Health and Education MSc (PGCert PGDip)

Course structure

This is a part-time course and the modules are delivered at different times throughout the year. The course is delivered in a variety of ways and is flexible enough to meet the needs of part-time students. Delivery is typically via lectures, seminars and workbooks for work-based learning.

Each module has approximately 30 hours of lecturer contact and approximately 170 hours of individual study. Individual modules employ various learning and teaching strategies.

Alongside your choice of education modules which make up the PGCert, you will choose a further two modules from our Postgraduate Education Framework and earn the full MSc by completing the dissertation, which will normally have an education component. Alongside your personal tutor, you will review your module choices according to a career planning framework.

At the start of the course you will consult with the course leader and agree a tailored study plan of module choices for the course. This will be created from the choice of modules available on our Postgraduate Education Framework to suit your individual professional, academic and personal needs.  

You will be able to review your current achievements and then highlight areas for further development throughout the course with use of the University of Brighton’s E-folio that you can use to keep a record of your personal development, educational attainment and career planning.

You will also be provided with an annual review tutorial with the course leader to affirm your progress and direction.

Health sciences postgraduate education
This course is part of our postgraduate education programme. The programme allows you to sign up for one module at a time and build your qualification as you go. It also gives you access to interdisciplinary modules across a broad selection of health and social science subjects.

Areas of study

Current students are from range of backgrounds and choose an academic route that accelerates their professional and personal development. For example, a health professional may decide to study a range of clinical modules and a student from a social care background may choose a selection of social and health-focused modules.

The dissertation project is an exciting element of this course and again is guided by your career route or employer requirements. This is an opportunity for you to put into practice the transferable masters level skills gained from the taught modules. These include analysing and interpreting data from a range of sources, evaluating and problem-solving and developing research skills and project management skills in order to produce a science-based project appropriate to your chosen pathway.

Syllabus

Along with the Dissertation, you will choose one research module, two health option modules, and three education modules from our postgraduate education programme.

Modules

Core modules

• Research Theory and Application for Health Professionals

  In this module you will explore the underlying philosophy, design considerations and data analysis options in qualitative and quantitative research models. The main focus will be on the skills and knowledge base required for critical evaluation of published literature and the module will also equip you with the expertise to design, carry out and analyse the data from your own masters level research project.

• Quantitative Research Methods

  In this module you will develop skills in quantitative research design and data collection so you can critique the research of others (eg, media, research articles) and use quantitative skills in your own research projects. You will gain a new understanding of the critical evaluation of statistical techniques and develop skills in how to formulate a good research question, information handling, report writing, data presentation and use of statistical packages.

• Research Methods and Critical Appraisal

  During this module you will study how conduct and appraise research. You will gain an understanding of research methods in health and social care and the ability to relate appropriate methods to research questions. You’ll learn how to search and review the literature, develop and justify a research proposal, and anticipate ethical issues in your research proposal. The modules also involves mandatory attendance at an obtaining informed consent workshop.

• Research Ethics and Integrity in Health and Social Care

  This module will provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and analyse the ethical dimension of research. You will be encouraged to apply ethical principles to the design and operationalization of the research to be undertaken as part of your course. This will help you construct an ethics application that demonstrates comprehensive, critical appraisal of applied ethical principles in the health or social care sector.

• Philosophies of Research

  This module provides you with the philosophical, methodological and ethical tools and principles needed to engage in postgraduate research. You will gain knowledge and understanding of how these principles inform the research process and learn how to critically engage with the design and execution of research.

• Research Methods in Community Research

  This module provides you with advanced training in community research methods including research design, ethics, quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques and data analysis strategies. It includes an overview of the practicalities of conducting research within communities, creative research methods and conducting participatory action research.

• Qualitative Research

  This module will introduce you to the approaches involved in qualitative research and critically explores the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research knowledge, its methodologies and methods, as well as the ethicopolitical issues involved. You will also examine the practical considerations of design and methods, data and analysis, and evaluate the quality, value and use of qualitative research.

• Dissertation

  This final dissertation is a major piece of work and an opportunity for you to fully investigate a subject you are interested in. The dissertation can be via literature-based research, small-scale empirical research or analysis of existing data. You will be supported by your tutors to develop a dissertation proposal and then allocated a dissertation supervisor to guide you through your research work. You will be encouraged to write up your dissertation research as draft publication-ready papers, so that you can more readily publish high-quality work after completion of your MSc.

Options*

• Promoting Health, Wellbeing and Resilience Through Participation

  In this module you will critically reflect upon the policies, evidence and theory that relates to participation in promoting health, wellbeing and resilience. You will develop a proposal for improving the services within your professional practice that is based on an advanced understanding of how participation improves people’s health, wellbeing and resilience.

• Principles of Health Promotion and Behaviour Change

  This interdisciplinary module explores health promotion theory and practice with an emphasis on the social and psychological factors of health and behaviours. You will learn to understand and apply health promotion concepts and theoretical frameworks in your work and/or in subsequent academic study. The module aims to develop your knowledge of the principles of health promotion and practical competencies in enabling healthy behaviours.

• Integrated Care for the Older Person (Level 7)

  This module focuses on integrated person-centred care in complex health and social care systems for older people living with long-term conditions and frailty. Content will include contemporary and critical understandings of care and care ethics; participatory and partnership models of health and social care; shared decision-making, collaboration, coordination and co-production; integrated health and social care systems; and complexity and risk.

• Sustainable Healthcare Principles (Level 7)

  There is an urgent need for more environmentally sustainable, financially affordable and socially responsible healthcare. During this module you will develop in-depth knowledge about the complexity of planetary health links to the healthcare sector and apply the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to healthcare practice. You will look at areas including climate justice, human rights and ethical issues related to planetary health and sustainable healthcare.

• Exploring Pain

  In this module you will look at the clinical aspects of helping people to manage their pain. You will explore pain in the widest sense including cultural, social and professional perspectives and critically evaluate and reflect upon your current practice. You’ll also consider ways in which you may develop evidence-based interventions for people with pain and evolve your communication skills to help people in pain.

• Critical Approaches to Enabling Behaviour Change for Health Improvement

  In this module you will look at behaviour change from a theoretical and practical point of view. You will consider the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of theories and approaches and examine how they can be applied in practice to support behaviour change and maintenance in different population groups. You will also develop communications skills and techniques, including active listening and motivational interviewing.

• Physical Activity and Exercise Rehabilitation

  In this module you will look at the contemporary use of exercise therapy and prescription in healthcare practice and apply theoretical knowledge to your own area of practice. You will grow your existing knowledge and critical thinking skills with relation to exercise physiology, the clinical reasoning of exercise prescription and the use of the best available evidence to support and develop your practice.

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Study abroad

We offer an opportunity to add a European dimension to your learning and development within the context of nursing or midwifery through our international work-based learning module.

If you have a particular clinical interest, for example public health nursing, and are interested in how this is delivered and practised in Scandinavia we can arrange for you to access a placement area with one of our partners in Sweden or Denmark. We can also help structure your experience through establishing focused learning outcomes and detailed preparation.

Our courses are vibrant and many of our academic staff have international health and education experience. Some are members of groups such as Sigma Theta Tau and the Florence Nightingale Scholars.

Contact the admissions team for more information about studying abroad at namcpeadmissions@brighton.ac.uk.

Course fees

For up-to-date details of fees, please contact fees@brighton.ac.uk.

NHS funding is available and may vary depending on individual circumstances.

If you require funding via NHS Trust Health Contract (formally the PTD contract) you may need to submit your application to a panel and/or need a designated signatory before you send it to the university. The forms for Health Education Contract or other sponsorship funding are available from our postgraduate education programme webpages.

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton