Postgraduate professional development (credit-bearing short courses)

You will take short courses within one programme, selecting options that suit your schedule and interests, and gaining academic credit as you complete them. These courses are always delivered online, so you can choose to study from anywhere in the world at times that suit you.   

You can take a maximum of 50 credits worth of courses over two years. Individual courses are typically worth 10 or 20 credits, which means you might end up studying three to five courses in total.

Courses run at fixed times during the academic year, so you should select ones that fit with your schedule.  

You will take your courses online at the same time as other students and interact with them on our online learning platform. You will have contact time with our tutors and complete activities and assessments to fixed deadlines.

If you pass your chosen course(s), you will receive a Postgraduate Professional Development (PgProfDev) award of academic credit. You can put this towards further study in the future if you choose to later pursue a certificate, diploma or masters. 

Alternatively, after one year on the PPD scheme, you can choose to directly transfer your credits and continue studying towards a higher award. Any time you have spent studying PPD courses will be deducted from the amount of time you have left to complete your certificate, diploma or masters.

Programmes that offer a PPD route are within several different subject areas, but mostly medicine and veterinary medicine. 

Check our degree finder for programmes that list ‘PgProfDev’ as an award type. These programmes offer courses that can be completed as part of the PPD scheme. You can find detailed course information under ‘Programme details’ on individual programme profiles.