Key information
Duration: or 3 years part time
Institution code: R72
Campus: Central London
UK fees*: £8,300
International/EU fees**: £17,600
The course
Advanced Practice (MSc)
Built upon long-standing partnerships with employment agencies and service user groups, the MSc in Advanced Practice offers post-qualifying education to individuals working in social care or health services. The course provides professionally and academically rigorous postgraduate Social Work training that enables you to critically evaluate theory and utilise research findings in relation to advanced practice and leadership.
We recognise the time pressures that affect social workers and allied professions so this course is delivered via a part-time, modular format, offering flexibility to suit your needs – allowing you to continue to work while learning. You are able to exit at different stages throughout of the course, tailoring the qualification to your own professional need and commitments, gaining a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MSc in Advanced Practice.
There are four optional pathways through the course, allowing you to specialise in an area of your own experience or interests:
- Children & Families
- Adults
- Leadership & Management
- Professional Education
Academics in our department undertake commissioned work in a wide variety of areas, underpinning our taught courses with the latest research. We are dedicated to supporting learners to become research-literate practitioners and policy/practice literate researchers – breaking down the barriers between research and practice.
Course structure
Core Modules
- Conducting Research and Writing for Publication
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The module will aim to enable students to continue to develop their knowledge and skills in supporting and assessing social workers undertaking post-qualifying professional development and learning through a flexible distance learning route, and to enable students to evidence their ability to support and assess CPD in line with relevant professional requirements.
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This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.
Optional Modules
There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.
- Advanced Practice in Child Protection and Family Support
- Work with Children and Young People with Sexually Harmful Behaviours
- Practice Educator Standards (PEPS) 2
- Supervision of Professional Practice
- Inter-professional Working: Power, Identity and Organisational Culture
- Understanding Personality Disorders: Implications for Parents, Parenting and Child Development
- Working with Domestic Violence: A Skills Based Course for Advanced Practitioners
- Values and Ethics for Advanced Practitioners, Leaders and Managers
- Risk and Decision-Making
- Work Based Learning: Advanced Practice and Leadership
- Leading and Managing in Systems
- Advanced Practice - Safeguarding Adults at Risk
- Advanced Practice - Putting Personalisation into Practice
- Systemic Practice with Families & Organisations: Course 1
- Systemic Practice with Families & Organisations: Course 2
- Systemic Practice with Families & Organisations: Course 3
- Practice Educator Professional Standards Stage 1 (PEPS 1)
Teaching & assessment
Teaching and assessment on this course is by a variety of methods (depending on modules chosen) including:
- Direct observation
- Recording
- Critical evaluation
- Presentation
- Written assignments
- Portfolios of practice evidence
- Dissertation
Entry requirements
Social work or other professional qualification in a relevant discipline at degree or Masters level. Students must be currently involved in practice or management work in a social care or health setting. Students with a DipHE (e.g. DipSW) and at least two years practice experience are also able to apply.
Normally we require a UK 2:1 (Honours) or equivalent in relevant subjects but we will consider a high 2:2 or relevant work experience. Where a ‘high 2:2’ is considered, we would normally define this as reflecting a profile of 57% or above. Candidates with professional qualifications in an associated area may be considered such as Social work or other professional qualification in a relevant discipline at degree or masters level. Students must be currently involved in practice or management work in a social care of health setting. Students with a DipHE (e.g. DipSW) and at least two years practice experience are able to apply.
A successful applicant will usually have the following qualities:
- Advanced knowledge of the social work role or that of a related social care or health profession
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- A commitment to anti-oppressive practice
- The capacity for critical analysis, reflection and reflexivity
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to work independently and meet deadlines
International & EU requirements
English language requirements
All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start. Find out what scores we require.
Country-specific requirements
For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see here.
Your future career
For experienced professionals, postgraduate study will assist you in thinking critically and more deeply about your work, its setting and the role that you take within it.
This programme will give you knowledge and skills that are transferable to a wide variety of employment opportunities in advanced practice, leadership and management in social care and health services. This provides a boost to your career and leadership potential as well as a firm foundation for further postgraduate study and research,
Our department runs a Doctorate in Professional Studies (Health and Social Care Practice) in collaboration with St George's and Kingston University, which students who wish to pursue further study are encouraged to participate in. In addition, our department offers a more traditional PhD option for further study.
Fees, funding & scholarships
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £8,300
EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £17,600
Other essential costs***:
20 credit modules: £595
40 credit modules: £970
40 credit work-based learning modules: £765
20 credit modules for students in qualifying placements: £150
How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries.
* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.
All postgraduate fees are subject to inflationary increases. This means that the overall cost of studying the course via part-time mode is slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. Royal Holloway's policy is that any increases in fees will not exceed 5% for continuing students. For further information, please see our terms and conditions. Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry. For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the RCUK website.
** The UK Government has confirmed that EU nationals are no longer eligible to pay the same fees as UK students, nor be eligible for funding from the Student Loans Company. This means you will be classified as an international student. At Royal Holloway, we wish to support those students affected by this change in status through this transition. For eligible EU students starting their course with us in September 2022, we will award a fee reduction scholarship equivalent to 60% of the difference between the UK and international fee for your course. This will apply for the duration of your course. Find out more
*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2022/23 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.
