School of Nursing and Midwifery

BSc (Hons) Professional Development in Health and Social Care

Gain a degree and advance your career with our BSc (Hons) Professional Development in Health and Social Care, a flexible course aimed at a wide range of healthcare professionals at various stages of career and professional development. You will have the opportunity to choose from a large variety of modules to reflect diversity of practice and take an innovative approach to gaining specialist and advanced knowledge specifically aimed at your individual area of interest and expertise.

The Cumberland Centre

Your career as a healthcare professional starts here

The first-class new home for our healthcare teaching and research providing students with skills to meet the needs of 21st century careers.

InterCity Place InterCity Place
 A unique new learning space where undergraduate and postgraduate students from the largest breadth of health disciplines in the South-West learn together under one roof, with expert practitioners.

Medical students using the Anatomage table clinical Plymouth Integrative Health and Social Care Education Centre (PIHC)
 Experience an interprofessional learning environment across our health programmes that will prepare you for life as a healthcare professional.

First choice for health Become a healthcare professional of the future
 Collaboration across the schools helps students to learn with, from and about each other, gaining the real-world experience employers seek.

Key features
  • Study an up-to-date syllabus which intends to meet and exceed tomorrow’s, as well as today’s, workforce needs on a programme developed with stakeholder engagement through commissioners, employers and students on both content and delivery mode.
  • Become a critical thinking practitioner with a range of transferable skills who can effectively contribute to service enhancement.
  • Use the best available evidence, contemporary knowledge and high-level clinical decision-making skills to underpin interventions.
  • Develop confidence, competence and emotional resilience to consistently exercise personal responsibility and professional accountability for decision making and the provision of high-quality safe care.
  • Undertake a course that enables choice and values prior experiential learning and experience; targeted at the career development needs of a wide range of healthcare professionals with excellent opportunities for inter-professional learning.
  • Select modules that enhance your specific work role with course pathways offering over 100 module options addressing a wide range of specialist clinical areas.
  • Flexibly designed course enabling you to ‘step on and step off’ over a five-year period in response to service need and professional circumstances.

Course details

  • Year 1

  • This course offers the awards of BSc/BSc (Hons), graduate certificate and graduate diploma.
    BSc – to achieve a BSc you will need to earn 80 credits by undertaking up to four modules – one core 20 credit module and up to three optional modules adding up to 60 credits.
    BSc (Hons) – to achieve a BSc (Hons) you will need to earn 120 credits by undertaking up to five modules – two core modules adding up to 60 credits and up to three optional modules adding up to 60 credits.
    Students who have previously obtained a health related degree at 2:2 or above are eligible to access the course via the graduate certificate or graduate diploma route – please see panel below for further details.
    For further information on the modules that make up this course please visit the BSc (Hons)/BSc Professional Development modules. 
    Examples of optional modules (not exhaustive)
    HEAC385 – The child and young person with mental health needs
    MENT604 – Confirming proficiency in professional practice
    The module 'HEAD361 - Independent study' is only a core module for students who wish to achieve the BSc (Hons) Professional Development in Health and Social Care award.

    Core modules

    • Independent Study (HEAD361)

      This module extends knowledge of primary and secondary research and develops critical appraisal skills. Students construct an integrative literature review of a practice focused research topic.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BSc (Hons) Professional Development in Health and Social Care overarching pathway specification_6149

The modules shown for this course are those currently being studied by our students, or are proposed new modules. Please note that programme structures and individual modules are subject to amendment from time to time as part of the University’s curriculum enrichment programme and in line with changes in the University’s policies and requirements.

Entry requirements
To be eligible for the BSc or BSc (Hons) programme you will need to be either a registered health and social care professional or a health and social care worker in possession of previous study at level 5 (foundation degree/diploma of higher education). 
If you wish to undertake the graduate certificate or graduate diploma award pathways you must already hold an honours degree at 2:2 or above in a health or health related subject.
If you wish to undertake any clinical skills modules as part of your course you will need to be working in an environment where you can meet the learning outcomes.
Applicants whose first language is not English must also provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English in accordance with the University’s Admissions Code of Practice – minimum overall International English Language Testing System (IELTS) of 6.5 average with a minimum 5.5 in each category.
AP(E)L:
Claims for credit for prior learning, whether certificated or experiential are accepted and will be assessed following University regulations and faculty procedures.
Extended entry requirements

Fees, costs and funding
The fee for this course is dependent on the modules undertaken. Please see the relevant module web pages for further information.

How to apply
When to apply
Applications for this programme can usually be made throughout the year. Please check the closing date and apply as early as possible as our programmes are popular.
Apply for this programme
To apply for this programme please complete the application form and return via email to:
What happens after I apply?
You will normally receive a decision on your application within four weeks of us receiving your application. You may be asked to provide additional information, to take part in an interview (which in the case if you are an overseas student may be by telephone or video conference) or you will be sent a decision by letter or email.
If you have a disability and would like further information about the support provided by University of Plymouth, please visit our Disability Services website.
Support is also available from our International Office if you are an overseas student applying to the University.
Healthcare mechanism concept. Abstract background with connected gears and icons for medical, health, care, medicine, network, social media and global concepts. Vector infographic illustration. Copyright: Hilch, courtesy of Shutterstock.

Graduate certificate and graduate diploma 

If you have previously obtained a health related honours degree at 2:2 or above, you are eligible to access this course via the graduate certificate/diploma route:
Graduate Certificate Professional Development in Health and Social Care – 60 credits at degree level
Graduate Diploma Professional Development in Health and Social Care – 120 credits at degree level
Students seeking to achieve either qualification will be required to achieve the specified number of credits by choosing from a range of optional modules. 
Please contact the Professional Development Unit at PDUAdmissions@plymouth.ac.uk for further information.
Postgraduate students

Opportunities for postgraduate study in nursing

Be at the forefront of changes to the traditional ways of working and become a Clinical Practitioner (CP) with our MSc Advanced Professional Practice (Clinical Practitioner).

You’ll be equipped with the knowledge and skills to assess, diagnose, treat and manage patients who present with undifferentiated and undiagnosed conditions, across all sectors of healthcare.

Certain clinicians can also exit as a non-medical prescriber, i.e. nurses, pharmacists and optometrists can become independent and/or supplementary prescribers, whilst radiographers, physiotherapists and podiatrists can become supplementary prescribers.

MSc Advanced Professional Practice (Clinical Practitioner)

Develop significant expertise in your chosen area with our specialist routes:

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