Master of Science in Advanced Professional Practice in Occupational Therapy

at University of Plymouth United Kingdom

Are you passionate about understanding animal behaviour and applying this knowledge to improve welfare? Do you want to explore the evolution of behaviour in a variety of species? Applying an understanding of animal needs and health, you consider the many aspects of animal welfare, including an examination of the legal and ethical frameworks that safeguard welfare. You also undertake practical work, conducting behavioural and welfare assessment studies, gaining the skills sought by employers.

In the 2019 National Student Survey, 100% expressed overall satisfaction with the course; 93% of students felt staff on this course were good at explaining things; 83% felt that the staff made the subject interesting and 93% found the course intellectually stimulating.

Key Features

• You will build a strong foundation in the fundamental science that underpins the study and understanding of behaviour and welfare - including ecology, evolution, microbiology, physiology, nutrition, health and disease. You will then build onto this with in-depth study of behaviour, welfare and their links in your second and final years of study.
• You will take part in residential field courses in South Devon and the Netherlands, allowing you to develop and apply the understanding you gain through lectures and to study animal behaviour in both wild and captive settings - the latter including zoos and agricultural settings.
• You will benefit from our collaborations with Dartmoor Zoo, Paignton Zoo, Newquay Zoo, the Donkey Sanctuary and National Marine Aquarium, which enable a number of field-trips throughout your course to look at captive animal behaviour, welfare, conservation and rehabilitation.
• You will have opportunity to boost your employability by taking a placement year between your second and final years of study, working in the industry, anywhere in the world - you can read more about this in the 'course details' section of this page.
• You can broaden your horizons by taking your second year at one of a range of universities overseas offered in our year abroad scheme.
• You will be supported pastorally and academically by a personal tutor throughout your studies, and will have regular 1:1 meetings to discuss your progress formally.
• You will interact with and be lectured by academic staff who are research-active and well regarded in their fields.
• You will undertake self-study throughout your course, using our well-equipped library and range of online scientific journals, as well as LABPlus, our unique laboratory and resource centre designed for science and engineering students, which will provide you with flexible workspace, computing facilities, specialist software and bioinformatic applications, access to microscopes, cameras and bespoke resources designed by academic staff to support specific modules as well as more general self-study.

Physiotherapy is a hands-on healthcare profession that uses physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Our innovative curriculum uses real clinical scenarios and diverse practice settings ranging from neurological rehabilitation to acute respiratory care and sports. Reflecting the conditions that physiotherapists treat, our approach is designed to bring your learning alive and develop your clinical reasoning.

You will benefit from our established track record of working with local professional sports teams, the armed forces and extracurricular experience such as pop-up clinics for the local half marathon. You will graduate armed with the skills and experience to find employment in a variety of environments. You could find yourself working in hospitals, health centres, the local community, with the elderly, the disabled or for charitable organisations both in the UK or abroad.

Key Features

• Experience excellent placement opportunities in a variety of clinical settings, which have ranged from acute teaching hospitals, to the community, sports clubs and the Armed Forces. This includes a full placement in your first year with all placement marks potentially contributing towards your degree classification.
• Learn to study independently and in small groups with our enquiry-based learning curriculum.
• Achieve your potential as an autonomous practitioner with highly developed problem-solving skills.
• Benefit from extracurricular experience by providing supervised physiotherapy support at our pop up clinics, such as local sports events
• Explore, collaborate and contribute to research informed practice, with a physiotherapy team engaged in research at an international level.
• Graduate armed with the skills and experience to find employment in a variety of environments - from the NHS to private practice, armed forces to sports clubs working locally or internationally.
• On successful completion of the course, you will be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council. As a successful graduate, you’ll be able to progress from student to full membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

Do you want to lead, direct or manage clinical research? Interprofessional teams of clinical researchers are needed in order to bridge a transitional gap between scientific innovation and healthcare, and to optimise patient care and ensure efficiency of costs for healthcare providers. This programme provides in-depth training in qualitative and quantitative research methods and equips you with the skills to direct, develop, manage and deliver research in any clinical setting

This programme originated as a result of close collaboration with the NIHR, HEE and the student voice. The programme offers either full-time or flexible part-time pathways, designed to accommodate busy clinical caseloads/postgraduate occupations.

Key features

• Aligned with key Health Education England (HEE) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) objectives: to develop clinical academics skilled in evidence-based practice with the capacity to research.
• Programme delivery via flexible and blended learning - experience an inclusive curriculum designed specifically for health professionals, continually developed in line with student feedback this currently features 2-3 day face-to-face study blocks and supported distance learning.
• Receive mentorship and supervision from experienced clinical academic researchers. A research mentorship 'mini-module' is available.
• Develop a critical understanding of research.
• Learn advanced qualitative methods and analysis using a variety of approaches. 
• Incorporates quantitative study designs such as RCTs and observational studies. 
• Join the Institute of Health and Community to further engage with contemporary clinical research during and beyond your studies.
• Progress your career and become a leader in clinical research with a programme that provides both theoretical and first hand practical experience of the whole research process from developing a clinically relevant question through to implementation of research in clinical practice.
• Learn from experts from across the University of Plymouth, other higher education institutes, the Research Design Service, the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) and the Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit.
• Study a contemporary MClinRes founded on ongoing consultation with patient and public support groups, NHS staff, managers and commissioners and international partners.
• Receive support with onward funding applications to further your integrated clinical research career. Opt for the research management and mentorship module to gain protected time and support with academic writing to publish your research, develop your profile and compose onward funding applications.
• Choose from three award pathways – PgCert, PgDip, MClinRes

Our industry-recognised BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying course will help you develop knowledge and skills in the commercial and financial management of construction projects. Through lectures, tutorials with industry partners, real assessments and projects briefs, and an optional year-long paid industry placement, you will learn the requirements for managing risk and proving value for a variety of clients, taking into account sustainable and ethical dimensions.

Key Features

• Our course is fully accredited by the leading professional bodies: the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).
• This course is designed around a common first year with BSc (Hons) Building Surveying and BSc (Hons) Construction Project Management, allowing you to transfer to these courses after successful completion of Year 1.
• You will gain valuable experience with an optional, paid year-long placement in a leading surveying company in the UK or abroad. Our industry links will help you find a placement, boosting your studies with practical experience and providing the contacts that can lead to future employment.
• You will be part of a vibrant multidisciplinary learning environment, working with students from other built environment disciplines, including construction project managers, architectural engineers and building surveyors.
• You will have access to a wide range of industry standard facilities, resources and equipment, including, a designated design studio space, specialist laboratories and workshops, Mac and PC suites, a 360 degree immersive vision theatre.
• Each year the quantity surveying knowledge and skills you develop come together in a real-world design and build project with an actual client and project brief. Guided by our panel of industrial advisers, you will develop the professional skills to stand out in the sector.
• Learn from leaders in their fields. Our staff come from both industry and research backgrounds. Industry professionals also play an active role in the course participating in guest lectures, workshops and tutorials.
• Our built environment courses have been running for over 25 years.

This practice-based course combines an independent spirit with industry standards. Our learning environment focuses on exploration, creative risk-taking, collaboration and nurturing distinctive voices and skilled film talent. Learn from award-winning staff and visiting professionals taking part in masterclasses. Live BFI-funded projects and exhibition opportunities provide the perfect platform for you to develop your work from script to screen and tell new stories through the moving image.

Key Features

• A course driven by creativity where you learn filmmaking by making films.
• Practical filmmaking informed by industry awareness.
• Small teaching groups throughout the three years allow for bespoke and individually tailored feedback and support.
• Develop a high level of technical and creative skills which are fostered at an individual level throughout the course.
• Explore the scope of career opportunities through practise.
• A course where individuality is nurtured and celebrated through crew-based films and individual projects.
• Work on dedicated modules that encourage creative risk-taking.
• Embrace public audiences and develop projects beyond the University.

The UK leads the world in the creative industries and we offer the only MA Design programme in the country that allows you to specialise in key areas that are right for you. Do you want to imagine and plan the spaces, objects and experiences of tomorrow? Do you want to enhance your skills in a fast-paced sustainable environment and progress into the design industry? New design tools are available to us now, so we can plan our preferred futures, design is evolving, play your part in that future.

“Design requires bridging the ‘knowing-doing gap.’ The tools of the designer, is about getting out into the world being inspired by people, to learn with our hands, our minds and our hearts, creating stories and joining forces with people from other disciplines, these are ways to widen the impact of what we do.” Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO. OBE

Designed for graduates with a non-nutrition background, this broad-ranging programme offers you an advanced understanding of nutrition and the links between diet and health. Core nutrition science will underpin a critical evaluation of the role of nutrition in public health at the local, national and international level.

This contemporary masters degree is designed to develop professionals with a broad range of skills in human nutrition who are equipped to manage and lead in a range of dynamic settings, such as public health nutrition, health promotion, sports nutrition, the media, research and government.

Key Features

• Designed for graduates with a non-nutrition background, this full time programme will provide you with a new and alternative career pathway.
• Train to become an evidence based nutrition professional equipped to manage and lead in dynamic settings.
• The only programme of this type in the south-west region.
• Delivered by a team with extensive experience in the delivery of masters level modules and a diverse range of expertise in nutrition, public health, research, sports nutrition and physiology. The team have external recognition for the quality of feedback to support student learning.
• The programme will be accredited with the Association for Nutrition (AfN) allowing students who have completed the masters to apply for direct entry at associate level to the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists (UKVRN).
• Focuses on public health nutrition and disease prevention at the local, national and international level.
• Develop an advanced knowledge and understanding of current and topical issues in sports nutrition and apply them to current practice utilising links with local sporting partnerships. 
• Engage with local AfN registrants who will provide curriculum enrichment, local expertise and knowledge of future career pathways.
• Research informed teaching will be embedded throughout the curriculum.
• Issues around sustainability of nutrition will be threaded throughout the programme. 
• Gain a core understanding of professional practice and ethics, elements of which are embedded within the programme.

Experience an academic year working in emergency care and gain an intercalated degree at the same time with the BSc (Hons) in Urgent and Emergency Care. Learn skills that will enable you to work flexibly as a healthcare professional across traditional boundaries to meet the needs of the healthcare community, whilst developing as a competent and adaptive practitioner, with specialist and transferable skills.

You will explore opportunities to set up placements within your locality helping you with the cost of living and development of important relationships in settings where you may like to work in the future. You’ll experience working in genuinely challenging clinical environments. You will also get prepared to lead teams in the future with a specific module on management and leadership, and practice skills that will be essential as you progress to becoming a consultant.

Key Features

• Study with the only university to offer an intercalated degree in emergency care in the UK
• Explore opportunities to set up placements within your locality helping you with the cost of living and development of important relationships in settings where you may like to work in the future
• Experience working in genuinely challenging clinical environments; real-life experiences mean meaningful education
• Get to grips with working and studying with a multi-professional team and all the insight that brings
• Prepare to lead teams in the future with a specific module on management and leadership
• Practice skills that will be essential as you progress to becoming a consultant
• Deepen your research and audit knowledge, helping you to decide (with your emergency department mentor) what area of emergency care you will develop an audit in
• Choose from a range of optional modules including paediatrics and mental health.

Our interdisciplinary design studio inspires you to challenge, disrupt and rethink design practices to create unique and compelling objects, artefacts and user experiences. Go hands-on with materials in our extensive workshops to design products, furniture, ceramics and lighting. Develop a rich portfolio that is relevant to the evolving needs of professional design practice and become a Designer Maker, or a Designer for Industry, or combine areas of 3D design practice.

Key Features

• Teaching is in small groups with the studio culture run like a design practice with innovative delivery including flipped classroom, podcasts and team teaching.
• Work alongside students from our Interior Design course in our vibrant studio with individual desk space and CAD stations.
• You’ll build up a portfolio with fresh projects starting every few weeks. Assessments are 100% coursework – so no exams.
• Culture trips to Europe and study exchanges in Japan, USA, India or Italy are also possible.
• Engage with real clients with live projects. We’ve recently run projects with Vitra, John Lewis, Red Paddle, UPP, architects Willmore Iles and Herman Millar.
• Gain valuable industry experience through our competitions, studio visits, visiting lecturers and our meet the supplier visits.
• BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design is professionally accredited by the Chartered Society of Designers.
• The studio practice mirrors contemporary professional practice, helping you develop the skills and confidence to succeed in the job market.

Are you looking for a career in hydrographic surveying and marine exploration industries? On this course you’ll explore offshore and environmental surveying, marine remote sensing, oceanography, underwater acoustics, digital mapping and geographical information systems. A focus on the practical application of survey technology to the marine environment gives you highly sought after skills in hydrographic surveying, mapping, measurement and visualisation of the seafloor and underlying geology.

You will develop your range of practical skills with our own fully-equipped fleet of boats. You’ll experience an overseas field course that is aimed at integrating your surveying and mapping knowledge and understanding across the different sub-disciplines to address real-world issues. You will have the option to take the industry-recognised professional diving qualification (HSE Professional SCUBA) alongside your degree.

Have you considered

• BSc (Hons) Oceanography and Coastal Processes

Key Features

• In the 2019 National Student Survey, 100 per cent expressed overall satisfaction with the course; 100 per cent of students felt staff on this course were good at explaining things; 100 per cent felt that the staff made the subject interesting and 100 per cent found the course intellectually stimulating.*
• Experience extensive vocational elements with an emphasis on hands-on experience using current hydrographic and surveying methods and state-of-the-art technology as used by the survey industry.
• Benefit from strong industry links and excellent home and overseas employment prospects.
• Develop your range of practical skills with our own fully-equipped fleet of boats, a new £4.65 million Marine Station used as a base for fieldwork afloat, industry standard oceanographic and surveying equipment, and a type-approved ship simulator.
• Option to take the industry-recognised professional diving qualification (HSE Professional SCUBA) alongside your degree and an optional dedicated scientific diving module to provide training and qualification for diving-based research projects and employment (limited places and additional costs apply).
• Experience an overseas field course that is aimed at integrating your surveying and mapping knowledge and understanding across the different sub-disciplines to address real-world issues.