Change Management
PGCert

Course summary and entry requirements

Course duration

Part-time: 1 years min, 4 years max

About the course

In a world where managing and leading change has become critical, the Change Management Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) will set you apart from colleagues with standard management qualifications.

Developing you as an accredited practitioner, this course will build your personal capacity to:
- understand the academic theory behind organisational change
- confidently take on a leadership role within organisational change
- integrate academic knowledge and practice skills to engage in authoritative change management
- make sense of the opportunities presented by cultural change.

This course is designed to fit around your personal and professional commitments. It is taught in three teaching blocks and you can choose to spread the course over a few years or complete it quickly in less than one year. Courses start in September, January and April.

Each three-day block is assessed by a work-based project which will contribute to your employer's business. This project will ensure that you are using best practice in your work.

Your employer will benefit from your ability to maximise organisational success during periods of change, as well as your capacity to effectively communicate the changes to staff.

All of the classroom teaching is workshop-based which promotes group discussion and the sharing of experience.

Typical entry requirements

Individual offers may vary.

For non-native speakers of English:
In order to benefit from, contribute to and enjoy the course, a good command of spoken and written English language is required. If English is not your first language, you will need English language proficiency equivalent to an overall IELTS score of at least 6.5, with 6 in the written test.

Degree and/or experience:
Normally a good honours degree or equivalent is required. A degree in any subject will be considered. Work experience is useful but not essential.

For equivalent international qualifications


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We can help you meet our English language entry requirements
For help meeting English language requirements contact our
Language Institute.

We can help you meet our academic entry requirements
For help meeting academic entry requirements contact our
International College.

If you cannot find your country listed, please email admissions@brighton.ac.uk

Course content

Course structure

This course is delivered in three teaching blocks. Each block is taught over three consecutive days and is assessed by a work-based project.
You may choose three from the following four modules:
- Managing the Human Aspects of Change
This module is recommended for managers engaging with the challenges arising out of managing people during times of significant change. The module encourages engagement with the often neglected human aspects of managing change, informed by understanding the involvement of individuals and groups within all successful changes.
Organisational cultures, which are a reflection of the attitudes, values and beliefs of organisational members, can either help or impede change. Participants will gain practical skills and tools both to analyse these cultures and influence cultural change. Upon completion of this module you will have a much better understanding of the complexities of managing the human aspects of change.
- Political and Institutional Perspectives on Change Management
This module is recommended for managers attempting to interpret and make sense of change initiatives coming from higher levels within the organisation. It focuses on the potentially huge and unpredictable effects that political and economic events may have on individual organisations.
The module presents multiple opportunities to explore complex cause and effect relationships systematically and creatively. It helps managers make appropriate judgements in the absence of complete data and to reach meaningful conclusions as to the likely impact of global changes on their organisation.
- The Leadership of Change
This module is recommended for managers either involved in or anticipating leading change initiatives at all levels within organisations.
We now understand how successful change initiatives require a combination of effective leadership and effective management. The module will introduce you to leading change theories, models and concepts which inform these contemporary debates. It addresses how leaders communicate change, how they respond to and rethink resistance to change and how power and politics always informs leadership activities. By the end of the module you will appreciate the challenges of leading change and the potential positive difference that the effective leadership of change can make.
- Systems and Complexity Approaches to Change Management
This module is recommended for managers grappling with the unpredictable and repercussive effects of managing change under challenging circumstances.
Change initiatives are often couched in project methodology terms, yet controlled project outcomes may remain elusive. The module examines action, effect, feedback and impact on initial conditions from a systems perspective. This contributes to an understanding of how and why localised change management projects may often diverge from planned expectations. The module explores the explanatory capabilities of such academic approaches and their potential value to practitioners.
Fees and costs

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2013-14. Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or criminal record checks, field trips or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply please check with the school that provides your course using the contact details on the left of this page for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

Our website www.brighton.ac.uk/money provides advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee paying status.

PGCert Change Management

Please contact us directly for exact tuition fees for this course.
Location

Location Moulsecoomb

Located to the north of Brighton city centre, the Moulsecoomb campus offers students an excellent learning environment and a wide range of facilities. It is the largest of our five campuses with over 8,000 students.
View campus maps and directions
Living in Brighton
Brighton’s rich mix of historic architecture, lively arts scene, varied shopping and cosmopolitan community make it a vibrant, enjoyable place to live. It is no wonder that many Brighton graduates choose to stay here.
Social scene
Alongside the traditional seaside attractions, Brighton is famed for its exciting social scene with a wide choice of pubs, clubs and restaurants.
Arts
The highlight of the city’s cultural year is the Brighton Festival. The event is held each May and is England’s biggest arts festival, which showcases arts and performance from around the world. Brighton is also home to the UK’s oldest working cinema, the Duke of York’s, which shows alternative and mainstream films. The city is also well known for its exciting music scene and hosts The Great Escape music festival.
Sports
Whether you take your sport seriously or just want to keep fit, Brighton offers all kinds of sports opportunities and facilities, on and off campus. You can also make the most of the location, and play volleyball, basketball and windsurfing down by the beach. The seafront is also the finishing point for the famous London – Brighton bicycle ride and the quirky veteran car run.
Staff profiles

Stephen Reeve

Recipient of a University of Brighton award for teaching excellence, Stephen leads our Postgraduate Change Management programmes.

He has written extensively on adult learning, technology and the role of higher education and public private partnerships.

Stephen is a lead member of the Business School's Management and Organisational Development Unit and, as well as conducting research, is actively involved in change intervention consultancy.

Interested in the managerial effects of macro-scale change, Stephen is particularly focused on the implications for management behaviour of the new and changing contexts of public/private/voluntary partnership.

An experienced Doctoral supervisor and examiner, he has designed and introduced many postgraduate management programmes as well as founding the Institute of Change Management.

Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes PhD is an experienced senior lecturer. He teaches the managing change elements on our MBA and postgraduate courses and is particularly interested in the personal and human aspects of organisational change initiatives. Mark's ongoing management development work focuses upon the management of change within large public service organisations.

Mark is the author of 'Managing Change: A Critical Perspective', the popular textbook published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and he regularly publishes in academic journals.
Student views

Wendy Dearing, Director of Corporate Services and Service Development, Sussex Health Informatics Service

The style of teaching is superb, very inclusive and interactive. Building on the practical elements most of the students are undertaking on a daily basis.

The assumption was made (which is correct!) that of all of us are working as practitioners in a change environment, so we are able to offer the practical examples and the lessons really bring the theory element into the picture, so underpinning our practice and offering a whole new approach to change management in the workplace.

As the person accountable for change in my organisation, it is already enhancing my role and I am able to cascade some of the learning to my team.

The course has taught me to critically analyse current and future approaches, which in turn can only benefit my career as being able to offer myself as a 'subject expert'.
Career opportunities

On completion of this course you will have a sound understanding of change management, with knowledge and skills widely sought after by private, public and not-for-profit organisations.
Graduates of the course receive free membership to the Institute of Change Management.

Visit the careers service website.
More...

Who is the course for?

The course is suitable for graduates wishing to develop their change management skills and knowledge, and experienced managers interested in accrediting their existing change management skills.

It provides a valuable opportunity to compare real-life experience with the latest academic change management theory. We welcome students from private, public and voluntary sectors.

A hallmark of this programme is respect for both knowledge in the field and the qualities brought by participants. A mature atmosphere encourages a partnership between those on the course and the course team.

You will work closely with your tutor and any issues affecting your academic work are resolved quickly and informally.

Why Brighton Business School?

The Business School at the University of Brighton has a postgraduate community of around 600 students from a diverse range of backgrounds whose learning experience is enriched by the high quality of our research.

The latest Research Assessment Exercise (2008) ranked us in the top 15 UK business schools in terms of world-leading research outputs. Our postgraduate programmes reflect the research that is being undertaken.

The University of Brighton's Institute of Change Management (IoCM) is the only professional membership organisation in Europe dedicated to change management practitioners.