Masters Degrees (Voluntary Sector)

This Advanced Diploma in Professional Development in Voluntary sector and NGO operations is an executive-level course that provides a University Diploma, delivered in London via block release and supported by distance learning. It is specifically designed for those atmiddle management in the voluntary and NGO sector who involved in working for organisations in the UK and/or international markets who wish to develop their understanding of voluntary and NGO sector operations as they engage with not-for-profit projects.

More about this course

This course addresses key issues in the field of Voluntary sector and NGO sector operations, including the rationale for not for profit operations, the role of government, the economy, culture and environment where voluntary sector and NGO operations take place.As such it provides a comprehensive grounding in international best practice in both developing and delivering successful voluntary sector and NGO operations.

The course is delivered by experts in the field of voluntary sector and NGO operations.

This course enhances participants’ practical work experience and their career prospects through the requirement to engage in the production of a voluntary sector and NGO operationswork-based project proposal. This presents an extremely valuable opportunity to engage in real-world practical research, framed by academic thinking, thus developing participants’ competencies in a business environment.

This course also offers the opportunity to engage with site visits to voluntary sector and NGO projects and experts from this field will be involved in class-based delivery of teaching and learning.

The first module entitled Voluntary sector and NGO operations: Theory and practice will be assessed by a piece of coursework that integrates and ensures coverage of the module’s learning outcomes (approximately 5,000 words). This will be submitted online in week 15.

The second module entitled Developing a Project Proposal for the voluntary sector and NGO sector will be assessed by two pieces of coursework. The first will comprise a research proposal (approx. 1,000 words) to be submitted online in week 5. The second assessment will comprise a voluntary sector and NGO sector project proposal and reflection (approx. 4,000 words). This will be submitted on-line in week 15.

Modular structure

The course comprises two 20 credit modules set at level 7. In summary: Module 1 is delivered as a face-to-face delivery block of 5 full days (6 hours per day); module 2 is delivered as 2 full days face-to-face tuition + 2 days of project site visits + 1 day of cohort project tutoring by distance learning (total 10 days delivery = 30 hours + 15 hours for scheduled assessment periods per module) = 45 hours per module.

The first module entitled Voluntary sector and NGO Operations: Theory and Practice examines political, economic and cultural and environmental impact of working with voluntary and NGO organisationsthrough face-to-face teaching delivery in London. This is delivered across five days as a block at the beginning of the first semester of entry to the course. Students then have the remainder of the 15 week semester to complete the integrative coursework assessment remotely.

The second module is entitled Developing a Project Proposal for the voluntary sector and NGO sector. Its face-to-face content and site visits are also delivered at the beginning of the course (in the first semester of study) as part of the block delivery in London with two days devoted to tuition and two days to voluntary sector and NGOproject visits. Students then continue their tuition remotely via distance-learning cohort tutorials during their second semester of study with one day’s remote cohort tutoring provided to support their project proposal development.

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Who is it for?

You will have been working in the voluntary and community sector for at least three years. You may alternatively have gained sound understanding of the sector through trusteeship or some other form of volunteering.

This course is ideal for you if you want to follow an advanced route for management and career development opportunities that encourage higher standards of effectiveness within the sector.

Objectives

This course is your complete development programme for superior performance in the third sector. You’ll study along a path that blends theory and practice around subjects such as managing people and quality, and leadership and managing change. You will develop a broad knowledge and conceptual base in organisational analysis, leadership and change. During your studies, you will be introduced to practical tools to help improve organisational effectiveness and individual performance in change management. You will also develop a broad knowledge and conceptual base in the field of quality management, people management and the management of multiple stakeholder needs. You’ll also explore the application of practical tools to help implement quality assurance systems in a nonprofit organisation, and theory and tools for managing individual performance.

Structure

• Gain broad knowledge and understanding of non-profit organisations, the external context within which they operate, and how they should be led and managed (integrating the different disciplines holistically).
• Develop and challenge your own understanding and appreciation of the conceptual foundation of these fields, and of their relevance in an applied setting.
• Study a range of cognitive, intellectual and interpersonal skills and techniques to apply directly to your day-to-day work.
• Develop deep, relevant insights into charity management from your peers from different but related backgrounds through networking, study and sharing of ideas. 5. Acquire the ability to deliver direct benefits back to your organisation in the form of recommendations for improved effectiveness across all the subject areas covered.
• Acquire the ability to deliver direct benefits back to your organisation in the form of recommendations for improved effectiveness across all the subject areas covered.

Module outlines

• Learning and Understanding the Voluntary Sector (10 credits)
• Resource Management (30 credits)
• Marketing and Fundraising (10 credits)
• Strategy, Diversity and Governance (20 credits)
• Shadowing (20 credits)
• Organisation, Leadership and Change (15 credits)
• Managing People and Quality (15 credits)

Assessment methods

The Postgraduate Diploma is offered on a part time basis and is taught over a period of 12 months. The Diploma consists of four core modules plus three specialist pathway modules. The core modules are shared by all five Centre for Charity Effectiveness postgraduate courses.

Upon successful completion of the diploma, you will be given the option to continue to the MSc. This requires completion of the Research Methods for Managers module.

This can be followed by a further six months of personal, supervised research and the presentation of a 15,000-word dissertation.

Alternatively, you can opt to take a taught Masters which allows you to choose specialist modules from one of the other Charities programmes.

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The Masters in Public Administration is a well established and prestigious programme aimed at students who aspire to access or progress within a public service or a voluntary sector career. Benefiting from a work placement with an organisation from our wide network of public and voluntary sector employers, this programme offers an intensive year of professional and academic development at the highest standards. In the most recent (2014-15) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 100% of graduates from this course were in work or further study within six months.

More about this course

The aim of this course is to equip present and future public service practitioners with the skills and understanding needed to play a significant role as change agents within their home professional environments.

The programme places great emphasis on:
-Developing a variety of academic capacities and transferable skills related to public administration
-Instilling flexibility of thought and innovation as guiding principles to public sector management and reforms
-Developing a commitment to lifelong learning and reflective practice in students.

This innovative public policy oriented and public management based course is taught by an experienced and dynamic team of academic staff who are active in the international research community in the fields of public management reform in transitional countries, comparative public policy and governance, strategic management in public sector organisations, corruption in transitional countries, and local and regional governance.

Our aim is to develop high quality administrators and managers who will play a critical role in their home country environments. This will be achieved through an interdisciplinary programme of study, which is intellectually rigorous and professionally relevant to your local context and organisation. The course is particularly attractive to graduates working in public services abroad who want to develop expertise in public service reform, capacity strengthening and institutional development.

The course meets the demands of an ever more complex and dynamic sector comprised of government departments, local authorities, public agencies and voluntary organisations from Britain and abroad, thus reflecting the need for skilled and innovative public managers, administrators and policy makers acting as agents for change.

Using a blended learning approach incorporating a variety of teaching and learning strategies appropriate to postgraduate level study, the course introduces you to the latest strategic management and planning tools applied in public agencies, overviews emerging trends and best practice in public policy within a comparative context and provides a strong theoretical and methodological grounding. Uniquely, the programme benefits from a bespoke research methodology component focused on public policy and management research and analysis. Moreover, the University’s vanguard Virtual Learning Environment, coming to support the teaching and learning process, as well repeated opportunities to reflect upon personal academic development, add value to your student experience and to the overall value of the programme.

The core teaching team on this course is both experienced and dynamic. The team is involved, on a regular basis, in civil service training, in consultancy and advisory work for public sector organisations, as well as in internationally recognised academic research, thus providing the Master in Public Administration teaching with relevant, informative and contemporary case-studies. One of the course’s greatest strengths is that it achieves a fine balance between its theoretically informed structures and the practical application of skills developed throughout. Expert practitioners from a range of public and voluntary sector organisations contribute to the course.

The course has historically attracted students sponsored by the Commonwealth, the governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Romania, South Korea, Vietnam, and students from (amongst others) Afghanistan, Germany, Kosovo, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the USA. Our graduates access managerial and decision-making positions in a range of public and voluntary sector organisations.

A key feature of this course is that it includes a work placement module that offers students the chance to experience directly the work of a relevant area of public service in a London-based organisation over a substantial period of time. You will also benefit from the skills and support from our full-time placement and employability officer.

The course’s variety of teaching and learning styles is reflected in the variety of assessment tools employed throughout the course. Within the general principle of mixed mode formative and summative assessment, we use a diversity of assessment instruments: a range of written assignments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, individual or group classroom presentations, and the dissertation.

The MPA dissertation is a 60 credit project that allows students to pursue individual research on a topic of their choice, within the public administration and public policy fields.

Detailed verbal and written feedback is given on all assessments, and significant tutorial support is given during the dissertation, including bespoke dissertation workshops.

Modular structure

The course consists of five taught modules, a work experience placement in a UK public service organisation (two days a week over 15 weeks), and a triple-module dissertation (which may be completed in your home country).

Core modules cover:
-Strategic Planning and Change Management Core (20 credits)
-Comparative Public Policy Core (20 credits)
-Researching Public Services Core (20 credits)
-Public Administration Dissertation Core (60 credits)

A range of subject-related optional modules within management, community development and European studies. You have the opportunity to specialise in, for example, health management, development and administration, or project and human resources management.

After the course

Graduates can expect a host of public administration job opportunities in the contexts of transition and modernisation – the course is ideal for those already employed in the sector who wish to update their skills, or progress to further study.

The work placement is also an excellent opportunity for you to practice the skills and apply the knowledge acquired during the programme, but also to forge long lasting professional relationships within the sector. The network of employers that offer work placements for our students include: the London Boroughs of Hackney, Harrow, Havering, Islington, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Westminster; government bodies such as the Department of Work and Pensions, and voluntary sector organisations such as Thames Reach, amongst others. Students have praised the work placement for its relevance to their career development and the employability skills it fosters.

Our recent graduates have accessed positions in central governments in Romania, Poland, Bangladesh, in executive agencies and local government in the UK and in wide range of voluntary sector organisations in the UK and abroad – to name just a few.

International links

The London Met MPA operated two international franchises in Russia, in conjunction with the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and the Urals Academy of Public Administration in Ekaterinburg. London Met MPA staff are regularly invited to contribute to programmes abroad.

Additionally the International Summer School in Public Administration, delivered by core MPA staff, has run since 2003, attracting students of politics, management and public administration.

Moving to one campus

Between 2016 and 2020 we're investing £125 million in the London Metropolitan University campus, moving all of our activity to our current Holloway campus in Islington, north London. This will mean the teaching location of some courses will change over time.

Whether you will be affected will depend on the duration of your course, when you start and your mode of study. The earliest moves affecting new students will be in September 2017. This may mean you begin your course at one location, but over the duration of the course you are relocated to one of our other campuses. Our intention is that no full-time student will change campus more than once during a course of typical duration.

All students will benefit from our move to one campus, which will allow us to develop state-of-the-art facilities, flexible teaching areas and stunning social spaces.

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Who is it for?

You may already be working in the charity sector as a marketing and fundraising manager. Or you may wish to transfer relevant skills and knowledge from experience you've gained in other sectors.

The course will support and further develop your core marketing management skills. It will equip you to deliver efficient, effective and appropriate fundraising and marketing practice in the voluntary sector.

Objectives

Charity marketeers are under pressure to deliver better-than-ever results within an ethically managed, robust and accountable strategic framework. This course has been designed specifically to meet their needs. You will study how charities are using new and existing marketing ideas to acquire and distribute resources. And you will look at the practical application of key strategic marketing concepts and planning disciplines to voluntary sector organisations.

Throughout the course you will focus on the application of a strategic marketing approach. Under the umbrella of strategy you will look at and discuss effective brand management, selecting and adopting alternative channels, and the role and types of charity marketing communications.

You will debate different approaches to fundraising alongside the important constraints of ethical best practice and contemporary regulation as they apply to charity marketing strategy.

Structure

The MSc course is taught on a part-time basis over a period of two years. Students initially enrol on the Postgraduate Diploma with the specialist area of their choice, and confirm their intention to complete the MSc at the end of the first year.

As a student you will:

• Develop your understanding of the strategic application of the marketing paradigm in the voluntary sector.
• Explore the practical application of key strategic marketing concepts and tools in different voluntary sector contexts
• Understand how to design, implement and evaluate alternative fundraising strategies and techniques.
• Build relevant marketing/fundraising management and leadership skills and analytical capabilities.
• Gain access to a strong network and connections within the charity sector.
• Grow your confidence in pursuing your marketing career in the sector.

Module outlines

• Learning and Understanding the Voluntary Sector (10 credits)
• Resource Management (30 credits)
• Marketing and Fundraising (10 credits)
• Strategy, Diversity and Governance (20 credits)
• Fieldwork Exercise (20 credits)
• Fundraising (15 credits)
• Strategic Charity Marketing (15 credits)

Assessment methods

The Postgraduate Diploma is offered on a part time basis and is taught over a period of 12 months. The Diploma consists of four core modules plus three specialist pathway modules. The core modules are shared by all five Centre for Charity Effectiveness postgraduate courses.

Upon successful completion of the diploma, you will be given the option to continue to the MSc. This requires completion of the Research Methods for Managers module.

This can be followed by a further six months of personal, supervised research and the presentation of a 15,000-word dissertation.

Alternatively, you can opt to take a taught Masters which allows you to choose specialist modules from one of the other Charities programmes.

Career pathways

Students are selected on their professional experience, and generally continue working in their full –time role whilst undertaking this course.

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This Masters in Social Policy and Social Research Methods is particularly significant if you are currently working in local authorities or the voluntary sector. The skills you learn will progress your career in social welfare policy development, delivery or research. Or it is also relevant if you are thinking of starting a career related to social policy in the public, voluntary or private sectors.
The focus of this course is on contemporary substantive issues in social policy development and delivery, and social policy research methods. You'll develop your theoretical, policy and technical understanding of key issues related to policy-making, social welfare delivery, equality and social justice, and research methods.

You'll gain an advanced understanding of national and international factors influencing policy development and implementation. The changing relationship between the State, voluntary sector and private sector in terms of social welfare delivery. You'll also explore how ideas of equality, diversity, justice and human rights shape institutions and the programmes they offer.

You'll engage with recent research linked to changing family forms and how family policy impacts on children and families. You'll be equipped to design and implement social scientific research using a broad range of methodologies, consider research ethics then analyse and present the material such research generates.

The course fosters a critical awareness of the relationship between theory, policy and practice and enables you to utilise your research knowledge and research skills and translate these into research practice in the field of social policy and broader social science research professions.

Flexible modes of study

You can choose between three modes lasting one, two or three years allowing you to study whilst maintaining other life commitments.

Modules

Social policy analysis
The voluntary sector and the state: protagonist or partner
Methods for social research and evaluation: philosophy, design and data collection
Approaches to social change: equality, social justice and human rights
Family policy
Data analytic techniques for social scientists
Dissertation

Teaching and learning

Modules are assessed by coursework. There are different kinds of writing required which include: a critical reading log, a self-reflective essay, a methodological critique of a research article, a research proposal, extended essays, an evaluation of social change and a dissertation.

Modules are supported by Moodle, the LSBU virtual learning environment where most course reading will be made available. The classroom is envisaged as a core learning environment where you can discuss new ideas but also to think how they can be applied to previous or current work or voluntary experiences. Attendance is crucial for building your knowledge and skills. You'll be making use of computer laboratories in order to develop your use of a range of programmes that can be used to analyse quantitative and qualitative methods.

Timetable

Full-time:
Eight or nine hours of scheduled teaching per week with an additional 25 hours of independent study.

Part-time:
Three hours of scheduled teaching per week with an additional six hours of independent study per module.

Placements

If you are not already working in an environment which is linked to social welfare you'll be encouraged to undertake voluntary work which will give you useful experience alongside the degree. In addition it may become used as a location where you can undertake primary research for your master's dissertation. The Employability team at LSBU can help students find voluntary placements.

Employability

This MSc will enable you to pursue a range of professional careers in areas linked to social policy and social welfare. You'll be able to access work in the statutory, commercial or voluntary sectors and operating at central, and local government levels, for example, local government; MORI, NSPCC and DEMOS. The acquisition of specific social policy and research methods knowledge will also enhance your career opportunities if you are currently working in the field in social policy development and delivery or in undertaking social policy related research. The specialist focus on research methods also offers an excellent foundation for those interested in undertaking subsequent doctoral research in the field.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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Researchers can specialise in geography, geographical information science, environmental studies, development studies, international childhood studies, or community, youth and voluntary sector studies. Our MPhil/PhD programmes aim to train you to conduct research of the highest academic standard and to make an original contribution to the subject through your research. Our doctoral programme aims to respond to the needs and interests both of students seeking an academic career or other professional employment and of those who wish to pursue a line of intellectual enquiry for its own sake. We aim to recruit both recent graduates and mature students who now have the time to pursue an intellectual enthusiasm, perhaps after a lifetime of professional work.

Our students benefit not only from the advisory insight of specialist academics within the department, but also from a wider culture of support and advice from staff and other research students. We see our research students as a central part of our community, who play a key role in the vitality of the wider research process. Those completing our research degrees in the past have often moved on into highly skilled occupations in both the commercial and academic worlds.

Research students in GEDS are able to participate in subject-specific doctoral seminars and can attend relevant modules on any of the MSc degrees offered within GEDS as part of their research training. Students also have the opportunity to participate in guest lectures, films and workshops offered both within the department and in wider groupings such as the Birkbeck Institute for Social Research, the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, the Institute of Voluntary Action Research, and the London International Development Centre. We offer financial assistance for conference attendance where appropriate.

Studying for an MPhil in any of the areas offered in GEDS involves working closely with a small group of staff on an independent research project. This means that we are only able to accept students whose proposed research project lies within the areas of expertise of our staff. If there is a particular member of staff you would like to work with, please contact them to discuss your project before applying.

Community, Youth and Voluntary Sector Studies

The department offers supervision in theoretical perspectives and understandings of community theory and practice and youth and voluntary sector studies. Staff in this research area have established excellent links with professional organisations in their fields and also have international links with academic institutions in the USA and South Africa, working collaboratively on issues concerning religion and race in public life.

Development Studies

The department offers supervision in theoretical and empirical research on practices and experiences of development. Our research areas include ageing, childhood, gender and development, migration, NGOs and political activism, regional specialisation in Latin America and South Asia, rights, social policy, urban and rural poverty, and visual culture and development.

Geography

Research study in geography can take a wide variety of forms across the social and physical sciences dependent on topic, but the common thread is the distinctive perspective, often interdisciplinary, that a geographical approach to research offers. Key research interests are: cities and socio-spatial inequality, coastal geomorphology and coastal policy, food security and climate change, flooding and flood insurance, impact of environmental change on nature and agriculture, long-term river behaviour and climate change, remote sensing, renewable energy, and social and urban geography.

Geographical Information Science

At Birkbeck, we pride ourselves in offering one of the longest-running GISc programmes. The Birkbeck GISc academic team works in a broad range of areas of geographic information knowledge, including spatial analytical methods, cartography and visualisation, remote sensing, and geocomputation and their research activities are at the forefront of GIS development.

International Childhood Studies

The department offers supervision in theoretical and empirical research on practices and experiences of childhood. Our research areas include cultures of childhood, visual culture and representation of childhood, the governance of childhood, childhood and social identities, and histories of childhood.

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This course aims to further develop your professional knowledge and understandings in specific areas of education and welfare.

It is based upon a critical concern for social justice and the ways this is understood and implemented through policy and practice to affect the lives of disadvantaged children and young people as well as poor and marginalised groups and communities.

The MA Education (Social Justice) aims to:
• Increase awareness of, and access to, a range of academic ideas and research findings in relation to issues of education and social justice
• Promote personalisation of broad themes around the challenges posed by changing global political, social and economic landscapes and to meet the needs and interests of students while providing a focused line of study
• Promote vocationally relevant and varied assessment formats with a negotiated focus to support individual and organisational needs
• Promote engagement with key issues in education and social justice, involving critical examination of a wide range of key sources and texts
• Encourage evidence-based practice and reflexive practice-based understandings through engagement with work-based settings allowing student to integrate theoretical ideas with practical implications.

Visit the website: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/education-social-justice

Course detail

The MA in Education (Social Justice) is designed to develop a breadth of understanding of the theoretical debates that underpin the process and practice of education and social welfare and will enable you to analyse and reflect on research that contextualise the complexities of working with disadvantaged and marginalised groups across community, local authority and voluntary sector settings.

The course will strengthen your ability, and equip you to apply for jobs (or further training) in a wide range of educational settings as teachers, community workers, social workers, police, probation officers, education welfare workers, home school link or family welfare workers and professionals working across the voluntary sector.

This Master's degree will also enable you to progress to doctoral study in specific specialist areas.

Modules

• Education and Social Justice
• Citizenship and Welfare in the 21st Century
• Analysing Policy: Children’s Voice
• Research Methods in the workplace
• Dissertation (Social Justice)

Assessment

You will complete a range of assessments, many of which you can tailor to your existing or developing interests and experience.

You will do a number of oral presentations, which not only improve your ability to present information in a professional and coherent way but also enable the sharing of research and experience amongst the group. One unit also includes a debate as part of the assessment.

Written assessments include case studies, essays and literature reviews.

You will develop your research skills throughout the course and apply them to a final dissertation.

Careers

Bringing your subject knowledge from the areas you have studied, you will have gained knowledge and skills through this course that will make you a specialist in relation to social justice and education.

Graduates who have completed the master's course are most likely to seek jobs:
• Teaching in schools FE or HE
• Community or social work
• Police, probation officers
• Local Authority work
• Home, school link of family welfare workers
• Voluntary sector work

Those who have postgraduate degrees are most likely to progress in these careers and to go into management roles more quickly.

The course has a strong employability focus with contact with those in a range of jobs related to Education and Social Work.

For those who wish, there will be the option of applying to progress to doctoral study.

Funding

For information on available funding, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/money/scholarships/pg

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow the link:

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Additional Entry requirements:

Normally a minimum of one year’s full-time experience (or p/t equivalent) of work in a caring capacity or equivalent. Relevant care work includes: nursing assistant, project worker, arts instructor, care work in a community setting, art teaching, or facilitating art workshops. Some experience of personal art psychotherapy or psychodynamic psychotherapy, or experiential workshops in creative therapies is desirable. In the absence of a degree, work experience of 8-10 years in one position will be considered for entry.

International: Where your honours degree has not been studied in English, you will be required to provide evidence of English language competence at no less than IELTS 7.0 and no individual component score below 6.5.

Interview:

Home applicants are expected to attend an interview at QMU and will be required to submit their art portfolio electronically. Interviews will take place normally between December and May.  Interviews for international students will be conducted over Skype.

Criminal records check:

A satisfactory criminal records check will be required

Course Description:

The discipline of art psychotherapy draws upon the visual arts, psychotherapy and psychology and is applied within psychiatry, special  education, social services and the voluntary sector. Art psychotherapists work with individuals, groups and communities. Art psychotherapists enable clients to access their own image-making abilities. The therapist and their client jointly explore the meaning of the process and image/art object in the light of personal experiences and/or interpersonal relationships that may sometimes be distressing or troubling. The aim is to facilitate the intra-personal and interpersonal communication of experiences that the client may initially find difficulty in discussing verbally.

The art psychotherapist’s task is to support processes of emotional integration by providing a safe, reliable and containing therapeutic environment within which the client can create and use art making to develop insight and promote change.  This course is designed for people who usually have at least one year’s experience of, or are currently, working in a caring capacity such as psychiatry, special education, social services and the voluntary sector.

Teaching, learning and assessment

You will attend classes, work in groups and carry out independent learning. Assessment methods include reports, essays, and presentations. Each year group contains 25-30 students. However, most classes take the form of supervision, seminar, lectures and interpersonal learning groups with a maximum of 15 students. You will undertake 110 days supervised practice placement over the training period; placements are allocated by QMU. All students are required to be in personal psychotherapy throughout the duration of the course. Students will attend supervision on site at the practice placement setting and at QMU throughout the training.

Full-time students attend practice placement two days per week and part-time students attend one day per week over two semesters.

Teaching hours and attendance

Year One classes for full-time students take place usually from 9-5pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Year Two classes take place from 9-5pm on Thursdays only. Part-time students attend classes on Tuesdays, 9-5 pm and Wednesdays, 9-1pm for Year One and in Year Two, Wednesdays and Thursday only for Year Three and/or Four of the part-time route. You will also be required to carry out independent learning. Full-time students attend practice placement two days per week and part-time students attend one day per week over two semesters. Part-time students wishing to complete their Clinical Project in Year Four will attend personal academic tutorials by appointment. All students will be required to the training programme. The Art Studio will be open for art practice on Mondays, Fridays and weekends.

Links with industry/ professional bodies

Graduates are eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as Registered Arts Therapists (Art) and are eligible for full membership of BAAT (British Association of Art Therapists).

Modules

Level 1 (f/t -year 1; p/t-years 1 & 2) Art Psychotherapy Practice Placement 1/ Art Psychotherapy Therapeutic Skills & Inter- Personal Learning Groups 1/ Interdisciplinary Studies 1/ Pre-registration Research Methods

Level 2 (f/t- year 2; p/t- years 3&4) Art Psychotherapy Practice Placement 2/ Interdisciplinary Studies 2 & IPL Groups 2/ Clinical Project.

All modules are 30 credits, except Clinical Project, which is 60 credits.

Careers

Art psychotherapists work with a wide range of clients and communities, individually or with groups, within the public and private sectors throughout the world. The course meets the requirements of the Health and Care Professions Council Standards of Proficiency for Art Therapists. This degree carries 240 credits/120 European Credits which are transferable across Europe and attracts students from all over the world. Graduates work in a wide variety of different settings across the globe including health, education and the voluntary sector.

Quick Facts

• Graduates are eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council UK.
• The course has an international perspective and welcomes students from across the world. 
• It is the only MSc Art Psychotherapy in the UK based in a school of health sciences and includes a strong research component.

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Our International Child Studies MA is a multidisciplinary course designed to promote a rigorous academic approach to contemporary issues in childhood, underpinned by a children’s rights framework. By taking a sociological perspective we encourage you to examine children’s experiences, the ways in which childhood is socially and culturally constructed, and to reflect on international policy and practice.

Key benefits

• Multidisciplinary approach.
• Covers latest developments in issues that affect childhood globally.
• Taught by a wide range of external expert speakers, as well as our own staff, from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds.
• Opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with students from different disciplines.

Description

Our multidisciplinary course encourages you to take a rigorous academic and analytical approach to contemporary issues in childhood. These issues are relevant for anyone working or intending to work with, or on behalf of, vulnerable children. We apply sociological perspectives on multiple constructed childhoods to a comparative study of global childhoods. This complements our teaching on relevant law and policy, child development, and contemporary issues such as poverty, HIV, child trafficking and child protection. This course is appropriate if you work in the statutory or voluntary sector overseas or aspire to work in these sectors. 

Course purpose

Our MA International Child Studies is appropriate for professionals working in the statutory or voluntary sector overseas; those aspiring to work in the statutory or voluntary sector overseas who hold a first degree in a relevant subject; and UK professionals working with a diverse population of children/young people. 

Course format and assessment

Teaching

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. A significant proportion of teaching on the course is delivered by expert external lecturers, both academics and practitioners. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study.

In addition these modules will involve:

Lectures, seminars and feedback: The teaching contact time for each 30 credit taught Child Studies module is typically 30.5 - 32 hours. In addition this module will involve one hour of supervision/Q&A time. The typical teaching contact time for each 30 credit taught ‘Education’ optional module is 20 hours. Teaching sessions will usually include lectures, and teacher-led and student-led group discussions based on the main areas of study. There are 12 hours of teaching for the internship module; this is supplemented by the support of Careers and Employability and mentoring through the internship itself. Students also complete at least 160 hours of employment for the internship module. 

Self-Study: 267-280 hours (or 288 hours for the internship module)

Dissertation:

Seminars and feedback: You will receive 22 hours of research methods training. You may also choose to take research methods as an optional module. You will also receive six to eight hours of dissertation workshops, plus nine additional hours of individual dissertation supervision.

Self study: Approximately 561-563 hours for dissertation

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

Although assessment methods may vary between modules, we will normally assess you though essays, reports, examinations, presentations, research proposals and case studies. We will assess your dissertation module through a 16,000-word piece of writing.

Career prospects

Our recent graduates are using the skills and knowledge they developed over this course in organisations such as UNICEF, Children and Families Across Borders, Eastern Washington University (lecturer), Seneca Centre Oakland, California, and DG ECHO (the Humanitarian Aid arm of the EU).

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Who is it for?

You may already be working in charity finance, as a manager or consultant, or aiming to move into this demanding role in the sector. Either way, this academically rigorous course will match your needs. It will also equip you for a role as an advisor, auditor or independent examiner to a charity.

You will gain a well-rounded understanding of the role and the knowledge and skills to develop and apply your financial expertise in the sector.

Objectives

Under scrutiny from regulators, trustees and supporters, charities must exercise the highest level of financial governance. This course equips you for that unique challenge. Combining the academic rigour of an internationally respected business school with a highly practical and applied approach, it is tailored precisely to the issues facing senior managers in the third sector.

You will be taught by an academic team who understand first-hand the tools and techniques for effective financial management of charity income and assets. Guest lecturers will present their thoughts on the real-world challenges placed on charity finance managers. Your course includes a fieldwork exercise. This will give you a deep insight into the practical realities of charity financial management in another organisation.

Structure

The MSc course is taught on a part-time basis over a period of two years (18 months for those eligible to enrol on the April Intake). Students initially enrol on the Postgraduate Diploma with the specialist area of their choice, and confirm their intention to complete the MSc at the end of the first year.

• Develop your understanding of the strategic issues and organisational challenges facing charity organisations and their managers within the finance function.
• Build relevant management and leadership skills, and analytical capabilities
• Acquire insights into the different strategies and approaches commonly adopted by charities
• Deepen your appreciation of the issues of managing change in the finance function
• Gain access to a strong network and connections within the charity sector
• Build your confidence as you pursue your career in the sector.

Module outlines

• Learning and Understanding the Voluntary Sector (10 credits)
• Resource Management (30 credits)
• Marketing and Fundraising (10 credits)
• Strategy, Diversity and Governance (20 credits)
• Fieldwork Exercise (20 credits)
• Advanced Charity Accounting, Audit and Taxation (15 credits)
• Voluntary Sector Financial Management (15 credits)

Assessment methods

The MSc course is taught on a part-time basis over a period of two years.

Alternatively, some students wish to graduate after the first year with a Postgraduate Diploma.  The Diploma consists of four core modules, common to all Centre for Charity Effectiveness postgraduate courses. These modules provide the essential underpinning of management skills. You also study three specialist pathway modules.

The MSc requires the completion of the Research Methods for Managers module. This is followed by either: a further six months of personal, supervised research and the presentation of a 15,000 word research-based dissertation. Or alternatively, you can opt to take a taught Masters which allows you to choose specialist modules from one of the other courses in the Charities Masters Programme.

Career pathways

Students are selected on their professional experience, and generally continue working in their full –time role whilst undertaking this course.

Past students have come from a variety of organisations, including business and the public sector.  

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Who is it for?

If your career aim is to secure or develop a leading position in an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), this course is ideally suited to your needs.

Academically rigorous and practically applied, the course is designed to help you develop a senior management career in international development, become a board member of an international NGO board, or work in a foundation funding work internationally.

Objectives

You will focus on the rapidly evolving context of international development. You will explore the implication for NGOs of the trends shaping the sector. How is the role of civil society changing? What will be the impact of altering aid flows, increased funding for humanitarian and security work and shifting North-South relations? How are new digital technologies affecting the way NGOs work? What are the implications of the moves to greater collaboration and the increasing influence of the private sector in the development process?

The aim of the course is to enable you to develop your management, analytical and leadership skills so that you develop a rounded set of competencies that will enable you to flourish at the highest levels in global NGOs.

Structure

The MSc course is taught on a part-time basis over a period of two years.

Students initially enrol on the Postgraduate Diploma with the specialist area of their choice, and confirm their intention to complete the MSc at the end of the first year.

As a student you will:

• Develop your understanding of the strategic issues and organisational challenges facing NGO managers
• Build relevant management and leadership skills, and analytical capabilities.
• Acquire insights into the different strategies and approaches commonly adopted by NGOs.
• Deepen your appreciation of the issues of managing change in NGOs.
• Gain access to a strong network and connections within the charity sector.
• Build your confidence as you pursue your career in the sector.

Module outlines

• Learning and Understanding the Voluntary Sector (10 credits)
• Resource Management (30 credits)
• Marketing and Fundraising (10 credits)
• Strategy, Diversity and Governance (20 credits)
• Shadowing (20 credits)
• NGO Management (15 credits)
• Managing NGOs: People and Practices (15 credits)

Assessment methods

The aim of the NGO Management course is to enable students to develop key management competencies and analytical capabilities needed by those in leadership and management positions in international NGOs.

The course has been developed in partnership with leading INGOs and BOND (the UK-NGO network). It is one of the five postgraduate courses offered by Cass’s Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness. This is one of the only centres of excellence in Europe offering a full range of latest research, education, training and consultancy geared to the needs of voluntary sector managers and leaders.

The course is taught on a part-time basis and is taught over a period of twelve months. The Postgraduate Diploma consists of four core modules that all students take and are common to all the Centre’s postgraduate courses.  These core modules provide the essential underpinning of management skills for the specialist courses. Upon successful completion of the diploma you can continue to the MSc Programme.

The MSc requires completion of the Research Methods for Managers module. This is followed by either:  a further six months of personal, supervised research and the presentation of a 15,000-word research-based dissertation. Or alternatively, you can opt to take a taught Masters which allows you to choose specialist modules from one of the other Charities programmes.

Career pathways

Experience of past students is that by completing the course increases their employability in the sector, and gives them greater flexibility as to career options. Past students have come from NGOs of all sizes, as well as foundations, business and the public sector. 

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Our MSc Environmental Health course explores how the environment around us impacts our daily lives and our health through analysing how stressors can affect how our bodies function. We deliver the curriculum of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (a world recognised professional body) teaching about hazard and risk in the topics of: housing and health, environmental protection and health, occupational health and safety, food safety and public health. On completing this course you will have a detailed understanding of risks and how to mitigate impacts using technical, scientific or legal interventions to create a safer and healthier environment.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) this course fulfils the academic requirement to gain recognition as an Environmental Health Practitioner. Full professional accreditation opens up a broad range of career prospects in the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK and abroad.

Members of the core teaching team sit on CIEH committees at both local and national level and in their accreditation visit, the CIEH commended ‘the excellent channels of communication established between Northumbria University and the CIEH’.

We offer the MSc Environmental Health as both a full-time and as a part-time course using a day release model. For more information on the part-time option, please view this web-page: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/environmental-health-msc-pt-dtpenv6/

Learn From The Best

This course is delivered by our highly experienced teaching team. Three of the core four teaching staff are Environmental Health Practitioners who bring many combined years of experience gained working across local government, public health, health promotion, private consultancy, advocacy and specialist divisions of the Health Protection Agency (Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division and health emergency planning) to equip you with specialist knowledge and skills that are at the forefront of the subject.

Our staff are research-active and hold advanced degrees in complimentary subjects (e.g. environmental engineering and sustainable development, and public health) and memberships to professional organisations (including the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, Emergency Planning Society, etc.) to ensure they are aware of the latest trends, research and developments within this field.

Throughout the duration of your course you will benefit from site visits, presentations from guest lecturers and practical tasks to support you in transferring the theory you have learned into practise.

Teaching And Assessment

This course is focused upon the five core CIEH subject areas: food safety, housing and health, health and safety, environmental protection and public health.

Delivering an excellent postgraduate experience you will be offered the opportunity to question and reflect on how the world around us can impact on public health, whilst developing the skills and knowledge necessary to understand these risks and how to intervene and manage them effectively.

Teaching is delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars and workshops. You will also participate in debates, discussion and critiques of academic papers, field trips, case study scenarios and general discussions of academic and ethical issues.

Assessments for this course are undertaken in the form of essays, reports, audits, presentations and assessed discussions completed as an individual and part of a group. Wherever possible assessments reflect the type of work you could be doing as an Environmental Health Practitioner in the future.

At the end of the course you will have also had the chance to complete professional exams in practical food inspection and the integrated professional assessment. In addition, many of our assessments have been devised to be used as a potential basis to complete parts of your Portfolio of Professional Practice submission to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). Using these brings you closer to gaining recognition as an Environmental Health Practitioner.

Module Overview
KE7008 - Public Health (NC, 20 Credits)
KE7009 - Environmental Protection and Health (NC, 20 Credits)
KE7010 - Housing and Health (NC, 20 Credits)
KE7011 - Managing for Health and Safety (NC, 20 Credits)
KE7012 - Food Safety Management (NC, 20 Credits)
KE7013 - Foundations for Professional Practice and Research (NC, 20 Credits)
KE7015 - Research or Work Related Dissertation (NC, 60 Credits)
KE7025 - CIEH Integrated Professional Assessment (NC, 0 Credits)

Learning Environment

When studying the MSc Environmental Health course you will have access to our state-of-the-art learning facilities.

You will take part in practical experiments in our research laboratories, in addition to utilising our industry standard portable monitoring and analytical instrumentation to obtain real-world data for air quality, contaminated land and noise.

Specialist software, such as ADMS for air quality modelling, will allow you to analyse and model your findings. All of these experiences contribute to your understanding of how technology is used in the study and practice of environmental health.

With your course’s supporting documentation being available on our e-Learning Portal, Blackboard, and directed reading listed on the e-Reading Lists, both accessible at all times, this means you can support your own learning and self-development of the subject.

Research-Rich Learning

Our teaching team are research-active, specialising in fields such as health and safety management, compliance management, public health, food and safety standards, risk management, peroxides in aqueous solution, air quality, airborne particulates, environmental management in major incidents, and land contamination.

Research-rich learning is embedded throughout all aspects of this course, drawing on national and international findings to deepen your understanding of environmental health.

Your research experience is further enhanced with a dissertation where you are assigned to one of the core teaching team to undertake substantial research into a specific academic or work-based topic. You are encouraged to publish your findings in an appropriate journal.

In the latest UK-wide research assessment exercise (REF2014), 55% of the Geography Department’s research was ranked as world-leading or internationally excellent, making us a top-30 Geography Research Department based on research power.

Give Your Career An Edge

The MSc Environmental Health degree is highly valued by employers thanks to our accreditation with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

Graduates entering the job market benefit from the strength and breadth of the specialised knowledge gained alongside seeing its practical application. This, combined with transferrable skills embedded throughout the course, including written and verbal communication, team working, critical thought, and problem solving, prepare you for future graduate level employment across the public and private sectors and voluntary sector.

We boast fantastic links with local employers meaning that there are placement opportunities usually available to help you complete your CIEH Portfolio of Professional Practice (PPP). Many of our students become technical officers and earn a salary whilst they complete their PPP alongside starting to gain experience in their chosen career.

Your Future

Graduates will leave prepared for employment in roles such as Environmental Health Officers, risk managers, public health specialists/advocates, and health and safety managers.

As a CIEH accredited Environmental Health Practitioner you can find a career in the public, private or voluntary sectors. As a consultant in the private sector you could be working for holiday chains, supermarkets, food manufacturers. In the voluntary sector you could work for charities working to bring sanitation and water to developing countries. The public sector offers roles in housing associations, advisor/regulators or as public health advocates in local government, or in central government agencies, for example Public Health England, the Environment Agency or Food Standards Agency.

You will also graduate equipped with the necessary training to support further research around the broad subject of environmental health and could progress to a PhD should you wish to in the future.

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Participants will develop the professional and practical skills needed to become a teacher working in post-compulsory education, opening up employment opportunities in a wide range of organisations from general FE colleges to universities, prisons, businesses and the voluntary sector.

The course will equip you with the professional knowledge and skills to work within this sector and adapt to organisational and policy change, it will also provide a base for your further personal and professional development.

After completion of the course you will be able to apply for Qualified Teacher: Learning and Skills status (QTLS).

This course is offered in-service as well as pre-service depending on your needs.

There are several locations available to study this course.

Visit the website: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/professional-graduate-certificate-in-education4#about

Study at:

Tresham College of Further and Higher Education - https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/professional-graduate-certificate-in-education8

Central Bedfordshire College - https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/professional-graduate-certificate-in-education4

Bedford College - https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/professional-graduate-certificate-in-education12

Barnfield College - https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/professional-graduate-certificate-in-education11

Bedford Campus - https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/professional-graduate-certificate-in-education2

Course detail

• Learn through taught sessions and professional practice, applying theory to your teaching practice to develop the core skills for teaching in post compulsory education
• Build on your expertise and experience in your field to develop your teaching skills
• Gain a qualification that includes recommendation for Qualified Teacher: Learning and Skills status (QTLS) opening up employment opportunities in a range of settings from schools and FE colleges to universities, prisons, business and the voluntary sector, and which provides a base for further personal and professional development
• Develop your ability to understand and work with professional, organisational and policy change
• Explore issues in teaching, learning and assessment
• Benefit from a qualification that is quality assured by the Institute for Learning (IfL) endorsed by the Learning and Skills Improvement Services (LSIS) as a Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) and can be used to achieve Qualified Teacher: Learning and Skills status (QTLS)

Modules

• Planning and preparing for teaching and learning
• Teaching and learning process
• Assessment and evaluation
• Professional practice and skills
• Theories and principles of inclusive Learning and teaching
• Researching practice
• Context - Curriculum design and innovation
• Professional practice and development

Assessment

The course adopts a submission based approach, making effective use of a submission proposal process, which enables you to contextualise the outcomes and ensures their relevance to your own professional practice.

There are regular teaching observations and individual target setting will be used to ensure that you are you are making progress towards achieving the required professional standards.

Assessments include portfolios, reports, essays, presentations, teaching observations, practical tasks and teaching materials.

Careers

This course is primarily ‘in-service’ (although a pre-service route is available at certain locations), which means that all participants will already be employed in a teaching role within the post compulsory sector.

QTLS is now required of all new teachers in state-funded further education. It is available not only to new entrants to teaching, but also to established staff who do not hold a recognised teaching qualification, as a portal to promotion and advancement.

You will be challenged to explore theories of teaching and learning and to examine the implications of such theories for your own development. In doing this you will refine, form and reform your own principles, perspectives and values in relation to professional teaching practice.

Funding

For information on available funding, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/money/scholarships/pg

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/course/applicationform

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Children's nurses care for children and young people from birth to 18 years old in hospital and in the community. Children and young people can present with a range of conditions, from birth defects, accidents and injuries, to life-limiting or critical illnesses or which can result in the death of a child. Children's nurses work in partnership with the child/young person, their parents and carers, involving them in the planning and delivery of their child's care and treatment. Children's nurses, in collaboration with other professionals, strive to promote health in children and young people to ensure they enter into adulthood in good health.

This innovative and intensive two-year course aimed at students with an existing degree (2:2 or above) will equip you with the knowledge and skills to assess and manage the nursing care needs of children and families, including those with acute and long-term conditions. The course will also develop your abilities to consider the wider aspects influencing children's health needs, preparing you for future leadership in a changing and challenging health care system.

You'll experience a variety of clinical settings such as NHS acute Trusts, community placements, independent sector and voluntary sector organisations. You'll also have a placement within a community healthcare setting.

Practice experience is gained in several world-renowned central and outer London hospitals including:

• Evelina London Children's Hospital
• Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
• Variety Children's Hospital at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

You will be allocated one of these hospitals as your host Trust during the course.

Success on this course makes you eligible to register as a children's nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Modules

You will be taught separately from the three-year undergraduate students and will study the following:

Year 1

Improving quality, change management and leadership
Applied anatomy and physiology for children and young people
Fundamental concepts of caring for children, young people and families
Building practice skills for children’s nursing

Year 2

Enhancing practice skills for children’s nursing
Care of the critically ill child and young person
Applied pharmacology and medicine optimisation in children’s nursing
Research in health and social care

Placements

Time spent on placement
During the course you will spend 50% of your time involved in academic study and 50% in clinical practice within a broad variety of healthcare settings. A clinical practice placement allows you to put theory into practice by working with a range of health professionals in clinical situations to develop the skills, knowledge and experience required to become a competent nurse. Although sometimes initially challenging, practice learning is one of the most interesting and exciting aspects of learning to be a nurse.

Clinical Settings
LSBU is affiliated with the top teaching hospitals and Trusts in London, including Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). At LSBU you will experience a variety of clinical settings such as NHS acute Trusts, community placements, independent sector and voluntary sector organisations. You will also undergo a placement within the community.

We're proud to partner with:

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Evelina London Children's Hospital at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Variety Children's Hospital at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Barts Health NHS Trust

Structure of placements
Placements are spread over the two years:

Your initial placements are designed to introduce you to working in a professional setting and to develop essential care and basic assessment skills, infection control and learn about safeguarding vulnerable people.

You will then build on the experience gained from Year one and will begin to take on more responsibility, progressing your clinical reasoning skills and begin to look after small groups of patients making confident, proactive decisions for their health and management with less supervision.

You will also have the opportunity to choose a four week elective placement in which you can pick a speciality (e.g. working with Clinical Nurse Specialists, specialist services or independent and 3rd sector providers), or a different context of care (e.g. prison, private health care facility, social care, charity, hospice etc.), or a lived experience of a certain condition (e.g. charity work, carer shadowing, etc.) During your final year, you will require less supervision and will be responsible for a small group of patients.

Support from a mentor
Whilst in the clinical placement we ensure our nursing students receive continuous support and guidance from a dedicated mentor and practice learning teams made up of lecturers and practitioners.

Find out more about nursing placements through our student and graduate testimonials.

Facilities

Children's skills laboratories
We have two Children's skills laboratories which are set up like nursing wards. The skills labs are used by all student nurses throughout their on-campus study time at LSBU. They learn manual handling of patients, basic life support skills and skills specific to the field of nursing.

SimMan
The nursing wards have simulator mannequins; SimMan, SimBaby and SimMom. These life-size mannequins are computer controlled and can be programmed with various clinical conditions. These are operated by a computer in real-time and so respond to a students' actions. They also allow students to see the outcome of specific interventions in certain scenarios, which could make the patient better or deteriorate quite quickly.

The mannequins are used to teach students how to recognise clinical signs, and to also associate those clinical signs with the actions they are taking to care for the patient. SimMan can be male or female with fully accurate anatomy and can breathe, blink, sweat, speak and groan in pain as well as have a pulse.

Professional links

Children's nurses work in a child-centred and multi-professional team, which is reflected in the variety of people who contribute to the course. Expert speakers include service users, such as parents and charitable organisations, expert practitioners and other lead professionals in child health and children's nursing.

Career progression

All graduates are offered the opportunity to apply for employment with the NHS Trusts and hospitals where they gained experience during training when posts are available. The course has an excellent record in graduate employment, including working overseas, and covering a range of qualified nurse positions.

Successful graduates of the PgDip can top-up to an MSc in one year and will be qualified to study a range of further specialist postgraduate pathways. With additional experience, advanced practice is available at masters level with the potential to progress to doctorate studies. Find out more about professional development opportunities through our online CPPD prospectus.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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This course offers the opportunity to gain a recognised postgraduate award at Certificate, Diploma or Masters level, enhancing your employability prospects.

This course has been designed as a positive response to the national imperative for more education and training for healthcare professionals in perinatal mental health, and has been designed to equip healthcare professionals who may require knowledge at different levels and to meet different service needs. Modules offer an opportunity to explore different aspects of perinatal mental health and to increase your knowledge and skills in relation to complex and challenging issues within perinatal mental health.

In addition, this course is also offered to non-health and social care professionals who have experience of working in the mental health or woman’s health field or voluntary organisations, who want the opportunity to engage with the wider issues of perinatal mental health.

Reasons to study here

• Great teaching: Academic staff are health and social care professionals with a wealth of experience, and are committed to providing inspirational research-led teaching within a dynamic learning environment
• Professional links: Studying as a postgraduate student will increase networking opportunities intrinsic to career development and will enhance access to professionals in the field
•Industry relevant: Modules are supported by experts from across the NHS and social care organisations, and benefit from a strong service user perspective. The variety of modules ensures perinatal mental health is addressed from a range of perspectives
• Work and study balance: The course is offered on a part-time basis to maintain a balance between work and study, you can also choose whether to study at Certificate, Diploma or Masters level

Addressing sector needs

Whilst there is growing evidence that poor maternal mental health has an impact on the physical, social and cognitive development of children; poor assessment and detection, support and treatment of women, result in long term morbidity including low self-esteem and poor family relationships. More worryingly, suicide is documented as one of the leading causes of maternal deaths.

Whilst NHS England aims to reduce the incidence and impact of perinatal mental illness through early diagnosis and improved intervention and support, there is mounting concern regarding the patchy availability of perinatal services and the provision of education and training. This course has been developed to address these needs, by providing education and training for healthcare professionals in perinatal mental health.

You can apply for the PgCert, and then continue to the PgDip and MSc if you choose to. Alternatively, you can apply for the full MSc course, which includes the PgCert and PgDip modules as well as a dissertation.

Modules

Year 1 - 2 (PgCert)

Principles of Perinatal Mental Health
Screening, assessment and management of maternal mental health conditions
Socio-cultural aspects of maternal mental health

Year 3 - 4 (PgDip)

Innovation for excellence - leading service change
Mother-infant attachment and family relationships
Research in Health and Social Care

Year 5 (MSc)

Dissertation

Timetable

The attendance will be one day per week. The timetable is designed to offer students the opportunity to engage with lecturers, students and clinical experts.

Teaching and learning

You'll be allocated a personal tutor on commencement of the course. Regular personal tutor arrangements will occur at the university once per semester as required to follow progress and agree next steps in your progress.

Employability

For the majority of students, this course will enable you to care for women and families experiencing mental health issues with more confidence and competence, fulfilling the need placed within current universal services and will increase your employability as a healthcare professional involved in the provision of care for women during pregnancy and the puerperium. For others, this course will enable you to seek more specialist positions within specialist perinatal mental health services.

For non-health and social care professionals who work in voluntary sector organisations (including charities) and private companies, this course will enhance your knowledge of perinatal mental health, strengthening your contribution at a higher level; or enabling you to seek further employment opportunities either within voluntary sector organisations or the NHS.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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