MSc Advanced Clinical Practice

at University of Exeter

This programme will prepare you to:
 

• Develop your clinical practice, enabling you to work autonomously and flexibly in order to make complex decisions about how people should be cared for and treated.

• Ensure that you understand the professional, legal and ethical issues within which you work as clinical professionals undertaking advanced practice.

• Promote multidisciplinary practice by involving clinicians and practitioners from a variety of disciplines to understand the wider clinical context of health care service needs.

• Provide you with a sound educational grounding that will encourage critical analysis of literature, documents and policies associated with advanced practice.

• Prepare you to undertake research, audit and evaluative activities that develop your personal knowledge and expertise and can be disseminated in a community of practice, improving evidence-based patient care across systems.
 

Programme Structure

The MSc Advanced Clinical Practice programme can be taken as a part time programme of study, which can be taken over 2 or 3 years, as appropriate. It is delivered at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 7 (as confirmed against the FHEQ).
 

The programme is also divided into units of study called ‘modules’ which are assigned a number of ‘credits’. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with one credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work, a 15 credit module being equivalent to 150 hours of work and a full Masters degree being equivalent to approximately 1,800 hours of work. Therefore, for applicants who are working full time (or close to full-time), we recommend applying to complete the Masters degree over 2 or 3 years rather than 1 year.
 

To gain a Masters qualification, you will need to complete 180 credits at level 7.
 

It is also possible to exit with a PGCert after completing 60 credits of taught modules or a PGDip after completing 120 credits of taught modules. The list of modules below shows which are compulsory.
 

The MSc Advanced Clinical Practice requires you to be clinically engaged in order to fulfil the learning criteria. However, an alternate MSc Advanced Practice full time variant is available for students who are unable to meet the clinical requirements or who wish to study on a full time basis.

Compulsory modules

• Principles of Advanced Clinical Practice  
• Advanced Clinical Assessment and Decision-Making Skills    
• Advanced Clinical Practice Improvement Project    

You should hold a minimum 2.2 Honours degree (or for older qualifications a Professional Diploma) in a healthcare related discipline. Relevant clinical experience or previous postgraduate qualifications will also be considered as part of the admissions process. In addition, you should be registered with the appropriate statutory regulatory body for your profession (such as the HCPC or NMC).

English language requirements:
 

• IELTS: Overall score 6.5. No less than 6.0 in any section.
 

• TOEFL: Overall score 90 with minimum scores of 21 for writing, 21 for listening, 22 for reading and 23 for speaking.
 

Additional Entry Requirements

A personal statement, detailing your reasons for seeking to undertake this subject, will be required. 
 

It is expected that candidates will have a current contract of employment with a healthcare provider and will normally have at least 2 years’ experience of professional practice.
 

MSc Advanced Practice: You should hold a minimum 2.2 Honours degree (or for older qualifications a Professional Diploma) in a healthcare related discipline. Relevant clinical experience or previous postgraduate qualifications will also be considered as part of the admissions process.

Fees are subject to an annual increment each academic year
 

UK fees per year: 
 

• MSc  £4,250pa part-time 2 years, £2,900pa part-time 3 years
• PgDip  £5,800 full time, £2,900pa part time
• PgCert  £2,900
 

Standalone module fees: UK: £850 per 15-credit module
 

International fees per year:
 

• MSc  £11,500pa part-time 2 years, £7,700pa part-time 3 years

• PgDip  £15,400 full-time, £7,700pa part-time
• PgCert  £7,700


Standalone module fees: International: £2100 per 15-credit module
 

MSc Advanced Practice 
 

• UK: £9,100 full-time 1 year 

• International: £22,000 full-time 1 year 

Demand for healthcare services, intensifying workforce pressures and a growing consensus of the vastly untapped potential of Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professions has led to the continued growth of the advanced practice agenda within the NHS.
 

Studying towards advanced clinical practice aims to enable clinicians to practice to their full potential, meeting the healthcare needs of the population through innovative, collaborative and autonomous working. There are a multitude of career opportunities within the advanced clinical practice sphere and these continue to grow on a yearly basis. The following case studies aim to highlight just a small number of such opportunities and how, through the Masters in Advanced Clinical Practice, a student can develop and specialise to meet these goals.