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 the course, tailoring the qualification to your own professional need and commitments, gaining a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MSc in Advanced Practice.

Depending on your interests and choice of optional module you will exit with a specific degree subtitle:

Leadership and Management
Children and Families
Adults
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.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Course structure

Core Modules

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.
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

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

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

UK Bachelor honours degree or equivalent in Social work or other professional qualification in a relevant subject, or Masters level.

Applicants will also be considered with a Diploma of Higher Education in Social Work with at least two years practice experience.

All applicants must be currently involved in practice or management work within a social care or health setting.

International & EU requirements

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.5 overall. No subscore lower than 6.0.
Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 61. No other subscore lower than 54.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
TOEFL iBT: 88 overall with Reading 22 Listening 20 Speaking 22 Writing 24.
Duolingo: 120 overall and no sub-score below 115.

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,

In addition, our department offers a more traditional PhD option for further study.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £10,100

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £21,500

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 starting their course on a full-time basis in the academic year 2026/27. 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.

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. For further information, see fees and funding.

** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2026/27 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.