studied on campus where you will be required to attend classes and carry out independent work. The number of classes on campus along with required independent study will depend on size of the module. Both work based learning modules will be undertaken whilst on clinical placement in any of the five cancer centres in Scotland. In Year One clinical placement runs for 16 weeks May- Aug. In Year Two placement lasts for 20 weeks, May–Sept.
You can become a member of the College of Radiographers as a student and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on graduation. The course leads to eligibility to register as a therapeutic radiographer with the HCPC.
15 credits: Preparing for Practice as an Allied Health Professional/ Radiotherapy Science/ Research Methods for Health Professionals
30 credits: Introduction to Cancer and its Management/ Radiotherapy and Oncology Practice 1/ Radiotherapy and Oncology Practice 2
10 credits: Introduction to the Human Body/ Science and Technology
50 credits: Work-Based learning 1/ Work- Based Learning 2
If progressing to MSc, you will also complete a research project (60 credits).
Graduates are eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC and to work as therapeutic radiographers with the NHS in the UK. Currently, graduates from QMU have a high employment record. Many graduates have worked abroad. However, although HCPC is recognised in many overseas countries, you may have to apply to the registration body of the country in which you wish to work.
This course is for therapeutic radiographers and will enable you to develop your professional knowledge and enhance your clinical and research skills. The modules on this course have been selected with the development and progression of the therapeutic radiography profession in mind.
The teaching and assessment strategies will enable you to develop your full potential by recognising and building on prior knowledge and experience and by facilitating development of subject-related and transferable skills. There are various forms of assessment including case study analysis, portfolio of evidence of practice, essays, written examination and a project containing evidence of research methods and analysis will be used to monitor your progress. Class sizes for attendance based modules are normally around 8-10 students. This ensures that students receive excellent support from tutors and benefit from sharing experiences with peers.
Each module which you study on campus will require you to attend classes and carry out independent work. Your attendance at QMU will depend on which module you are studying.
On graduation you will be accredited by the Society and College of Radiographers.
The full MSc Radiotherapy award of 180 credits will require study of two modules of 90 credits - Research Methods (30 credits), a project (60 credits), and the remaining 90 credits to be taken from the following
30 credits (distance learning): Emerging Technologies in Radiotherapy/ Management of Prostate Cancer/ Management of Breast Cancer
30 credits: Radiotherapy Verification and Analysis/ Decision Taking in Radiotherapy Planning for Palliative Cancers/Decision Taking in Radiotherapy Planning for Breast Cancer/ The Principles of Gynaecological Brachytherapy/ The Clinical Practice of Vaginal Vault Brachytherapy/ Planning and Delivery of Gynaecological Brachytherapy/ Ultrasound Localisation Procedures for Intrauterine Brachytherapy Insertions/ 3-D Computerised Tomography (CT) Treatment Planning for Vaginal Vault Brachytherapy/ Imaging Modalities (Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography ) for Therapeutic Radiographers/ Image Interpretation and Pattern Recognition for Therapeutic Radiographers (choice of Abdomen/ Pelvis – Thorax/ CNS-Head/Neck)/Independent Study/ Current Developments
15 credits: The Principals of Gynaecological Brachytherapy/Leading in Healthcare/ Managing Change in Healthcare/ Independent Study
This course is part of continuing professional development and is designed to improve the delivery of the service. Gaining this qualification may enhance your career prospects within the profession of radiography.
This course is due for revalidation in Spring 2018. It is likely that this will result in module changes. Please check the website for updates.
If you are a practitioner working in an extended role or at an advanced practice level in your clinical field, this course is designed to help you develop your practice. You can tailor course content to reflect your evolving scope of practice, individual development needs and service requirements.
You critically evaluate theoretical perspectives and relevant research to help inform and underpin your clinical decision-making and develop your ability to work collaboratively across professional boundaries.
The course improves your independent and active learning ability, so you can
It also supports and enables you to work towards developing a profile that satisfies professional body requirements for advanced practice (for UK practitioners) and statutory requirements for continuing professional development (CPD). This may also meet the requirements of advanced practice in other countries, which increases your employability and career potential. It is a requirement for all students to have a tripartite agreement with employer support to undertake the course. You must be in a role where there is an opportunity to practice advanced skills under the guidance and mentorship of someone appropriately qualified.
Study individual modules
You can study individual modules from this course that reflect your areas of specialism and gain academic credit towards a qualification. Visit our continuing professional development website for more information.
Professional recognition
The course is recognised by the College of Radiographers for the purposes of professional accreditation.
Distance learning – 3 years. A mix of e-learning and work-based learning although you can study optional taught modules.
The postgraduate certificate (PgCert) is achieved by successfully completing 60 credits.
The postgraduate diploma (PgDip) is achieved by successfully completing 120 credits.
The masters (MSc) award is achieved by successfully completing 180 credits.
Postgraduate certificate core modules
Plus a further 30 credits of optional module list
Postgraduate diploma core modules
Plus a further 15 credits from the optional module list
MSc
Prepare for or develop and enhance advanced level practice or begin working towards consultant practice. Strengthening your ability to evidence and articulate your clinical skills and expertise may enable you to further your career in clinical practice in a variety of settings. This may include positions in teaching and research, both in the UK or internationally. You can also continue further study to professional doctorate or a PhD level.
This award is offered within the Postgraduate Scheme in Health Technology, which aims to provide professionals in Medical Imaging, Radiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science, Health Technology, as well as others interested in health technology, with an opportunity to develop advanced levels of knowledge and skills.
The award in Medical Imaging and Radiation Science (MIRS) is specially designed for professionals in medical imaging and radiotherapy and has the following aims.
A. Advancement in Knowledge and Skill
B. Professional Development
C. Evidence-based Practice
D. Personal Development
The Medical Imaging and Radiation Science award offers channels for specialisation and the broadening of knowledge for professionals in medical imaging and radiotherapy. It will appeal to students who are eager to become specialists or managers in their areas of practice. Clinical experience and practice in medical imaging and radiotherapy are integrated into the curriculum to encourage more reflective observation and active experimentation.
To be eligible for the MSc in Medical Imaging and Radiation Science (MScMIRS), students are required to complete 30 credits:
Apart from the award of MScMIRS, students can choose to graduate with one of the following specialisms:
To be eligible for the specialism concerned, students should complete 2 Compulsory Subjects (6 credits), a Dissertation (9 credits) related to that specialism, a specialism-related Specialty Subject (3 credits), a Clinical Practicum (3 credits) and 3 Elective Subjects (9 credits).
Compulsory Subjects
Core Subjects
* Specialty Subject
Elective Subjects
