Q: What is the Postgraduate Award in Professional Development?

The Postgraduate Awards in Professional Development (MA / MSc, PGDip, PGCert) is a part-time postgraduate course for professionals in almost any field of work. The course allows professionals to create a bespoke Master’s degree, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma that meets their needs and fits around their working lives. This is done by selecting modules from across a wide range of postgraduate courses, as well as undertaking negotiated projects that relate to their professional needs.

Q: Who is the course for?

The Postgraduate Awards in Professional Development is a student-centred programme that combines the flexibility of online study, with access to taught elements of existing courses. It is designed around the needs of mid-career professionals, particularly those with specialist roles or interests, who have a clear idea of their developmental needs and have progressed beyond off-the-shelf programmes. Credit can be given for existing studies, and the course can be completed in anything between 2 and 8 years. Employers can also design a programme of study for their employees, selecting elements of existing courses, or plan workplace projects that can support the achievement of a postgraduate award.

Q: What will I graduate with?

Professionals can achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Development (60 credits), a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Development (120 credits) or complete a full 180-credit Master’s degree (MA or MSc depending on the balance of subjects studied).

Q: How does the course work?

The Postgraduate Awards in Professional Development can equip you with practical, academic and research skills through a flexible, modular structure centred on your needs. These enable you and, if appropriate, your employer /manager to tailor a programme of study that aligns with your specific skill development needs. The programme facilitates the recognition of acquired skills for academic credit and promotes broader access to and participation in higher education.

Q: How is the course structured and how long does it take?

Your course consists of 15, 30, 45 and 60 credit modules. With the support of your course leader, you will select the modules, and therefore, the number of credits you want to study in each semester and academic year. To put this another way- the duration of your course is dependent on credit value of modules you choose to study each year! The means there are many options for you to manage how and what your study, an illustration for the Master’s degree (180 credits) is provided below: Part-time over 3 years* Year 1 – 60 credits Year 2 – 60 credits Year 3 - 60 credits * part-time normally requires registration for modules to a value of not more than 45 credits in a semester Part-time over 4 years Year 1 - 45 credits Year 2 - 45 credits Year 3 - 45 credits Year 4 - 45 credits Part-time over 5 years Year 1 – 30 credits Year 2 - 30 credits Year 3 – 30 credits Year 4 - 45 credits Year 5 – 45 credits Part-time over 6 years Year 1 – 30 credits Year 2 - 15 credits Year 3 – 30 credits Year 4 - 30 credits Year 5 – 30 credits Year 6 – 45 credits Part-time over 7 years Year 1 – 30 credits Year 2 - 15 credits Year 3 – 30 credits Year 4 - 15 credits Year 5 – 30 credits Year 6 – 15 credits Year 6 – 45 credits

Q: What’s the longest period of time I could study?

The maximum periods of registration (periods in which you must complete your award) allow you flexibility to choose how many credits you want to study each semester or year: PG Cert (60 credits): part time over a maximum of 3 years PG Dip (120 credits): part time over a maximum of 6 years MA / MSc (180 credits): part time over a maximum of 8 years

This course has been designed to offer the flexibility required from working professionals, including those who may be volunteering on a regular and frequent basis. Studying part-time, you’ll be supported by your course leader to design your own unique degree programme, selecting modules to meet your learning, development goals and drive your career.

Overview

This Postgraduate award programme allows you to create a bespoke course of studies that suits your professional development and helps you achieve your career aspirations. Whether you graduate with a full MA or MSc, or a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate will be determined by the modules you choose. And you can take up to eight years to complete your award, allowing you to balance your life.

You can choose from various specialist taught modules, including subjects in arts, business, education, health, humanities, science, social care and sports. You can combine these with individualised, tailor-made Negotiated Professional Development modules, completed via online learning and enabling you to focus on developing and applying your knowledge and skills within your own workplace. It’s even possible to focus almost exclusively on Negotiated Professional Development modules.

The course is inclusive and caters to professionals from diverse fields such as education, health and social care, and corporate sectors. It may even be possible to build up academic credit towards your degree from elsewhere to a full master’s degree and /or gain credit from your experience through recognition of your prior learning.

Take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions to find out more.

Course content

Our flexible course design means you’ll have the freedom to choose from an extensive list of continuing professional development modules from subjects in Health & Wellbeing, Business & Management, Education, Nursing & Midwifery, Psychology and Sport & Exercise Science.

To support your professional development and help you achieve your career aspirations, you will study at least one mandatory module - Negotiated Professional Development or choose to study multiple Negotiated Professional Development modules.

You will also complete an independent research project/dissertation module on a topic of your choice within your field of study and professional practice.

It is expected that all advertised modules will run, but there may be situations where there are insufficient students to make a particular module viable.

Mandatory modules

Introduction to Professional Development

Professional Development Dissertation

Optional modules

General Postgraduate Professional Development

Health and Wellbeing Modules

Business and Management Modules

Education Modules

Nursing & Midwifery Modules

Psychology Modules

Sports Modules

Careers

By completing this course, you’ll be ready to take your next step, whatever that looks like for you. Our students go on to leadership of small teams in their workplace as well as management positions in areas like strategic development. You’ll have skills that are in demand such as the ability to create a business case, use rigorous analysis and research skills, write policy documents, and more. Wherever you decide you want to make a difference, you’ll be ready to solve real-world problems and shape your future aspirations.

The benefits of obtaining a PDA for employers and employees are that the Award can:

address skill shortages or gaps
support the achievement of staff development
upskill staff whilst offering a bespoke qualification valued by employers and employees

Course highlights

students around a table and one of them is pointing

Course community

You’ll join a welcoming and supportive group of students from the UK and around the world. Class debates, study workshops and support sessions will give you plenty of chance to learn from each other's varied experiences.

Teaching and assessment

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support from Student Services and Library Services, and also the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will help you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

Teaching will vary depending on the modules you choose to study. Subject to this choice you will be taught through a combination of interactive workshops, lectures, seminars and laboratory practicals, fieldwork, practical activities etc. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures, and laboratory practicals are focused on developing subject specific skills and applied individual and group project work. The specific details for each module are available within the module specification.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least four occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.

Entry requirements

Although recent preparatory study at an appropriate level is highly recommended (e.g. 2:2 (Hons) degree), applicants are considered based on prior evidenced academic/ professional/ experience.

If you do not have an undergraduate degree, evidence of successful completion of level 6 study.

A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 (or equivalent in an approved test) if English is a second language.

Applicants must be in employment or volunteer on a regular basis and have support from their manager.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.

Fees

UK and EU Students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students enrolling on MA/MSc/PG Cert/PG Dip degrees in the academic year 2025/26 are £788 per 15-credit module, £1,575 per 30-credit module, £2,363 per 45-credit module and £3,150 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fees for part-time international students enrolling on MA/MSc/PG Cert/PG Dip courses in the academic year 2025/26 are £1,492 per 15-credit module, £2,983 per 30-credit module, £4,475 per 45-credit module, and £5,967 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

How to apply

Apply part-time

Please make your part-time application via our online application form.

If you have any questions, please contact the Admissions office on 01905 855111 or admissions@worc.ac.uk

Apply for an MA/MSc - May 2025 start Apply for a PGDip - May 2025 start Apply for a PGCert - May 2025 start

Contact

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Postgraduate Professional Development Team

PG.ProfessionalDevelopment@worc.ac.uk

Admissions Office

admissions@worc.ac.uk 01905 855111

FAQs

What is the Postgraduate Award in Professional Development?

Who is the course for?

What will I graduate with?

How does the course work?

How is the course structured and how long does it take?

What’s the longest period of time I could study?

Professional Development

Overview

Course content

Optional modules

Careers

Course highlights